Chesapeake Bay Watershed Report
Last year, leaders from Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania signed Chesapeake 2000, a conservation agreement that included a pledge to protect 20 percent of the bay's watershed by 2010 as a way to improve water quality and ecosystem health. Following the agreement, the Chesapeake Bay Commission (CBC) asked The Trust for Public Land to evaluate how that goal might be met. The commission is comprised of legislators and natural resource leaders from the states around the bay.
In 2001 TPL and CBC released Keeping Our Commitment, Preserving Land in the Chesapeake Watershed, based on TPL's research. The report concludes that 1.1 million acres will need to be protected to meet the 20 percent conservation goal. It discusses conservation achievements and successful protection programs in the three states, along with possible funding strategies for new conservation.