Achievements
Your donations to the Chesapeake Conservancy helped us achieve:
Achievements completed in 2024
- Partnered to produce an updated mapping of Maryland’s Habitat Connectivity Network
- Significant Funding for Stream Restoration in Pennsylvania
- Maryland Meets 30% Land Conservation Goal Six Years Ahead of Schedule
- National Parks Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) Holds Hearing on the CNRA Bill
- America’s Conservation Enhancement Act (ACE) Passes Senate
- Story Map Released Which Documents 65 Sites of Black Historical Significance
- Two Segments of Turtle Creek Delisted from the Agriculturally Impaired Streams List
- EXPLORE Act Passes House of Representatives
- Passage of Maryland’s Whole Watershed Act
- Advocating for the First National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland in 26 years
- Annapolis Acquires Dr. Moore Property, Adjacent to Elktonia Beach
- Girl Scout Troop Protects East Marlton Forest
2023
- NDAA Provision Passed to Help Protect Greenbury Point
- Partner to Expand West Virginia Park Along Shenandoah River by 82 Acres
- Celebrate 10th Anniversary of the Conservation Innovation Center
- Introduction of the Chesapeake National Recreation Act
- Create First of Its Kind Chesapeake Bay Watershed Solar Mapping & Prediction
- Partner to Host Environmental Career Symposium for Charles County, Maryland, Students
- Strengthening Forest Conservation Regulations in Maryland
- Passage of the Maryland the Beautiful Act
- Successful Advocacy for Maryland’s Greenspace Equity Program Legislation
- Formalize Partnership with Susquehanna University
- Partner to Create Artificial Intelligence Deep Learning Model for Mapping Wetlands Yielding 94% Accuracy
2022
- Advocate for Successful Outcomes in FY 23 Federal Spending Package
- Support Maryland’s Most Comprehensive Tree Study
- Celebrate Advocacy Efforts that Led to Draft CNRA Legislation
- Join Bay Bridge Run as Official Charity Partner
- Partner to Conserve 300 Acres along Susquehanna River & Expand Parks
- Grant to Implement Strategy to Rapidly Restore Agriculturally Impaired Streams in Central Pennsylvania
- Awarded Grant to Support Development of Infrastructure to Attract Tourists to Cambridge, Maryland
- Momentum Built for the Chesapeake National Recreation Area
- Released Very High- Resolution Land Use/Land Cover and Change Data
- Partnered to Develop New Sandy Point State Park Nature Center with Bilingual Interpretation
- Awarded “Partner of the Year Award” by the Maryland Park Advisory Commission
- Successfully Advocated for Conservation Finance Act, the First Such State Law in the Country
- Partner with Rappahannock Tribe for their Acquisition of Sacred Land
- Advocate for Successful Passage of the Great Maryland Outdoors Act
- Partner with Blacks of the Chesapeake to Conserve Historically Black Beach, Will Become City Park
- Advocate for Successful Conservation Outcomes in FY 22 Federal Spending Package
- Second Data Scientist Joins Conservation Innovation Center
- Growing Greener Grant Will Boost Rapid Stream De-listing Effort
- TeraWulf Charitable Foundation Supports Efforts to Establish Chesapeake National Recreation Area
2021
- Partner to Create Online Tools for Landowners
- Work with Universities & Partners to Plant Forest Buffer
- Memorandum of Understanding with the Bureau of Land Management
- Partner to Preserve 270 Acres in Wicomico County
- High-Resolution Land Cover Data Produced for the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Used for Anne Arundel County Executive Green Infrastructure Master Plan
- Partner with Hispanic Access Foundation on Public Access Survey of Voters
- Conservation Innovation Study on Carbon Sequestration in Virginia
- Partnered to Highlight James River Water Quality Achievements
- Opened Oyster House Park with Partners in Seaford, DE
- Partnered to Create Nanticoke Crossing Park
- Partnered with Charles County to hire two student interns from Morgan State University
- Issued Joint Report, “Private Conservation Finance Critical to Restoring the Chesapeake Bay”
- Joined Partners to Welcome Department of Defense Secretary Hicks to the Middle Chesapeake Sentinel Landscape
