A Critical Path Forward for the Chesapeake Bay Program Beyond 2025
- Published:
- October 24, 2024
- Categorized in:
- Report
- Associated with:
- Management Board and Beyond 2025 Steering Committee
At its 2022 annual meeting, the Chesapeake Executive Council tasked the Principals' Staff Committee with assessing progress on the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and outlining next steps for the Chesapeake Bay Program beyond 2025. A Steering Committee, comprised of representatives from various stakeholders, began to convene monthly in June 2023 to develop recommendations. These recommendations are focused on providing a scope of work, or next steps, for the Chesapeake Bay Program as it prepares for the next chapter in its partnership beyond 2025. They emphasize collaboration and aim to enhance efforts in science, conservation and partnership to ensure a healthy and sustainable Chesapeake Bay.
In Part I of this report, the Steering Committee offers two overarching recommendations for consideration by the Management Board and the Principals’ Staff Committee for elevation to the Chesapeake Executive Council. The Steering Committee concludes that the Chesapeake Bay Program, under the guidance of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, continues to deliver valuable progress, locally, throughout the watershed and for the Chesapeake Bay itself. To accomplish further progress while addressing the latest scientific data and emerging challenges, the Steering Committee has identified several additional recommendations for improving efforts in the areas of Science, Conservation and Restoration, and Partnership. These additional recommendations, found in Part II of this report, require more detail and, in the Steering Committee’s view, merit further exploration by the Chesapeake Bay Program. Many of the recommendations proposed by the Steering Committee in Part II can be pursued within the partnership’s existing processes for prioritizing and strategizing efforts. The Steering Committee recommends consideration of all recommendations in this report.