Year in photos: The Chesapeake watershed in 2023

Documenting restoration that has brought people and nature closer together

By Will Parson |
A fire technician walks in front of a tall wall of flames engulfing a field.
Chris Frye of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources leaves a trail of flames as he walks the fire break of a 20-acre burn at Nassawango Creek Preserve in Wicomico County, Md., on March 22, 2023. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

The stories we covered this past year took us across landscapes both urban and natural—and sometimes a bit of both at the same time.

In 2023, we featured BLISS Meadows, a 10-acre land reclamation project that connects residents to a community farm and forested park in Northeast Baltimore. Elsewhere in the city, we followed wildlife surveys at Masonville Cove, where large animals like white-tailed deer and coyotes find habitat amid development. We also traced the path of Jones Falls from its urbanized mouth to its wilder upstream stretches in Baltimore County. And we visited the hidden habitats of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

And as part of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s 40th anniversary celebration, we hosted tours of restoration projects we’ve funded. One of those events featured the green infrastructure efforts of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where a church and a brewery both replaced asphalt with a bit of nature to treat urban stormwater runoff.

These moments and more are reflected in some of our favorite photos of 2023. We hope you enjoy viewing our year of wildlife, science, restoration and residents from across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Also be sure to check out our round-up of stories celebrating the Chesapeake Bay Program’s 40th anniversary.

