In 2000, Virginia and several other states agreed to permanently protect from development 20 percent of the land that drains to the Chesapeake Bay. They committed to doing so by the year 2010. In Virginia, 13,831,890 acres drain to the bay, hence the commonwealth committed to protecting 2,766,378 acres.
Using data available in 2000, DCR staff estimated
that 2,216,236 acres were already under protection. A
quality control check conducted by DCR
in November 2007 revealed, however,
that that number was too great by nearly 121,000 acres. Nearly all the difference was attributable to inclusion of 116,511
acres of George Washington National Forest land in West Virginia.
Adjusting for the difference, here's where it stood on Aug. 21, 2009: 2,552,849 acres in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay watershed
are permanently protected, and 213,529 remain to be protected to
reach to 2010 goal.
Please click on the links below for further details.