In the year 2000, an ambitious multi-state, multi-jurisdictional agreement was signed, as the states of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia committed themselves to a renewed 10-year effort to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Recently, West Virginia agreed to commit to meeting the goals of the Chesapeake 2000 agreement, as well, and now routinely participates in EPA Chesapeake Bay Program activities.
As the nation’s largest estuary, supporting more than 3,600 species of plants, fish and animals, the Chesapeake Bay has long been one of the most important and productive watersheds in the world. The watershed itself encompasses around 7,000 square miles, and includes parts of six states (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia. More than 15 million people live in its basin, and more than 100,000 streams and rivers drain into the Bay. Today, the Chesapeake Bay is suffering from the pollution carried into its waters every day, and its future health is by no means assured with growing populations and the urbanization of our landscape. However, with defined and concrete goals with targeted timelines, it is hoped that by the year 2010, Chesapeake Bay will be on the road to recovery.
The C2K agreement — signed by the governors of Virginia, Maryland Pennsylvania, and the mayor of the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and the EPA — is focused on coordinating and integrating restoration efforts to bring about the bay’s recovery. There are over 100 specific commitments identified in the agreement. They are impressive and concrete in nature and include the following:
Increase native oysters 10-fold by 2010.
Achieve no-net loss of wetlands, and a net gain by restoring 25,000 acres of tidal and non-tidal wetlands.
Plant riparian buffer strips along 2010 miles of waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by 2010.
Work with local governments, community groups and watershed organizations to develop and implement locally supported watershed management plans in two-thirds of the Bay watershed.
Correct all nutrient-related problems in the Chesapeake Bay to remove the Bay from the “impaired waters” list for nutrients.
Reduce the amount of sediment entering the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers sufficiently to remove the Bay from the “impaired waters” list by 2010.
Reduce the rate of conversion of forest and agricultural lands to harmful sprawl by 30 percent by 2010.
Make public awareness and personal involvement a Bay Program priority. Starting with the class of 2005, give every student an outdoor Bay or tributary educational experience before high school graduation.
Attaining these goals and the others in the agreement will require fierce dedication, cooperation and action.
DCR is committed to fulfilling its role in the agreement by developing a watershed management planning guide for local governments and watershed organizations to help local governments and community groups effectively manage their natural resources on a watershed basis. Five DCR Chesapeake Bay watershed offices are committed to working at the grass-roots level integrating and coordinating the planning, funding, and programs needed to meet the goals of the C2K agreement.
DCR also continues to promote, support, and provide technical and funding assistance to landowners, farmers, and homeowners in their efforts to reduce and control nonpoint source pollution in the state’s waterways.
