• Scale: Ecosystem perspective (watershed and estuary).
• Collaboration: Inclusion of a variety of decision-makers and stakeholders in the organizational structure and process.
• Adaptive Management: Investment in long-term ecological monitoring.
• Adaptive Management: Commitment to adaptive management.

Mission

As a regulatory mandated program, the “mission” of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is stated by the most recent Agreement. The Chesapeake 2000 Agreement states: “By this Agreement, we commit ourselves to nurture and sustain a Chesapeake Bay Watershed Partnership and to achieve the goals set forth in the subsequent sections. Without such Partnership, future challenges will not be met. With it, the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay will be ensured for generations to come.”

Objectives

The primary objectives of the CBP are:

• Protect and restore fisheries
• Protect and restore vital aquatic habitats
• Protect and restore water quality
• Maintain healthy watersheds
• Foster Chesapeake stewardship
• Enhance partnering, leadership and management

Lead Organizations

Key Parties

Headwater State Partners

• State of Delaware
• State of New York
• State of West Virginia

Federal Agency Partners

• U.S. Department of Agriculture (NRCS, National Arboretum, USFS, Farm Service Agency, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service)
• U.S. Department of Commerce (NOAA, NMFS, NWF, National Ocean Service, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory)
• U.S. Department of Defense (U.S. Department of the Navy, U.S Department of the Army, U.S. Department of the Air Force, Defense Logistics Agency)
• U.S. Department of Education
• U.S. Department of the Interior (USGS, NPS, USFWS)
• U.S. Department of Transportation
• U.S. Postal Service
• U.S. General Services Administration
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Capital Planning Commission

Academic Partners

• Academy of Natural Sciences
• Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC)
• College of William and Mary: Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
• Cornell Cooperative Extension (New York)
• Old Dominion University: Department of Biological Sciences; Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography
• Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)
• Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
• University of Delaware Cooperative Extension
• University of the District of Columbia
• University of Maryland

          o Regional Earth Science Applications Center

          o Department of Environmental Science and Technology

          o College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

          o University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES)

                + UMCES Appalachian Laboratory

                + UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL)

                + UMCES Horn Point Laboratory

                + Chesapeake Bay Observation System (CBOS)

                + Maryland Sea Grant Program

                + UMCES Agricultural Nutrient Management

                + University of Maryland's Maryland Water Resources Center

• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Virginia: Virginia SeaGrant Program
• Virginia Cooperative Extension Office
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• West VirginiaUniversity: West Virginia Extension Service

Other Partners

• Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (ACB)
• American Forests
• Anacostia Watershed Society
• Center for Chesapeake Communities (CCC)
• Center for Watershed Protection (CWP)
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF)
• Chesapeake BayTrust
• Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
• Ducks Unlimited
• Ecosystem Solutions
• International City/County Management Association: Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN)
• Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB)
• Low Impact Development Center
• Metropolitan Washington Council of Government (MWCOG)
• Montgomery County Environmental Protection
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• Potomac Conservancy
• Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC)
• Upper Susquehanna Coalition

Each of the Bay Program partners agrees to use its own resources to implement projects and activities that advance Bay restoration. The partnership defines its collective actions through formal, voluntary agreements and provides general policy direction through consensus documents, typically called directives.

Although all of the agreements are entered into voluntarily, they may result in mandatory actions. For example, the general agreement to reduce phosphorus was supported through state-mandated bans on phosphates in laundry detergent. Other actions, such as the forest buffer goal, are entirely voluntary, relying on partner advocacy, funding and ability to work with willing landowners. 

• Chesapeake Executive Council. The original signatories of the 1983 Chesapeake Bay Agreement; made up of the Governors of MD, PA, and VA; the mayor of Washington D.C.; the EPA Administrator; and the chair of the Chesapeake Bay Commission.
• Chesapeake Bay Program Office. Day-to-day operation of the partnership is held in the Chesapeake Bay Program Office, located in Annapolis, Maryland. The Bay Program Office houses the Bay Program's permanent staff, which includes federal, state and non-government employees. The office was mandated to support the Executive Council “by implementing and coordinating science, research, modeling, support services, monitoring, data collections and other activities that support the Chesapeake Bay Program.”
• Principals’ Staff Committee (PSC). Just below the Executive Council in the organizational hierarchy, the PSC is composed primarily of cabinet-level representatives from the state and District of Columbia, EPA’s regional administration, a representative from the Bay Commission, and the Bay Program Office’s Director. This group serves as advisors to the Executive Council members.
• Reporting to the Executive Council & PSC are the Citizen’s Advisory Committee, Local Government Advisory Committee, Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, and the Management Board.
• Management Board. Composed of senior managers from each of the partners, chairs of Program’s subcommittees, federal agency representatives, and other restoration leaders. It directs and coordinates the goal implementation teams and workgroups that work below it.