Canada geese fly overhead in a "V" formation. The geese are silhouetted against a cloudy sky, with dark, leafless trees on either side.
A flock of Canada geese follow Jones Falls upstream toward Lake Roland Dam in Baltimore on Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A wood frog in clear, dark water, with air sacs that are filled and vibrating.
A male wood frog makes ripples with its cluck-like mating call in an artificial pond in Millersville, Md., on Feb. 17, 2023. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A white-tailed deer standing at nighttime in tall grass is illuminated by a red spotlight.
A white-tailed deer is illuminated by the red spotlight of Dr. Ela-Sita Carpenter, an urban wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center in Baltimore on Feb. 23, 2023. Carpenter was conducting annual mammal surveys to assess the deer population at Masonville Cove, which has been restored for wildlife habitat and became the nation's first Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership in 2013. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Two young volunteer crouch on the ground in a forest, using their hands to plant a tiny tree.
Sixth grade students Anaya Ekongolo, left, and Abby Liggett from Old Middle School plant an American hornbeam tree along a recently restored stretch of Severn Run in Anne Arundel County, Md., on March 27, 2023. The field trip was part of the Chesapeake Connections environmental literacy program, led by staff from Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A biologist's open palm holds a dark mesh net, on top of which sits a yellow banded fish.
Doug Fischer of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission holds a Chesapeake logperch caught for hatchery rearing efforts in Octoraro Creek in Lancaster County, Pa., on April 11, 2023. The fish is listed as threatened in Maryland and Pennsylvania, the only two states where it still exists. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Two researchers haul heavy nets over wet and muddy terrain against a wide, flat horizon of tall, tan marsh grasses.
David Bruce, left, and Jake Barbaro of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pull fyke nets during a fish sampling study on Poplar Island in Talbot County, Md., on April 19, 2023. Fish monitoring occurs for several years after cells are restored at Poplar Island, which is effectively an artificial island rebuilt using sediment dredged from shipping channels in the upper Chesapeake Bay. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Two women stand on opposite sides of a tree shelter, laughing as they repair the protective plastic shell.
Katie Brownson, left, of the U.S. Forest Service plants a tree with Carin Bisland of the Environmental Protection Agency at Emory Waters Preserve, a property that is part of Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Anne Arundel County, Md., on April 21, 2023. Bisland retired in 2023 after over three decades at the Chesapeake Bay Program office. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Three researchers work in a small boat. One tosses a small fish overboard, while another records data.
Biologist Matthew Jargowski and other staff from Maryland Department of Natural Resources conduct a gill net survey to assess the health of Chesapeake Bay river herring populations in the North East River in Cecil County, Md., on April 25, 2023. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A green dragonfly that has recently shed its exoskeleton clings to reeds while its small wings expand and harden.
A comet darner molts to take its adult form in a five-acre wetland creation project at Cedar Point Wildlife Management Area in Charles County, Md., on May 10, 2023. Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington funded the creation of 4.5 acres of forested nontidal and emergent wetlands as well as 0.5 acres of open water on a former farm field as mitigation for unavoidable impacts at Blossom Point Tracking Facility. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A far-off angler fishes from a kayak in the middle of the wide blue Susquehanna River.
An angler casts a line from a kayak on the Susquehanna River downstream from Conowingo Dam in Harford County, Md., on June 2, 2023. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A flip-flop, water bottle and other tiny bits of trash mix with floating woody debris.
Bits of plastic and other debris from upstream accumulates on the bank of the Susquehanna River behind Conowingo Dam in Harford County, Md., on June 2, 2023. During spring high flows, dam operators use heavy machinery to remove litter trapped by the dam. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A small bee visits one in a group of yellow flowers planted front of brick buildings.
Native plants bloom in a rain garden in front of Lancaster Brewing Co. in Lancaster, Pa., on June, 9, 2023. The city's green infrastructure approach to addressing stormwater has also allowed the business to add outdoor seating while also serving as a traffic calming measure. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A woman in a kayak throws her hands into the air as she launches her vessel into wide, calm water with forest beyond.
Julie Garnett throws her hands in the air in celebration after sliding down a kayak launch at Lake Mooney Park in Stafford County, Va., on June 13, 2023. Lake Mooney, formerly known as Rocky Pen Run Reservoir, has received a concrete boat ramp and canoe/kayak launch in recent years—progress toward the Chesapeake Bay Program goal of adding 300 new public access sites across the Chesapeake Bay watershed by 2025. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
An aerial view of forests and farms abutting the York River, with winding tendrils of streams extending inland.
The historic site of Werowocomoco, now owned by the National Park Service, is seen between Leigh Creek and Bland Creek facing the York River in Gloucester County, Va., on June 15, 2023. Human use of the area known as Werowocomoco dates back 6,000 to 8,000 years and in the early 1600s it was home to Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas during her childhood. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program with aerial support by Southwings)
Two volunteers kneel together on a curved beach, planting small clumps of marsh grass.
Residents plant Spartina patens, a high marsh grass, along a living shoreline restoration site at the community beach in Cape St. Claire, Md., on June 24, 2023. The community has been working with the Alliance for the Cheapeake Bay since 2018 to receive grants and funding to protect the beach from erosion during more intense storms. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Three researchers on board a vessel in the Chesapeake Bay work together to haul and retrieve a buoy out of the water.
