Jeremy Cox

2 days ago | bayjournal.com | Jeremy Cox

The Chesapeake Conservancy, a watershed-wide land preservation group based in Annapolis, has named a former top executive as its new leader. Susan Shingledecker is set to take the reins Sept. 8. Shingledecker most recently served as executive director of Earth Science Information Partners, which promotes the use of data to tackle environmental issues. In that role, she collaborated with federal and state agencies, universities and private-sector technology firms to advance data-driven solutions.

5 days ago | bayjournal.com | Jeremy Cox

Widespread pesticide use is polluting waters throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed as well as imperiling the health of a host of organisms, ranging from oysters to humans. And scientists are “desperately” calling for further investigation into what happens to living things when they’re exposed to haphazard mixtures of these myriad chemicals at once.

1 week ago | bayjournal.com | Jeremy Cox

The Chesapeake Bay’s ecological health declined in 2024 as extreme heat, rainfall and drought wreaked havoc across the estuary’s watershed, according to the latest annual report card from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Experts worry it may be a sign of things to come. The grade for the Bay’s aquatic health slipped from a C+ in 2023 to a C last year, dropping 5 percentage points to an overall score of 50%, UMCES reported.

2 weeks ago | bayjournal.com | Jeremy Cox

It’s safe to say that Tree No. 160 won’t be standing for much longer. When a scientist tagged the loblolly pine at some point within the last four years, it was alive. The silver medallion bearing its identification number remains tacked into the tree’s side about 6 feet up from the ground. But the evergreen has now turned forever brown. The pine’s needles and most of its branches are gone. Its trunk is riddled with insect holes. Chunks of bark are missing. And it has plenty of company.

2 weeks ago | bayjournal.com | Jeremy Cox

It’s safe to say that Tree No. 160 won’t be standing for much longer. When a scientist tagged the loblolly pine at some point within the last four years, it was alive. The silver medallion bearing its identification number remains tacked into the tree’s side about 6 feet up from the ground. But the evergreen has now turned forever brown. The pine’s needles and most of its branches are gone. Its trunk is riddled with insect holes. Chunks of bark are missing. And it has plenty of company.