RICHMOND, Va. -- The coronavirus pandemic has shifted the way educators and students learn about the Chesapeake Bay and its estuaries to new virtual programs.

The Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia's York River highlights the habitats of the nation's largest estuary. Online programs feature storytelling and discovery labs, like last week's session on turtles.

Education coordinator Sarah Nuss said their virtual classes teach students and families about the Bay's ecosystem as well as how to protect it.

"Our reach is really regional because the Chesapeake Bay's watershed is so large," Nuss said. "We want people to understand that even if you live in New York or Pennsylvania that the impact that you have on your land and your waterways could eventually affect the Chesapeake Bay."

Since 1983, the states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, have been working to fully restore the polluted estuary by 2025. Updates on online activities can be found on the Research Reserve's Facebook page.

Nuss said this is the first summer that teachers at the Virginia site can't spend time in-person with campers who come back year after year for hands-on programs. But she hopes the online sessions will continue to connect kids with opportunities to learn about the Bay's aquatic life and its role in the environment.

"The Chesapeake Bay provides a local example of an environment that the students can learn all aspects of science but with a local context," she said. "So I think it means more, is more meaningful to them when it's closer to where they live and something they interact with."

Parts of the reserve are open for public use during the pandemic, including York River State Park, which has hiking trails and a beach area.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.





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Virginia environmental advocates are looking for protections of old-growth forests.

In 2022, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to have old-growth forests across the country inventoried.

A U.S. Forest Service report finds the agency is responsible for more than 24 million acres of old-growth forests. This amounts to only 4% of forests in the U.S. However, around 76% of these lands are unprotected from logging operations.

Sam Evans, national forest and parks program leader for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the U.S. Forest Service needs to consider which forests should be cut, and which should not.

"The responsibility there is for the Forest Service to figure out what's the healthiest mature forest, what mature forest is on the best track to restore that, and sort of leaving it alone," Evans contended. "Letting it age into 'old' condition. Perhaps there are other mature forests that aren't in good condition, and maybe we can focus on those for timber cutting."

Environmental groups are reluctant to see the trees cut down, since they help stave off climate change. Studies find old-growth forests can store between 41% and 84% of the total carbon stock of all trees. Losing the trees represents a carbon equivalent to one-quarter of the country's annual fossil-fuel emissions.

While forests are being planted in place of any old-growth forests made into timber, Evans noted younger, even-aged forests do not carry all the benefits of an old-growth forest.

"They really don't have a lot of diversity," Evans pointed out. "They're just a lot of trees of the same age, and a lot of shade on the ground. Those forests, those post-logging forests, don't have a huge biodiversity benefit."

He added seeing it come to fruition will require cultural changes on the U.S. Forest Service's part. Earlier this year, the agency held a comment period when more than 92,000 people spoke about different elements to consider in developing a rule regarding climate policies to protect, conserve, and manage the national forests.

The unprecedented attempt to build a wall along the U.S. Mexico border has had devastating effects on wildlife from which they may not recover, according to a New Mexico wildlife expert.

The Trump administration spent an estimated $15 billion constructing more than 400 miles of wall, much of which replaced smaller existing barriers.

Bryan Bird, Southwest program director for Defenders of Wildlife, said construction fragmented wildlife habitats and cut off species' migration routes. Because geography and private land ownership in Texas and Arizona slowed the effort, Bird pointed out much of what was only "vehicle barrier" in New Mexico is now permanent.

"Unfortunately, New Mexico ended up getting the brunt of the border wall construction," Bird explained. "In fact, other than the Bootheel, most of the border between Mexico and New Mexico is walled now."

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan government watchdog, showed wall construction desecrated Indigenous cultural sites, hurt wildlife and destroyed vegetation.

Bird pointed out webcam feeds now are documenting how much more difficult the wall has made it for wildlife to cross the international border, where many species already were imperiled.

"The ocelot, the Mexican gray wolf, the jaguar, the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl," Bird outlined. "All of these species are on the verge of extinction, and this border wall may have been the nail in the coffin."

Multiple erosion and flooding hazards were created by construction of the wall, which he said is already showing signs of deterioration.

"Not only was it incredibly, historically expensive and a burden on taxpayers to build it, but now you've got to maintain it," Bird noted. "And if you do not spend a lot of money maintaining it, it's going to fall down."

The Biden administration has been criticized for flood gates being left open along the border wall, which allowed some illegal immigrants to enter. But the U.S. Border Patrol took responsibility, noting the gates have always been opened during monsoon season to prevent flooding and keep the wall from falling over.

They're calling it an "adventure conservation documentary," and the film has its first showing tonight in Traverse City.

"Troubled Water" chronicles a 36-day, 425-mile journey on standup paddleboards along the Great Lakes. One focus is the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, which moves crude oil from Canada to Michigan beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

The film's producer, Chris Yahanda, called the film a "love letter to the region," but said it's also a reminder of what could be lost in case of a spill or accident with Line 5.

"It's not only an interesting and awesome, intense outdoor adventure, but it's a story of some amazing people that have dedicated their lives to protecting the places we thought we'd explore," he said, "and celebrating them and learning about the threats that face the Great Lakes and how people can help; and just trying to be more informed and how we can help protect all these waters that we love so much."

Tonight's premiere is at the Traverse City Opera House, opening with a community reception at 6:30 p.m., and the film starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased there or in advance at CityOperaHouse.org.

The advocacy group Oil and Water Don't Mix hopes for a packed house to enjoy the show. Sean McBrearty, the group's media campaign coordinator, said it's part of a larger effort to bring public awareness to the environmental risks associated with Line 5.

"Everybody who wants to get involved - who cares about the Great Lakes and wants to protect them, and make sure we don't have a crucial oil spill - has a role to play, whether it's something large or something small," he said. "And I'm very grateful for the role Chris and William and their crew have played in all this."

Earlier this year, representatives of 51 Tribes and First Nations asked that the United Nations intervene and force Canada to end its support for Line 5, over concerns that a spill could pollute the Great Lakes.