Key Players in the Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest of 130 estuaries in the United States—its watershed covers 64,000 square miles and extends to six states (New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, and Maryland) and the District of Columbia. This summary analysis examines some of the environmental restoration efforts and reviews the primary stakeholders associated with the Chesapeake Bay, highlighting the formation and implementation of programs and policies. The Bay impacts economic, social and political areas of life including maritime and fishing activities, domestic and international transportation, wastewater facilities, hydroelectric plants and nuclear power plants, and national defense interests as well as recreation. Although the Chesapeake Bay's environmental condition may have improved slightly in some aspects over the past thirty years, the region's increased population density and land use, clearly, have impacted the Bay adversely. Today, more than 40% of all land in the region has been altered due to agricultural, commercial and residential development. Primary pollutants and ecological challenges include nutrient pollution; toxic chemicals; air pollution; landscape changes; sedimentation; overharvesting of marine life, i.e. oysters, crabs and fishes; exotic species (organisms not indigenous to the area); and threats to humans (Pfiesteria piscicida, Cryptosporidium parvum, exposure to toxins, and water pollution are the most prevalent concerns).