For more than 300 years, Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries have sustained the region’s economy and defined its traditions and culture. The estimated value of the Bay is $29 billion per year. However, pollution, over-harvesting, development pressure and habitat loss have contributed to the degradation of they Bay and its watershed. As such, the Chesapeake Bay was the nation’s first estuary targeted by Congress for restoration and protection. Since the 1980s, program partners have signed several agreements to guide pollution reduction and restoration in the Bay.

Early History & Formation of the Bay Program

In the late 1970s, U.S. Senator Charles “Mac” Mathias (R-MD) sponsored a congressionally funded $27 million, five-year study to analyze the rapid loss of wildlife and aquatic life in the Bay. Excess nutrient pollution was determined to be the primary source of ecosystem degradation. This study was published in the early 1980s and led to the creation of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) as the means to restore the Bay.

Chesapeake Bay Agreements

• 1983 Chesapeake Bay Agreement: The original agreement was a simple, one-page pledge by the initial partners (known as the Chesapeake Executive Council).
• 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement: The Executive Council signed a goal to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous entering the bay by 40 percent by the year 2000. Such agreement to numeric goals was considered to be unprecedented. In 1992, the agreement was amended to target upstream nutrient sources as well as to reevaluate the Basinwide Toxics Reduction Strategy. In 1994, federal officials from 25 agencies and departments signed the “Agreement of Federal Agencies on Ecosystem Management in the Chesapeake Bay” to identify specific goals and commitments.
• Chesapeake 2000 Agreement: Signed in June of 2000, the agreement outlines restoration and protection efforts for the next decade. The governors of New York and Delaware formally commit to water quality goals by signing a multi-jurisdictional memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Executive Council. The West Virginia governor signed the MOU in 2002.

The Ecosystem

The Chesapeake Bay is North America’s most productive estuary, and one of the world’s largest such systems. Freshwater and saltwater meet to provide habitat for more than 3,600 species of plants, fish, and animals. The Bay is a critical nursery ground for aquatic species, supporting more than 500 finfish and shellfish species. The estuary also serves as part of the Atlantic Flyway as a critical stopover for migratory birds and waterfowl.

Threats

• Sea-level rise and climate change: These forces change habitat suitability, which directly affects trophic interactions in the ecological community. With such changes, spawning and nursery streams are at risk due to increases salinity from increased sea-level. Aquatic temperature change can alter marine cycles and yield oxygen stresses (anoxia and hypoxia). 
• Upland Development: In adapting to changing conditions, many species lack an inland migration route due to upland development. With over 16 million people living in the Bay’s watershed, the land is subject to immense development pressures. Related shoreline hardening and modification alters the hydrology of the estuary by removing buffering systems.
• Air & Water Pollution: Nutrient, sediment, and chemical contaminants become concentrated in the Bay due to overland runoff and atmospheric deposition. The accumulation of such nutrients in the Bay increases algal growth, directly affecting oxygen content in the Bay’s waters and can drastically alter the system. Agricultural non-point source runoff (manures and chemical fertilizers) accounts for an estimated 39 percent of the Bay’s nutrient concentration. Municipal and industrial wastewaters contribute an estimated 20 percent and the atmosphere contributes an estimated 19 percent of the Bay’s nutrients.
• Overfishing: The Bay and its tributaries provide rich grounds for commercial and recreational catches. Overfishing, pollution and disease now threaten many fish and shellfish. Fisheries of concern include blue crabs, oysters, American shad, Atlantic menhaden and striped bass.
• Invasive Species: Non-native, invasive species are introduced purposefully and accidentally to ecosystem and may crowd out native species. Invaders in the Bay include mute swan, nutria, phragmites, purple loosestrife, water chestnut and the notorious zebra mussel.
• Dams: In-stream obstructions such as dams limit migratory fish in completing the reproductive phase of their life history. Without effective fish passage infrastructure, these dams make upstream habitats unavailable. Additionally, the risk of dam failure brings the risk of catastrophic sediment release. 

The Chesapeake Bay Program(CBP) guides restoration by adopting specific agreements, directives, management plans that include goals, objectives, and recommendations that are used by Bay Program states.

Long-term Restoration Investment by the Federal Government:

The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is the nation’s first and largest estuarine restoration and protection initiative. Over the years, millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on researching and rehabilitating the system. Not only is the Bay a fundamental component of the region in which our nation’s capital sits, it has become a symbol of the difficulties of large-scale restoration efforts.

In May 2010, the President Obama announced a new federal strategy for the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. Introduced via Executive Order, the “Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” declared the Chesapeake Bay a national treasure and promises a new era of shared federal leadership, action and accountability. 

Chesapeake Bay Program Website: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/

Chesapeake Executive Order, May 2010: http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net/

Chesapeake Bay Organizational Framework: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/about/organized