- Launched New Initiative with Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Partners to Restore 30 Agriculturally-Impaired Streams by 2020
- Issued New Report on Solar Siting for St. Mary’s County
- Partnership Conserves 318 Acres in Dorchester County
- Partnered to Create First Map of Ground-Mounted Solar Arrays
- Admitted into the 2020-2022 Large Landscape Peer Learning Initiative
2020
- Successful Advocacy for Conservation Outcomes in FY21 Federal Appropriations
- First Phase of New Park Project in Seaford Begins
- Celebrated 2020 Champions of the Chesapeake
- Empowering water data monitors with technology
- Issued New Report on Solar Citing for Baltimore County & City
- Released virtual tours of Tangier Island and Pocomoke River
- New Book Includes Chesapeake Trail
- Passage of America’s Conservation Enhancement Act
- Using data to create an illustrative and interactive digital platform for endangered fish species
- Launched Partnership to Advocate for Chesapeake National Recreation Area (CNRA)
- NFWF Grant Awarded for Precision Conservation in Pennsylvania
- Launched “Chesapeake Conversations” Podcast
- Co-hosted with Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: Earthshot: Democratizing Data to Protect 30% of the Planet by 2030
- Released study on park mobility during COVID-19
- Identified Land Essential to Drinking Water Safety
- Partnership Conserves 438 Acres in Wicomico County
- Chesapeake Conservancy Applauds Senate Passage of the Great American Outdoors Act
- Partnership for the National Trails System Case Study on Conservation of Fones Cliffs
- Chesapeake Conservancy: Launching the Conservation Innovation Center featured in a Harvard Business School Case Study
2019
- Chesapeake Conservancy Receives US Forest Service 2019 Regional Forester’s Honor Award
- Successful Partnership Expands Quiet Waters Park
- Celebrated 2019 Champions of the Chesapeake
- Provide Tree Canopy Analysis for Anne Arundel County, MD that Helped Inform a Recent Change in the Law
- Successful Partnership to Add 4665 acres to the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in the James River Watershed
- New AI Scientist Joins Conservation Innovation Center to Accelerate Precision Conservation Efforts
- Partnership Adds Easement Acreage to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
- Launch of New Paddle Website for the Susquehanna River with the National Park Service
- Launch Bilingual Ranger Program at Sandy Point State Park in Partnership with the National Park Service
- Awarded 4-Star Charity Navigator Rating for the Second Year
- Successful Designation of Mallows Bay-Potomac River as the Chesapeake’s First National Marine Sanctuary
- Introduction of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Reauthorization Act of 2019
- Conservation of Farmland in the Nanticoke Rural Legacy Area
- Advocated for Permanent Reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund
- Successfully Advocated for Full Funding of Maryland’s Program Open Space
- Full funding for POS ($275 million)
- Chesapeake Conservancy Develops Technology for James River Restoration Work
2018
- EPA Awards $1.1 Million to Chesapeake Conservancy to Track Environmental Impacts of Land Use in Bay Watershed
- Partnership Conserves Wildlife Habitat for Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
- Chesapeake Conservancy Awarded 4-Star Charity Navigator Rating
- The National Park Service and Chesapeake Conservancy Release the Short Film “Werowocomoco: Protecting a Powhatan Place of Power”
- Celebrated 2018 Champions of the Chesapeake
- Chesapeake Conservancy Announces 2018 “Champions of the Chesapeake”
- Partner to Create New Waterfront Park in Seaford, DE
- Advocate for Fones Cliffs in Virginia where Lawsuit was Filed Against the Developer
- Partner to Create Thriving Monarch Butterfly Habitat
- UMBC and Chesapeake Conservancy to Create Detailed Stream Maps of Chesapeake Bay Watershed
- Launched Virtual Tour of Patuxent River
- Find Your Chesapeake GeoTour® Launch
- Successfully Advocated for Federal Funding for Chesapeake Bay Restoration, Land Conservation and Public Access
- City of Norfolk and Chesapeake Conservancy Dedicate Captain John Smith Cross Marker
- Created New Technology to Help the Public Answer: How Healthy Is the South River?
