Press Center

Researchers from the Chesapeake Bay Program, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, University of Michigan and U.S. Geological Survey announced today that they are predicting this year’s Chesapeake Bay dead zone to be just above the long-term average taken between 1985 and 2023, despite above-average rainfall in spring 2024 that led to relatively high water flows entering the Bay from around the watershed. Experts also noted that the dead zone likely began earlier this year due to warmer-than-normal temperatures throughout the spring as well as weaker winds.

In 2023, partners working across the Chesapeake Bay watershed restored 640.5 miles of forest buffers, the highest number of new forest buffers restored since 2016.

The Chesapeake Bay Program announced today that efforts to restore healthy oyster reefs in 10 Chesapeake Bay tributaries by 2025 are on track to be achieved. In the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, Chesapeake Bay Program partners, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VRMC), as well as several nonprofit organizations and academic institutions, committed to restore native oyster habitat and populations in 10 tributaries by 2025 and ensure their protection.

The ninth annual Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week will take place from June 1-9, 2024. The Chesapeake Bay Commission first championed the idea of a weeklong celebration of the nation’s largest estuary in 2016. While the week is officially designated in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, events recognizing this critical economic and environmental resource will take place throughout the watershed.

The Chesapeake Bay Program announced today that the seven jurisdictions that make up the Chesapeake Bay watershed–Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia–continue to make progress in reducing the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution that is flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

On Thursday, October 19, 2023, the Chesapeake Executive Council will hold a public meeting and press event where they will reflect on the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the past 40 years to inform the next phase of watershed restoration.

Please join the Chesapeake Bay Program and NFWF in celebrating the partnership’s 40th anniversary! The following organizations will be leading tours to show how their restoration projections are helping to improve their local waterways while contributing to the Watershed Agreement outcomes.

Please join the Chesapeake Bay Program and NFWF in celebrating the partnership’s 40th anniversary! The following organizations will be leading tours to show how their restoration projections are helping to improve their local waterways while contributing to the Watershed Agreement outcomes.

The Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Assessment Committee is pleased to release Achieving Water Quality Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: A Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response. This independent report has been four years in the making to evaluate why progress meeting the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load and achieving healthy water quality standards in the Bay has been slower than expected. The report also identifies opportunities for improving the effectiveness of the Bay Program’s water quality management programs and living resource response. Authors of the report will be on hand to present an overview of findings and answer questions.

On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the Chesapeake Executive Council will hold a public meeting and press event where they will discuss accelerating progress to meet the goals and outcomes of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement by 2025. Additionally, the council will hear a presentation from retiring Chesapeake Bay Commission Executive Director Ann Swanson, an update on the State of the Program from Chesapeake Bay Program Director Dr. Kandis Boyd and each member will provide remarks. More detailed information can be found on the October 2022 Executive Council meeting website.

Leadership and scientists from the Chesapeake Bay Program will join the York County Planning Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey Pennsylvania Water Science Center on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 in celebration of the Watershed Alliance of York’s 20th annual Watershed Week.

On Wednesday, December 15, 2021, the Chesapeake Executive Council will hold a public meeting and press event where they will hear an update on the activities that have taken place since the signing of the historic diversity, equity, inclusion and justice directive in 2020. Additionally, the council will review the partnership's progress toward achieving each outcome in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement by 2025, and each member or designee will provide remarks. More detailed information can be found on the December 2021 Executive Council meeting website.

On Friday, October 1, 2021, the Chesapeake Executive Council will hold a public meeting and press event during which the council will announce the adoption of a climate change directive for the Chesapeake Bay Program. Additionally, members of the Executive Council will have the opportunity to give remarks about how climate change is impacting their region and what measures they are taking to address it. Prior to the meeting, council members will be joined by Pamela Northam, First Lady of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and subject matter experts from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia for an environmental education experience on the Lynnhaven River. More detailed information will be forthcoming on the 2021 Executive Council meeting's website.

Members of the media and other interested parties are invited to join Chesapeake Bay Program staff on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. EST to learn more about this regional partnership. This virtual webinar is free and open to all.

On Wednesday, September 16, 2020, the Chesapeake Bay Program's Citizens Advisory Committee will host "Bridging the Gaps Between Environmental Quality and Public Health", a live webinar that seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the connections between the two fields. This virtual session is free and open to all.