In Annapolis, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries’ Chesapeake Bay Office has awarded a $5 million contract to a Virginia company, Versar Inc, for what was described as “services ranging from habitat survey design and implementation to fisheries ecosystem and environmental modeling and educational outreach.” A question: Since we know the Bay’s main problem is nitrogen pollution, why not spend those millions plugging leaky sewage treatment plants and paying farmers to curb runoff?

In Virginia, the Dismal Swamp Canal, the oldest operating waterway in America, could close on its 200th birthday due to diversions of federal money to the Gulf Coast for hurricane relief, the Virginian-Pilot reports. Supporters traveled to Washington this week to plead for clemency for the 22-mile canal, which was completed in 1805 and runs from Chesapeake Bay to Elizabeth City, N.C. ...

In Washington, if you drive a Ferrari, Bentley or, like James Bond, an Aston Martin, then you’re probably bummed by the new EPA fuel economy ratings putting you on the Top Ten Gas Guzzlers’ List. But if you drive a Honda Insight, Toyota Prius or even one of the new VW diesels, then the EPA says your mileage couldn’t be better, a comforting thought in these gouging times …

Hurricane Update: Boat U.S. has put a price tag on the damage to recreational vessels from the Gulf Coast storms: between $650 million and $750 million. Now for the captains’ crying towel: Only about half, or $300 to $400 million, was covered by insurance …

Our Creature Feature comes from Japan, where authorities have wearied of stories like that of the fellow who took his python to a city park, then fell asleep on a bench. You guessed it, when he awakened, the giant snake was gone.

So to help keep track of pythons, crocodiles and various species of giant lizards in densely populated Japan, the Japanese Environment Ministry is drafting a law that would require owners to implant microchips in potentially dangerous animals, Reuters reports. That would include the six-foot-long giant green iguana captured recently just west of the city.