2.  The Chesapeake Bay  History  How it affect agriculture enterprises  How does it affect Mineral County  Water Runoff  Careers related to the Chesapeake Bay

3.  Sarah Miller  Former FFA member  Lives on an integrated poultry farm on Patterson’s Creek.  She must find ways to properly apply the poultry litter so excess nutrients do not leach into streams.  Was a National Finalist in the Environmental Science & Natural Resources Proficiency Area last year (first from Mineral County).

4.  The Bay is the largest estuary in the United States.  Its drainage basin covers just under 65,000 square miles.  It is home to many unique species only found in the bay. * In the 1970’s the Bay began having environmental problems related to plant life.

5.  In 2009, the federal government gave the EPA the authority to enforce any regulations they wanted to protect the plant and aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay.  One of the groups the EPA targeted was agricultural enterprises, partially poultry farms because of its high nutrient content of nitrogen and phosphorous.

6.  The Chesapeake Bay Drainage System

7.  100% of all of Mineral County’s runoff water goes to the Chesapeake Bay.  We have integrated poultry, beef cattle, and forestry operations which all can contribute to excess sediment reaching the Bay.

8.  Water runoff is the biggest source for excess nutrients reaching the Chesapeake Bay  In agricultural enterprises the following is occurring:  Poultry operations are now required by law to write nutrient management plans for how they will apply their poultry litter.  Beef operations are being monitored in concentrated and winter feeding areas for nutrient runoff.

10.  Riparian Buffers are now being incorporated to catch excess nutrients.

11.  Soil erosion from tree removal is the biggest contributor to excess soil being dumped into the bay.  Excess soil will cause hypoxia which is where plants do not have enough sunlight to make photosynthesis.

12.  Excess nutrient and soil runoff from farming and logging operations cause undesirable conditions for fish in Mineral County, esp. trout.

13.  There are numerous careers associated with preserving the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia including:  Production Agriculture  Forestry  Natural Resources  Career opportunities can be found at usda.gov, wvda.gov, nrcs.gov, and wvca.gov

14.  You will do a PowerPoint Presentation on the affects of the Chesapeake Bay in Mineral County.  You need to select from the following which area you want to do. It should relate as close as possible to your career major that you did earlier in the 6 weeks.  Agriculture  Forestry  Natural Resources

15.  You need to do the history of the bay for your area.  What is currently being done in your area  One career you can choose related to the bay in your area.  You will be making class presentations and the majority of your slides will should include pictures.