The original version of this post was published at PLOS One Global Health on August 20, 2018. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily represent the views of the American Association for the Advancement of Science or The Public Library of Science. 

AAAS Fellows explore the Anacostia by boat, learning about this urban river's social and environmental challenges and success stories.

I grew up on Cape Cod, in a house overlooking a salt marsh and tidal creek that were home to bluefish, striped bass, blue crabs, mussels, soft shell clams, “quahogs”, oysters, hermit crabs and fiddler crabs, not to mention the archaic and very cool horseshoe crabs. At low tide we roamed the mudflats, digging for clams and chasing fish with our nets. At dusk on full moon high tides, the bluefish and striped bass came in droves, jumping out of the water and sending my dad and uncle running across the lawn with their fishing poles.