Jay Lazar, left, and a team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) work to retrieve a hypoxia buoy at the mouth of the Choptank River near Talbot County, Md., on June 27, 2023. Three such stations are a project of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Hypoxia Collaborative, funded by the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, and collect data every ten minutes to help researchers learn more about how changes in the Bay’s hypoxic area affects the distribution and abundance of different species. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
The hands of two researchers hold a fluffy baby tern.
A team from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) visits common and least tern nesting colonies on Poplar Island in Talbot County, Md. on June 28, 2023. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A woman wearing a sunhat and overalls stands in an urban farm's garden plot and proudly holds up two bunches of onions as a man takes her photo with his smartphone.
Saj Dillard poses for Kieron George to take a picture of her onion harvest at BLISS Meadows in Baltimore on July 17, 2023. Dillard said she never spent time outside before working at Backyard Basecamp. “Get outside, hug a tree, touch some grass, in all seasons for all lives," Dillard said. "You never know how it will affect you until you do it". (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A large group of kayakers on open water. In the foreground, a man holds a plastic tray filled with underwater grasses. In the background, a woman holds up two clumps of underwater grasses in her hands.
Brook Landry, top right, of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, leads volunteers during a kayak-based survey of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) at Mallows Bay in Charles County, Md., on July 19, 2023. The group was split into pods that spread out via kayak to catalog, map and identify various species of underwater plants. Initial surveys like this one help track how the density, species assemblage, and overall health of the plants change over time. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A ring of workers processes oysters in an indoor lab.
Makayla Lloyd, an intern with Minorities in Aquaculture (MIA), works at Horn Point Oyster Hatchery in Dorchester, Md., on Aug. 4, 2023. Lloyd found a deep love for oysters after being mentored by Imani Black, who founded MIA to support young, minority women while creating a more diverse and inclusive aquaculture industry. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Two farm workers harvest cherry tomatoes from lush plants.
Joe Ramirez Bautista, right, and Juan Manuel Castillo Carmona harvest cherry tomatoes at Moon Valley Farm in Frederick County, Md., on Aug. 9, 2023. The farm is certified organic through the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) and utilizes various regenerative practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping and planting living mulches. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A woman sitting on the edge of a small boat looks down into the boat's hull at a metal aquaculture cage filled with oysters.
Joyce Luk, an intern with Minorities in Aquaculture (MIA), works at Orchard Point Oyster Co. in Queen Anne's County, Md., on Aug. 11, 2023. Luk's interest in the internship program was sparked by a passion for sustainable foods like kelp. MIA was founded by Imani Black to support young, minority women to create a more diverse and inclusive aquaculture industry. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A small wading bird is seen in mid-air, leaping from one piece of wood to another.
A green heron visits one of over 80 shipwrecks at Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary in Charles County, Md., on Aug. 12, 2023. At the end of WWI, obsolete ships meant for the war effort were deliberately sunk at Mallows Bay, but now the wreckage hosts wildlife and is navigable by kayak. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Dozens of tiny wriggling eels at the bottom of a wet bag.
Jim Thompson, Fish Passage Coordinator for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Rachel Bukoski, a ranger with the Maryland Park Service and Maryland Conservation Corps member Wyatt Durington check for American eels at the eel ladder at Daniels Dam in Howard County, Md., on Aug. 14, 2023. The eel ladder was built to assist American eels over the dam, allowing passage for them to grow into adults before heading back downstream to spawn. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program)
An aerial view of the confluence of two large rivers during a golden sunrise.
The sun rises over Harpers Ferry, W.Va., on Sept. 4, 2023. The Shenandoah River, right, joins the Potomac just downstream of the National Historical Park. (Photo by Marielle Scott/Chesapeake Bay Program with aerial support by Southwings)
A close-up view of a metallic green bee visiting a cluster of two purple flowers.
A sweat bee shines metallic green while feeding on late-blooming New England asters blooming at Bellemeade Park in Richmond on Oct. 3, 2023. The park is a focal point for local efforts to create a "walkable watershed" by matching restoration efforts with community needs. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Several people walk in bright sunshine along a paved path, while the National Arboretum's National Capitol Columns stand tall in the distance.
Members of the Chesapeake Executive Council and other officials tour the National Arboretum before the council's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19, 2023. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
An aerial view of fall foliage and a small stream winding into farmland.
A mix of mature forest and newly planted trees form a riparian buffer along Leibs Creek near Stewartstown, Pa., on Oct. 25, 2023. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Green and brown oak leaves tucked inside a white plastic tube.
Sunlight shines through a protective tub surrounding a young white oak tree planted as part of a riparian forest buffer along Leibs Creek on a farm near Stewartstown, Pa., on Oct. 25, 2023. Hundreds of young trees were planted by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay with funding from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation's Small Watershed Grants program, awarded in 2020 to improve aquatic habitat for the Chesapeake logperch, a fish classified as threatened in both Pennsylvania and Maryland. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

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