The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, in partnership with and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Image Matters LLC, recently unveiled the online Native Plant Center for the Chesapeake Bay Region.

The online guide allows for the identification and selection of native plant species for habitat restoration in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, an effective method for reducing pollution in the Bay.  Replacing portions of lawn areas and typical landscapes with native plants that suit local conditions reduces or eliminates the need for fertilizers and pesticides which wash into our streams, rivers and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay. Once in our waterways, these pollutants fuel the growth of excess algae, which clouds the water and threatens the health of fish, crabs and the entire Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

Users to the portal, www.nativeplantcenter.net, can search for native plants by name, plant type, sun exposure, soil texture and moisture, and even find native plants with the same shape, color, size or other characteristics as some of their favorite non-native plants.

While only portions of southern Chester County are in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, this tool is equally beneficial to the rest of us living in the Delaware Bay watershed.  We hope you will take a look at this great new resource.