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Chesapeake Bay Conservation

Updated 06/10/2008

Chesapeake Bay Conservation - image of structureThe Chesapeake Bay Watershed is the largest estuary in North America and encompasses part of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia. Agriculture and non-federal forested lands account for more than half of the land use in the Bay watershed. 

NRCS provides technical assistance to farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to plan and apply conservation practices to improve water quality, restore wetlands, and enhance wildlife habitat.  Financial assistance is provided through Farm Bill programs to help implement these practices.

Agriculture has been doing its part to improve natural resource conditions in the Bay watershed. Farmers are planting stream buffers for cleaner water, fencing cattle out of streams, properly managing manure, and installing other conservation practices.


For more information on conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed:
Delaware
New York
Virginia
Maryland
West Virginia
Pennsylvania

 

NEW!  USDA-NRCS Provides $5 Million in Conservation Innovation Grants to Protect Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed 

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2008—U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Arlen Lancaster announced that $5 million will be used to fund 11 innovative projects in 6 states to protect water quality, recycle nutrients and improve wildlife habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed through Conservation Innovation Grants in fiscal year 2008.
 

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NEW! Conserving Natural Resources in the Chesapeake Bay: NRCS 2007 Conservation Activities (PDF; 535KB)

Chesapeake Bay and Agriculture Conservation Resource Brief (PDF; 787KB)