Photo by Wendy Crowe, submitted to the 2017 Maryland DNR Photo Contest
The long-term effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay has made steady progress, and there is still more work to do.
We’re on track to complete or have already completed more than half of the outcomes we set for ourselves in 2014, when all seven watershed jurisdictions (six states and DC), the federal government, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission signed the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. At the time we committed to achieving 31 varied and critical Bay restoration outcomes beyond meeting the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) by 2025.
Importantly, 2025 was a deadline, but not the finish line. At the end of last year, the Chesapeake Bay Program Executive Committee – chaired by Maryland Governor Wes Moore – determined to update these goals. After working for the first half of the year to make these revisions, a draft of the revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement is available for the public to provide input on before the Executive Council finalizes the document.
The draft Agreement revisions lay out the next steps, informed by where we are now and everything we’ve learned in the past decade. This sets us up as a partnership to improve as we go.
Overall, we recognized the need for both interim and long-term targets to grade the partnership. And we should be ready to adapt and respond to new challenges, such as the damaging impact of invasive species and changes in water temperature, that may not have been prominent or priorities when the 2014 Agreement’s goals were set.
Some of the high-level changes include:
- Focusing on four thematic goals – healthy landscapes, clean water, engaged communities, and thriving habitat and wildlife.
- Consolidating the previous 31 outcomes to 21 proposed outcomes, reflecting a greater emphasis on collaboration and synergy to streamline our work
- Adding a Workforce outcome to grow the social and economic impact of watershed restoration.
- Elevating conservation as a pillar of the Program, in addition to science, restoration, and partnership.
- Renewing our commitment to achieve clean water and support thriving living resources to the benefit of all communities across the watershed.
- Many more updates to reflect our state and regional priorities.
These revisions also are guided by the 2023 Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR) Report, which was published by leading Chesapeake Bay scientists. As we continue to improve science and monitoring technology, our restoration goals should be ready to adapt with them.
We also recognize this revised Agreement has to be not only achievable but understandable. One of the main efforts in these revisions was to streamline the Agreement and ensure that the people who live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed can see how they benefit from and can advance the outcomes.
In Maryland, following Gov. Moore’s example and leadership, we are bringing as many people to table as possible. Most importantly, we want to hear if this draft misses anything that is valued in our communities.
The public is invited to provide feedback on the draft revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement between July 1 and September 1, 2025, by emailing comments@chesapeakebay.net. We are also hosting public events throughout Maryland, so keep an eye out for one near you. Feedback received will be posted online by the Chesapeake Bay Program and reviewed by a team of subject matter experts within the partnership who will make recommendations to incorporate the input.
Any changes to this draft of the Watershed Agreement will be finalized by Chesapeake Bay Program leadership through the end of 2025.
The partnership approach has always been essential for success in the long-term restoration of the ecosystem all across the watershed’s 64,000-square-mile area, and it endures because we work in consensus. While we may have different jurisdictions whose priorities and budget realities may change with time, we still follow the science and work together to establish a combined, strategic, and accountable approach to and achieve our higher priorities.
When it comes to the Chesapeake Bay, our goal is making meaningful and tangible change together.
Josh Kurtz is Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
