Hampton Roads lagged only New Bedford, Mass., and Dutch Harbor, Alaska, in the value of its seafood haul in 2004. Commercial fishermen brought in $100.6 million worth of fish and shellfish at docks in Hampton Roads last year, which is up from $78 million in 2003 and more than triple the catch a decade ago. The commercial catch in 2004 for New Bedford was $206 million, and in Dutch Harbor, $155 million.

Read (AP via Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

I didn’t know that the Hampton Roads area’s commercial fishing business was that large.

When I hear “Dutch Harbor, Alaska”, I think of Dicovery Channel’s [Deadliest Catch](http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/deadliestcatch.html “Discovery Channel”).

Flickr Photo originally uploaded by *pele*.

Eighty years ago, wild turkeys were losing ground to habitat loss and hunting, and only about 30,000 remained. Now, there are about 7 million of the birds in the United States, more than ever before.

Read (WTOP)

A severe local drought – one of three in the US right now – has nearly emptied Falls Lake, the only water supply for North Carolina’s capital city.

Read (Christian Science Monitor)

Here in Salem, we’ve [received 5.6″ less](http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/RNK/CLIROA “NOAA”) rain than average this year, but Carvins Cove, which is the reservoir for the city of Roanoke, is actually up [1.4 feet above](http://www.westernvawater.org/WebMgmt/ywbase61b.nsf/vwContentByKey/N2626JNT105PLESEN “Western Virginia Water Authority”) the average water level.

The drive for “green energy” in the developed world is having the perverse effect of encouraging the destruction of tropical rainforests.

Read (New Scientist)

A revival of the controversial strip-mining practice that decimates landscapes known for their lush, majestic peaks is stirring ire and protest from locals in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains.

Read (The NewStandard)

The article mentions that the effects of strip mining are very visible from the air. That’s true. I flew into the [Lonesome Pine Airport](http://www.airnav.com/airport/LNP “Airnav.com”) in Wise, VA several years ago, and the deep, ugly scars of strip mining were impossible to miss.

Cleaner air is being measured in Shenadnoah National Park, and it appears to be the result in part to new pollution controls on power plants and factories that took effect in spring 2004.

Read (AP via WTOP)

The northern snakehead has found a home in the Potomac River, and there is little biologists can do to slow the spread of the Asian import. The 300 snakehead caught in a Potomac River tributary last month is evidence enough the toothy fish has bulled its way to the top of the river’s food chain.

Read (AP via WTOP)

Scientists have discovered sexually altered fish off the Southern California coast, raising concerns that treated sewage discharged into the ocean contains chemicals that can affect an animal’s reproductive system.

Read (AP via WTOP)

New dams intended to provide cheaper power and support irrigation systems are destroying important water sources and causing economic disruption.

Read (AP via WTOP)

Conservation groups have put together nearly 32,000 acres of prairie into a bison preserve in Montana, the start of what they hope will be a vast reconstruction of the prairie ecosystem.

Read (AP via WTOP)

LeRoy Beckman led a frugal life and appeared to be dirt poor; however, the 88-year-old bachelor had an estate worth around $3 million when he died in 1997. His will stated that he wanted his money used to buy land and then donate the land to the state for use by hunters. The money has purchased approximately 6,500 acres in Montana, and it will be called the Beckman Wildlife Management Area. The land is inhabited by antelope, wild turkeys, pheasants, foxes, coyotes, raptors, songbirds, mountain lions, and mule deer.

Read (AP via ABC News)

The Chesapeake Bay suffered a massive die-off of its underwater eel-grass beds this summer that could mean more bad news for the blue-crab. It’s had a negative impact on the blue-crab, but researchers haven’t determined the extent of it yet. The eel-grass is important to the blue-crab, because the blue-crab larvae from each season’s spawn hides from predators in eel-grass beds.

Read (Richmond Times Dispatch)

It looks like this isn’t on the Richmond Times site anymore, but it can be found at [eLibrary](http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/libweb/elib/do/document?set=search&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=1&edition=&ts=4A0770ECF8C0E62AB4A179FB6F16B77C_1180117987909&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B115177136 “Read the article at eLibrary”).