The
Chesapeake Bay Program is the regional partnership that directs and conducts the restoration of the
Chesapeake BayThe Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's watershed covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia...
. As a partnership, the Chesapeake Bay Program brings together members of various state, federal, academic and local
watershedA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
organizations to build and adopt policies that support Chesapeake Bay restoration. By combining the resources and unique strengths of each individual organization, the Chesapeake Bay Program is able to follow a unified plan for restoration.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Congress funded scientific and estuarine research of the Chesapeake Bay, which pinpointed three areas that required immediate attention:
- toxic pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms . Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light...
- nutrient
A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. Nutrients are the substances that enrich the body. They build and repair tissues, give heat and energy, and regulate body processes...
over-enrichment
- dwindling underwater bay grasses
In 1983, the governors of
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
and
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
; the mayor of the District of Columbia; and the administrator of the
United States Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged to regulate chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land...
signed
The Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983 http://www.chesapeakebay.net/pubs/1983ChesapeakeBayAgreement.pdf.
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The
Chesapeake Bay Program is the regional partnership that directs and conducts the restoration of the
Chesapeake BayThe Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's watershed covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia...
. As a partnership, the Chesapeake Bay Program brings together members of various state, federal, academic and local
watershedA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
organizations to build and adopt policies that support Chesapeake Bay restoration. By combining the resources and unique strengths of each individual organization, the Chesapeake Bay Program is able to follow a unified plan for restoration.
History
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Congress funded scientific and estuarine research of the Chesapeake Bay, which pinpointed three areas that required immediate attention:
- toxic pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms . Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light...
- nutrient
A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. Nutrients are the substances that enrich the body. They build and repair tissues, give heat and energy, and regulate body processes...
over-enrichment
- dwindling underwater bay grasses
In 1983, the governors of
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
and
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
; the mayor of the District of Columbia; and the administrator of the
United States Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged to regulate chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land...
signed
The Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983 http://www.chesapeakebay.net/pubs/1983ChesapeakeBayAgreement.pdf. From this act the Chesapeake Bay Program was formed.
Evolution
Since the signing of
The Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983, the Chesapeake Bay Program has adopted two additional agreements that provide overall guidance for Chesapeake Bay restoration.
- The 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement http://www.chesapeakebay.net/pubs/199.pdf established the Chesapeake Bay Program's goal to reduce the amount of nutrients--primarily nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.Many industrially important...
and phosphorusPhosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate rocks. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms - white phosphorus and red phosphorus...
--that enter the Chesapeake Bay by 40 percent by 2000. In 1992, the Chesapeake Bay Program partners agreed to continue the 40 percent reduction goal beyond 2000 and to attack nutrients at their source: upstream, in the Chesapeake Bay's tributaries.
- In June 2000, the Chesapeake Bay Program adopted Chesapeake 2000 http://www.chesapeakebay.net/pubs/chesapeake2000agreement.pdf, an agreement intended to guide restoration activities throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed through 2010. Chesapeake 2000 also provided the opportunity for Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named.Delaware is located in...
, New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
to become more involved in the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership. These headwater states now work with the Chesapeake Bay Program to reduce nutrients and sedimentSediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow, and which eventually is deposited.Sediments are most often transported by water transported by wind and glaciers...
flowing into rivers from their jurisdictions.
Signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement
- Chesapeake Bay Commission
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
- Commonwealth of Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
- District of Columbia
- State of Maryland
Maryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged to regulate chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land...
Headwater State Partners
- New York State
New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- State of Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named.Delaware is located in...
- State of West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
Federal Agency Partners
Academic Institution Partners
- Academy of Natural Sciences
- Chesapeake Research Consortium
- College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
- Cornell Cooperative Extension
- Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a large public research university located in historic Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia...
- Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University is a state-related, land-grant, space grant public research university located in the University Park area and within State College and College Township in Pennsylvania, United States...
- Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazines...
- University of Delaware Cooperative Extension
- University of the District of Columbia
The University of the District of Columbia is a historically black, public university located in Washington, D.C. UDC is the only urban land-grant university in the country and a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.-History:...
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
- University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park is a public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Founded in 1856, the University of Maryland is the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland...
- University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and is one of several institutions that claims to have been the first university in America...
- University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
- Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic university in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States...
- West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
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