Federal, state and local officials representing the multi-jurisdictional Chesapeake Bay Program kicked off the Chesapeake 2000 project by urging environmentalists, legislators, boaters, fishermen, river enthusiasts, tributary team members, local government officials, businesses and interested citizens to voice their opinions on the most important issues facing the Bay and river clean-up effort beyond the year 2000. The public's responses will factor into a new Chesapeake Bay Agreement to be signed in the summer of 2000.

"What people do on the land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed has a direct impact on the water quality and living resources of the Bay," said John R. Griffin, secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the chair of the Bay Program's Principals' Staff Committee. "As we look toward the next century, we need the ideas, support and commitment of citizens, businesses and interest groups in order to protect and preserve this treasured resource."

To help guide the public through this initial step of the Chesapeake 2000 project, officials released a new report, Listening to the People, which summarizes the 12 issues identified in surveys earlier this year as the top challenges to the regional Bay restoration effort. The report also lists specific commitments that citizens have proposed and asks for additional feedback from the public. Listening to the People is available by calling 1-800-YOUR-BAY or on the Bay Program website.

"Garnering the political support to aggressively address threats to the health of the Bay will require the compelling voices of the people," said Ann Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission and a member of the Bay Program's Principals' Staff Committee. "I urge every citizen to communicate their interests and to help us guide Bay and river restoration efforts into the 21st century."

The original Chesapeake Bay Agreement, signed in 1983, created the Chesapeake Bay Program, a cooperative, voluntary partnership working to improve water quality in the entire Bay region. The partners are Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The second Bay Agreement, adopted in 1987 and amended in 1992, established the overall vision and framework for the restoration and protection of the Bay. Many of the original goals and commitments in the 1987 Bay Agreement were indexed to the year 2000, and many of the original restoration milestones have been achieved.

"The 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement was a milestone. It set the standard for watershed restoration programs around the world. Now, it's time to renew that famous agreement and tackle some of the toughest issues we've ever faced," said W. Michael McCabe, Region III administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a member of the Bay Program's Principals' Staff Committee.

As part of the briefing on Chesapeake 2000, officials from a Baltimore-based nonprofit environmental organization, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, outlined many of the emerging challenges facing the Bay Program in the new Chesapeake Renewal Findings Report. The Alliance lists growth management, education for behavior change and nutrient reduction as the top three issues that should be the focus of restoration efforts beyond the year 2000. The findings are based on interviews with a number of government and environmental leaders and focus groups and are the result of almost 1,000 surveys completed by residents of the Chesapeake Bay region. "Our report is the first comprehensive evaluation of the Bay restoration effort based on public observations and feedback," said Frances Flanigan, executive director of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. "Our findings are a baseline for what the public thinks should be addressed in the new Bay Agreement."