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 the data available in 2000, DCR staff estimated 2,216,236 acres to already be under such protection. A quality control check conducted by DCR in November 2007 revealed, however, that that number was too great by nearly 121,000 acres. Almost all of the difference is attributable to our inclusion of 116,511 acres of George Washington National Forest land in West Virginia.

Adjusting for the difference, here's where it stands. Thus far 2,406,106 acres in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay watershed are permanently protected; 359,106 remain to be protected to reach to 2010 goal.

Please click on the links below for further details.

• Nov. 16, 2007, memo from DCR Director Joseph H. Maroon regarding the correction in number of acres protected in the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Watershed
• DCR Natural Heritage Program Director Tom Smith's Nov. 16, 2007, memo, which has a more detailed explanation of the correction (PDF)