Why Isn the Chesapeake Bay in the National Estuary Program?
The Chesapeake Bay is protected under its own federally mandated program, separate but related to the National Estuary Program. In fact, the approach and methods of the National Estuary Program developed from the foundation laid by earlier efforts to protect the largest estuary in the United States — the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake was the first estuary in the United States to be targeted for restoration and protection. In 1983 the Governors of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the EPA Administrator signed the Chesapeake Bay Agreement committing their states and the District of Columbia to prepare plans for protecting and improving water quality and living resources in the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Program evolved as the institutional mechanism to restore the Bay and meet the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreements. The Program guides and coordinates multi-state and multi-agency activities. The Chesapeake Bay Program raised awar
