Publications

As signed by the Chesapeake Executive Council on August 18, 2020, the Statement in Support of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice reaffirms the commitment of the Chesapeake Bay Program to the just and inclusive engagement of all communities living throughout the watershed. Recognizing that the word “citizen” if not inclusive of all who reside, work and recreate in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Chesapeake Executive Council approved the following modifications to address the use of the word “citizen” in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

View document [PDF, 1.2 MB] Edited Watershed Agreement

The data in Bay Barometer reflect the Chesapeake Bay’s health over the course of many years and, in some cases, decades. The publication offers a snapshot of the best available information from 2017 and 2018 on ecological health and our efforts to protect and restore the nation’s largest estuary, as well as our progress toward achieving the goals and outcomes of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

View document [PDF, 22.7 MB] Bay Barometer: Health and Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (2017-2018)

This PowerPoint is designed for audiences that have some background in watershed implementation plans and knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL). It will inform them about the co-benefits associated with implementing certain conservation practices. The majority of these practices not only help in meeting your state’s water quality goals under the Bay TMDL, but also can meet other restoration goals not only for the Chesapeake Bay, but for the local waterways in your community. These conservation practices can benefit you and your community by providing economic and public health benefits; your state by helping to meet their goals for reducing nutrient pollution; and your local waterways by helping with their restoration and protection.

View document [PPTX, 13.6 MB] Including co-benefits in Phase III Watershed Implementation Plans (PowerPoint)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided expectations for the Phase I and Phase II Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) in 2009 and 2011, respectively, for the seven Chesapeake Bay watershed jurisdictions to demonstrate reasonable assurance that those allocations assigned to the jurisdictions would be achieved and maintained, and that the 2017 targets would be achieved. Through signing the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the jurisdictions reaffirmed their commitment to achieving these goals by 2025. In recent discussions, the jurisdictions remain committed to the 2025 goal.

View document [PDF, 318.2 KB] EPA's Phase III WIP Expectations

Three decades after the Chesapeake Bay Program was formed, its partners have recommitted to restoring the watershed by signing the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

View document [PDF, 1.6 MB] Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement

Land Use Options Evaluation Outcome: By the end of 2017, with the direct involvement of local governments or their representatives, evaluate policy options, incentives and planning tools that could assist them in continually improving their capacity to reduce the rate of conversion of agricultural lands, forests and wetlands as well as the rate of changing landscapes from more natural lands that soak up pollutants to those that are paved over, hardscaped or otherwise impervious. Strategies should be developed for supporting local governments’ and others’ efforts in reducing these rates by 2025 and beyond.

View document [PDF, 603.3 KB] Land Use Options Evaluation Outcome Justification

Land Use Methods and Metrics Outcome: Continually improve the knowledge of land conversion and the associated impacts throughout the watershed. By 2016, develop a watershed-wide methodology and local-level metrics for characterizing the rate of farmland, forest, and wetland conversion, measuring the extent and rate of change in impervious surface coverage and quantifying the potential impacts of land conversion to water quality, healthy watersheds, and communities. Launch a public awareness campaign to share this information with local governments, elected officials, and stakeholders.

View document [PDF, 419.0 KB] Land Use Methods and Metrics Outcome Justification

Diversity Outcome: Identify minority stakeholder groups that are not currently represented in the leadership, decision making and implementation of current conservation and restoration activities and create meaningful opportunities and programs to recruit and engage them in the Partnership’s efforts.

View document [PDF, 629.1 KB] Diversity Outcome Justification

Adaptation Outcome: Continually pursue, design and construct restoration and protection projects to enhance the resiliency of the Bay and aquatic ecosystems from the impacts of coastal erosion, coastal flooding, more intense and more frequent storms and sea level rise.

View document [PDF, 538.6 KB] Adaptation Outcome Justification

Monitoring and Assessment Outcome: Continually monitor and assess the trends and likely impacts of changing climatic and sea level conditions on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, including the effectiveness of restoration and protection policies, programs and projects.

View document [PDF, 523.5 KB] Monitoring and Assessment Outcome Justification