WASHINGTON, D.C. June 18 (DPI) – A University of Maryland report on the health of the Chesapeake Bay shows cause for optimism – a steady improvement in grassy estuaries, in water quality in some rivers, as well as a rebound of the bay’s crab and fish populations.

But the media were hardly uniform in their tone and emphasis of the 11th annual report card of the bay’s environmental quality, which overall suggests that broad-based state and federal initiatives to contain pollution run-off may actually be working.

The Washington Post, for instance, produced a surprisingly upbeat report headlined “Chesapeake Bay hasn’t been this healthy in 33 years, scientists say.”  Further, The Post report credited an Obama-initiated federal program for the improved condition of the bay, and reader comments focused largely on the politics surrounding the East Coast’s largest environmental project.

In some contrast, a more measured voice looking at the bay’s report card was the news organization The Bay Journal, a 27-year-old non-profit based near York, Pennsylvania. The Bay Journal soberly declared that “Chesapeake Bay earns another ‘C’ on its annual report card” and it focused on the ongoing environmental challenges the bay faces.  It offered a balanced – and less politicized – take than did The Post. The Bay Journal’s second paragraph:

The Bay’s overall condition garnered a ‘C’ letter grade for the sixth straight year, and its health score remained unchanged from 2016, at 54 percent. Scientists see positive signs in that stability, though. They note that the Chesapeake’s health scores have gone up and down since UMCES began issuing annual report cards 11 years ago. But for three years now, the estuary’s overall health score has held relatively steady.

The Bay Journal, with about 10 contributing journalists and funded primarily by state and private grants, has been a steady, reliable and fact-based news resource focusing on a specific region and its ongoing environment issues.

Despite its funding from powerful backers, the Bay Journal, observers say, has done an excellent job of maintaining its editorial independence – and hence its credibility. Many journalists point to The Bay Journal’s relative success – it hasn’t ceased publishing – as a model for future news organizations.  Its web site reports that it has a readership of 100,000.

The health of America’s largest bay, which covers 64,000 square miles and receives more than 150 fresh-water rivers and streams, is an especially sensitive issue as policymakers look for ways to finance a government response to water-runoff pollution – both agricultural and suburban runoff – into the bay.