Annapolis, Md. (August 28, 2002) – The Chesapeake Bay Program today released its State of the Chesapeake Bay, a 58-page report on the cooperative efforts working to protect and restore North America's largest estuary. The report is an in-depth look into current environmental conditions throughout the region and provides opportunities to involve every resident of the Bay watershed in the restoration effort.
"Since 1983, the Chesapeake Bay Program's success has relied on the support and assistance of those living and working in all parts of the watershed," said Chesapeake Executive Council Chair and District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams. "We hope that this report will show individual citizens that we need their help to protect and restore the Bay and its rivers."
The State of the Chesapeake Bay highlights the protection and restoration efforts made since the Chesapeake 2000 agreement was adopted by Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission in June 2000. The agreement and its 103 commitments serve as a blueprint for the Bay's restoration over the next 10 years.
The report, regularly published by the Chesapeake Bay Program since 1985, follows the framework of the Chesapeake 2000 agreement, and focuses on improving water quality, protecting vital habitats, encouraging sound land use, engaging communities in restoration and protection activities, and improving and protecting the Bay's living resources.
"Bay Program partners have made real progress over the past two decades by bringing together diverse groups of stakeholders to develop policies and programs aimed at bringing back the Bay," said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Don Welsh. "While a great deal has been accomplished by federal, state and local governments, universities and conservation organizations, the report highlights the need to further expand and strengthen partnerships to tackle the multitude of problems facing the Bay and its watershed."
The State of the Chesapeake Bay – Executive Summary
The State of the Chesapeake Bay: A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region
Posted: 8-28-2002
