The
Maryland Coastal Bays are experiencing
rapid population growth and increased
development. Recognizing the potential
for additional stress on this fragile
ecosystem and the importance of
its health, government agencies
have joined with the people who
depend on the coastal bays for their
livelihood and quality of life,
to develop a plan of action that
will protect and restore the bays'
health. The Maryland Coastal Bays
Program has identified changes in
living resources, deteriorating
water quality, habitat loss and
modification, increasing chemical
contamination, impacts of water-based
activities, and pathogen contamination
as priority issues threatening the
coastal bays.
