Virginia officials have taken the unprecedented step of declaring a 665-square-mile area of the Chesapeake Bay off-limits to fishers in order to protect the area’s beleaguered population of blue crabs. Blue crabs have also been suffering in the estuary of the Altamaha River in Georgia. Long-time Georgia crabber James Holland, tired of seeing his livelihood ruined by degraded water quality, gave up catching crabs in order to concentrate on catching polluters. He formed the Altamaha Riverkeeper, an activist group that aims to clean up the waters in the state’s biggest river basin. He represents a new breed of environmentalist in the South — folks who don’t wear fleece or belong to the Sierra Club, but who are simply fighting to defend the natural resources they depend on to make a living.
