Taking a major step toward charting the course for Chesapeake Bay preservation and restoration efforts in the new millennium, the Chesapeake Bay Program Executive Council, chaired by Governor Parris N. Glendening, today signed a directive called Chesapeake 2000. The directive will measure progress, develop innovative ways to address current problems, and construct a plan to meet the challenges of the next century.

"We have come a long way since the original Chesapeake Bay agreement was signed in 1983, and have made significant progress both in cleaning up the Bay and in improving our scientific understanding of how this complex ecosystem works," Governor Glendening said. "Our goal is to sign a new Bay Agreement on Earth Day, in the year 2000, that will build on our current accomplishments and guide our restoration efforts into the 21st Century."

With more than 350 high school students participating, the Council also kicked off a new, watershed-focused Education Initiative that will bring information on restoration initiatives and scientific studies directly into classrooms in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. This initiative also will include a Bay Education Summit next year that will bring together the best minds from across the watershed to improve Bay education for all children from kindergarten through grade 12.

"This initiative will help educate our young people about their communities, their environment and how they can make a difference in restoring and preserving the Chesapeake Bay," said EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner. "An informed and involved public is vital to protect public health and the environment in the Bay region for generations to come."

The Executive Council also adopted a Community Watershed Initiative, which will increase the emphasis on watershed restoration, planning and management on a local watershed level.

"The daily lives of citizens, throughout the watershed, in their homes, neighborhoods and communities have an impact on the Chesapeake Bay," Governor Glendening said. "Just as Maryland's Tributary Teams have successfully focused attention and effort on solving problems on a tributary by tributary basis, this initiative is designed to encourage local efforts to promote watershed restoration in communities and neighborhoods throughout the Chesapeake Bay region."

Other actions taken today by the Executive Council include:

• Approval of a directive on development of new technologies to address concentrated animal operations, air quality, ballast water and efficient development patterns;

• Approval of a directive calling for a coordinated regional effort to manage the use and transport of animal waste; and

• Adoption of two fishery management documents, the 1998 Chesapeake Bay Tautog Fishery Management Plan and Guidelines for Developing and Revising Chesapeake Bay Fishery Management Plans.

The Chesapeake Bay Executive Council is comprised of Maryland Governor Glendening, Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore III, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry Jr., Chesapeake Bay Commission Chairman Del. John F. Wood Jr., and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol M. Browner.