The Virginian-Pilot
© May 29, 2008

WILLIAMSBURG, Yorktown, Monticello, Mount Vernon. Those historic sites and others are immediately recognizable to millions of Americans. But mention Virginia's historic Northern Neck region, and you're likely to draw a blank stare.

The region's charms may soon become better known. Sens. John Warner and Jim Webb recently joined a long-running legislative effort, taken up several years ago by the late Rep. Jo Ann Davis and others, to declare the peninsula between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers a National Heritage Area.

The congressional designation is intended to draw travelers' attention to regions that played substantial roles in U.S. history. Just as importantly, the designation creates a framework for local residents and government leaders to collaborate with state and federal officials to preserve historic resources and promote tourism.

There are currently 38 National Heritage Areas. The most recent addition, part of legislation signed earlier this month by President Bush, is The Journey through Hallowed Ground NHA, a string of historic sites stretching from Gettysburg to Charlottesville.

The lesser-known Northern Neck region is deserving of the extra attention and preservation work, too. The rural, five-county area, explored by Capt. John Smith in the early 1600s, was the birthplace of three presidents, George Washington, James Madison and James Monroe.

It's also home to Stratford Hall, where the only brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence - Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee - lived and where Gen. Robert E. Lee was born.

The federal designation, by itself, cannot ensure that the region's many historic homes and rich Chesapeake Bay traditions will survive. But the special focus improves those chances, as well as the likelihood that more Americans will become familiar with the region's contributions to the nation's heritage.

The stock of crabs is low in the Chesapeake Bay. This is not the first time it has been low. It has been going on for years.

Restrictions are continually being placed on the crabber. But putting more restrictions on the crabber is not going to solve the problem, it is only going to slow the decline until the resource is eliminated. 

"The Virginia Marine Resource Commission Management Plan for Blue Crab" states that:

Ongoing losses in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) that serves as primary nursery areas for juvenile crabs and reduction of oyster reefs that provide food and refuge for age 1+ crabs evidently impede the growth of this stock.  VIMS indicates there is evidence of high mortality rates of juvenile crabs tied to the loss of SAV, and this loss has a direct impact on recruitment to age 1+ .  The extent of predation on blue crabs by predators such as striped bass, red drum, and Atlantic croaker is unknown.

The report goes on to further say, "Despite evidence that the blue crab stock faces many environmental challenges, the management plan must continue to promote measures that can lead to annual exploitation rates that are near the target level exploitation rate (u = 0.46)."

Great Management!

Don't fix the problem.

It takes more than a bumper sticker that says, "Save the Bay"