Ocean, People, Planet: A Wildlife Refuge On The Brink

Episode 115

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Projects: Conserving Marine Life in the United States
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Ocean, People, Planet: A Wildlife Refuge On The Brink
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Stat: 2.1 feet—Scientists have forecast an increase of as much as 2.1 feet in the Chesapeake Bay by 2050.

Story: In this episode, we travel to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, where the refuge is losing ground to climate change and rising sea levels. Through interviews with experts—including Joseph Gordon, project director for Pew’s work on conserving marine life in the U.S.; Marcia Pradines Long, manager of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge; Kristin Thomasgard,  program director with the Department of Defense; Julie M. Schablitsky, chief archaeologist at the Maryland Department of Transportation; and Kate Larson, a historian and author—we explore the threats facing this refuge because of the changing climate, and the path ahead for its environmental, cultural, and economic future.

Related resources:

How the Military is Working With Communities to Tackle Climate Change

Carbon Captured by Coastal and Ocean Habitats Can Advance States’ Climate Goals

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Climate Change in the Chesapeake Bay Area

A clear blue sky welcomes visitors to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Chesapeake Bay on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Although Blackwater was established in 1933 as a refuge for migratory birds, Native Americans have harvested resources from the Blackwater River Basin for millennia. The refuge today is home to a vast and diverse array of plants and animals—including waterfowl, turtles, and crabs—amid rich tidal marsh, mixed hardwood and loblolly pine forests, freshwater wetlands, and croplands.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
A flock of Canada geese flies above the marsh toward home as summer nears. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge serves as an important winter home for these migrating waterfowl and contains one-third of Maryland’s tidal wetlands.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
A drone image shows the spotted landscape of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, which has lost 5,000 acres of marsh to encroaching salt water since the 1970s. With its near-zero elevation, the refuge lends itself well to researching and witnessing sea level rise firsthand. Scientists expect Maryland’s coastal waters to rise another 2.1 feet due to a changing climate. Biologists and ecologists are partnering with local stakeholders—including foresters, farmers, Indigenous communities, historians, and the military—to best manage the refuge amid this rapid change.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
A bald eagle perches on the branches of a loblolly pine tree. This once-endangered species is in recovery thanks in part to research conducted by the late biologist Rachel Carson in her book Silent Spring, which documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. The refuge supports one of the highest concentrations of nesting bald eagles on the Atlantic coast.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
In Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge’s shallow waters, a great blue heron searches for fish. The refuge was named a priority wetland in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and has been designated as an Internationally Important Bird Area.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, with more than 20,000 acres open for recreation, is a popular destination for wildlife and people. In 2021, more than 270,000 visitors from across the country and around the world visited the refuge to bird watch, kayak, and take in sunset views.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is a 20-minute drive from the town of Cambridge, Maryland, where this mural of Harriet Tubman can be found on the side of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center. This year marks the 200th anniversary of her birth. She lived in the region for nearly three decades before escaping slavery, and her legacy and that of the Underground Railroad lives on in this community today.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
A crew member with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ “After the Fact” podcast team photographs a sign within Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge about the life of Harriet Tubman. Tubman was born in this area and spent her childhood working as a slave on proprieties that are adjacent or have now been acquired by the refuge. Parts of the refuge are believed to have been used as hiding places for slaves traveling the Underground Railroad.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Marcia Pradines Long, refuge manager of the Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, stands in the area known as Peter’s Neck, land recently acquired by the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Long and her team hope the expansion of the refuge will help mitigate the effects of rising sea levels and the acreage lost because of climate change.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
At Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Julie Schablitsky, chief archaeologist with the Maryland Department of Transportation, shows “After the Fact” podcast host Dan LeDuc the area near where she and her team recently discovered the childhood home of Harriet Tubman. Schablitsky and her colleagues are working to excavate items of historical significance before rising sea levels engulf them.
The Pew Charitable Trusts