They're Like Fish Out Of Water

August 25, 2005|By Daily News-Record

MOUNT CRAWFORD — Watermen learn what it's like to work on the farmer's end of the bay.

The cows didn't seem to mind the company in the milk parlor. They shuffled in and out just as they do twice a day at the Will farm.

"We've got about 67 cows," says Kenny Will, dressed in overalls and knee-high boots. "We start about 5 a.m. and get them done within an hour or so."

But on this day, Kenny and his son Jeremy have some extra help.

Eric Marshall and Wes Bradshaw, of Smith Island, Md., are learning what it's like on the farmer's end of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Marshall and Bradshaw are boat captains for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Growing up on Smith Island, which is near the middle of the bay, about a 20-minute boat ride from Tangier Island, the two have seen the struggle watermen have had over the past few decades. High nutrient loads and sediment pollution have killed off underwater grasses and taken its toll on the blue crab population.

In the past, environmentalists, media and politicians have blamed agriculture runoff as the primary culprit of the bay's decline.

But these watermen aren't blaming farmers. In fact, Marshall and Bradshaw are two of six former watermen-turned-boat-captains who spent last week in Rockingham County learning about farm practices and how farmers are working to protect natural resources.

"We know we've got to make some changes down on the bay," says Charles Parks, 51, of Tangier Island. "You can't just blame the farmer. You get out here and you see what they're doing and they're doing a lot -- more than they can do."

Farmers and watermen aren't that different.

The two trades are hard on the body. Rising early, working long hours, enduring the weather elements -- they're not jobs you go into unless you love it or are born into it.

Secondly, watermen are essentially farmers. They work the water harvesting crab, oysters and fish, while farmers work the land harvesting beans, corn and squash.

The only place the two trades differ is with livestock, but it didn't take long for the watermen to warm up to the dairy cows.

"I think it's neat being on a dairy farm," says Bradshaw, 60, who happily helped the Wills milk cows. "I've never actually seen it done before. It's kind of the same as crab potting in that it's hands-on."

Not too far away, Parks and fellow captain Lonnie Moore walk the grounds of Kevin Craun's farm. Craun has taken several steps to preserve his land and protect the area's natural resources.

Cattle "travel ways" keep the cows from destroying the land and field rotation assures an even spread of manure, so Craun doesn't over-fertilize.

"We want people to realize that we are making an effort to preserve (natural resources) and save the bay," Craun told Parks and Moore. "And it's not just for the bay's benefit. We live here. We drink the ground water. Our kids play in the streams. It's up to us to improve and take care of these things so it will be here for generations to come."

The coming together of the two cultures is significant because by 2010, Virginia's waterways need to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standards for water quality.

If they don't, the federal government can impose sanctions and force state agencies to follow a strict plan, which state officials say could be difficult on localities.

Farmers such as Craun and Will are doing their part, and they say others in the Valley are catching on, too.

"The importance of water quality is catching on," says Will, 47, who fenced his cattle out of North River. "People need to use their heads a little bit and try and do a good job. We need to take initiative."

Will went on to explain that over-fertilization of the land and applying fertilizer before heavy rains or on frozen ground is "abuse" of natural resources, such as water. He added that farmers have been dubbed the culprit for the bay's decline, when it's the farmers who have been doing most of the work to restore it.

"Most people in the Valley trying to farm aren't over-fertilizing -- it costs too much" says Will, who has worked on his farm for 21 years. "I still think the main cause of the bay's problems is overpopulation in the watershed. There's too many people."

Will's son, Jeremy, went one step further, saying fertilizer runoff can be attributed to homeowners dumping tons pf nutrients on their lawns trying to green them.

"Everybody's got to do their part," says Jeremy, 21. "It's more than just the farmer correcting his practices, it has to be everybody." *

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