Sarah Chapman- The return of the horseshoe crabs of Long Haul Creek

 My grandparents live along the Miles River in Long Haul Creek, part of the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay was fairly polluted for a while, causing the wildlife and plantlife to decrease. There used to be tons and tons of horseshoe crabs along the shores of Long Haul Creek, my grandfather would draw many sketches of them with detailed descriptions. But with the continued degradation of the bay, fewer and fewer horseshoe crabs are living past adulthood, I remember seeing many dead horse crabs floating along the creek. It has been a few years since I have seen a living horseshoe crab and even longer since I have seen a baby horseshoe crab. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) have worked hard to clean up the bay and its tidal rivers, and much of the bay's wildlife has come back including the horseshoe crab. During the summer I was at my grandparent's house in Long Haul Creek, I was standing along the small beach that they built and was looking at the water when I noticed something under the sand moving. I bent down to look closer and immediately knew it was a baby horseshoe crab! I dug my hand under the sand and scooped up the baby horseshoe crab, I let the water wash away the sand and watched as the baby scuttled along my hand. It was so small, only slightly larger than a quarter, and its barbed tail was so fragile that I didn’t have to worry about it poking me. I was so happy to have seen not only a living horseshoe crab but a baby! It’s very rare to see one baby horseshoe crab, but it is even rarer to see three. The next two days I found two more baby horseshoe crabs along the beach. Seeing these baby horseshoe crabs gave me hope that we can see more endangered species resurfacing by continuing to find effective and sustainable ways to protect the water and its wildlife.


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