Note that most of the growth in the Chesapeake watershed is occurring close to tidal waters, and to major arteries like the Susquehanna and the Potomac. Clearing open land (agricultural fields and woods) for development hastens the "funnel" effect, so the polluting runoff from it reaches the Bay system more directly than if it were occurring further up the watershed. In addition, the amount of acreage cleared is rising even faster than our population is growing. A major objective of CBF's lands program is to direct growth into more compact forms of development, to slow the loss of open land.
