Colonialism and extractivism catch up with the Chesapeake Bay

Colonialism and extractivism catch up with the Chesapeake Bay

The rusty service station sits at the end of the road in Reedville, on Virginia’s Northern Neck. In the distance lies Ingram Bay, and beyond that, the Chesapeake. A local sits in a chair in the shade of the station, waiting for a powerboat to motor up for a bag of ice or a bag of chum. The customers might be sport fishermen or amateurs with recently purchased vacation homes on the shoreline of the Potomac, the Wicomico, or the Rappahannock. Eith…