- Navy, State of Maryland and Nonprofits Partner to Conserve Land in Dorchester County
- Applauds Open Space and Land Conservation Funding at the State Level and Advocating for Federal Funding for the Chesapeake Bay
2017
- Celebrated 2017 Champions of the Chesapeake
- Demonstrated use of cloud-based computing for conservation audience of 16,000
- Featured in Microsoft video demonstrating precision conservation
- Donated ancestral land to Rappahannock Tribe
- Released vision document for Susquehanna River conservation
- Participated in Microsoft Earth Day Panel
- Showcased Future of Conservation with Elk Creek Restoration Project
- Honored Two Sitting Governors as “Champions of the Chesapeake”
- Awarded “Partner in Excellence” by Virginia Environment Endowment
- Accepted by 1% for the Planet Network
- Released Tool for Precision Conservation in Pennsylvania
- Advocated for Best Management Practices in the Watershed as Part of Comprehensive Sediment Mitigation Efforts
- Pushed for Legislation Supporting Key Chesapeake Bay Programs
- Celebrated Federal Funding for Conservation and Public Access
- Advocated for Clean Water Commerce Act of 2017
- Osprey Photo Documentary Named Green Earth Book Award Honor Winner
- Partnered to Improve Stream Mapping for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
- Joined Local Grocer Supports Susquehanna Restoration
- Launched Roving Ranger
- Commemorated Grand Opening of Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center
- Joined Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition to Host Green Opportunity and Job Fair for Baltimore Youth
- Celebrated Milestone toward National Marine Sanctuary Designation for Mallows Bay – Potomac River
2016
- Completed Chesapeake Bay High-Resolution Land Cover project for the Chesapeake Bay Program
- Celebrated the permanent protection of Werowocomoco
- Allowed visitors to virtually explore the Chesapeake’s great rivers and special places through interactive tours
- Placed markers along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail to denote the extent of Captain Smith’s explorations
- Celebrated 2016 Champtions of the Chesapeake
- Designed web tools to increase the pace and efficiency of conservation in the Chesapeake
- Celebrated the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and the 10th Anniversary of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail with Find Your Chesapeake video series
- Released online/mobile-accessible Boater’s Guide to the John Smith Chesapeake Trail
- Advocated for the Governor and the General Assembly to Restore Cuts to Maryland’s Program Open Space
- Crowdfunded to Launch Third Wildlife Webcam Featuring Great Blue Herons
- Provided Virtual Connection to Chesapeake’s Wildlife for Fourth Straight Year
- Inclusion of $29 Million in the President’s FY17 Budget for Land Conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
- Developed Park Finder: Baltimore, a Web-Based Walkability Application – 2015-16
2015
- Lead Non-Profit for the Rivers of the Chesapeake Collaborative Proposal Which Led to Nearly $11 Million for Land Conservation and $2 Million for Public Access in the FY 2016 Federal Budget
- Celebrated 2015 Champions of the Chesapeake
- Hosted Second Annual Champions of the Chesapeake Dinner and Awards
- Published Green Infrastructure Report: Baltimore City
- Partnered with Organizations Seeking National Marine Sanctuary Designation for Mallows Bay – Potomac River, 2014-15
- Led the successful effort to designate the Nanticoke as a Sentinel Landscape
- Started of Virtual Tour of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
- Advocated for the Expansion of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 2011-15
- Inclusion of $38 Million in the President’s FY16 Budget for Land Conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
- On-going Speaker Series, The Mamie Parker Jouney, in Support of the Baltimore Wilderness Initiative, 2014-15
- Collaborated with the USDA’s RCPP Partnership to Receive $5 Million in Federal Funding for Land Conservation in the Delmarva Peninsula
- Launched Peregrine Falcon Webcam at Transamerica Building in Downtown Baltimore
- Relaunch of the Popular Osprey Camera, 2013-15
2014
- Provided Advocacy and Support for the Designation of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in MD and the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in NY
- Celebrated 2014 Champions of the Chesapeake
- Hosted First Annual Chesapeake Champions Awards Celebration
- Co-hosted Chesapeake Climate Data Hackathon
- Hosted the National Conference on Large Landscape Conservation
- Additional Access Site for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail at Caledon State Park
- Department of Defense REPI Grant for Land Conservation in the Nanticoke River Corridor
- Launched the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership with NPS
- Joined with White House, Intel on Climate Data Initiative
- Launched the Conservation Innovation Center
- Expansion of Maryland Wildlands Program to Include an Additional 22,000 acres of Sensitive State-Owned land
2013
2011 & 2012
- Trained 100 Maryland Waterman in Heritage Tourism, 2012
- Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Expanded by 840 Miles of Connecting Component Trails, 2012
- Launched the Captain John Smith Geotrail, 2011
- Published A Boater’s Guide to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, 2011
- Reauthorization of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, 2011
- Establishment of Fort Monroe National Monument, 2011
2009 & 2010
- Expansion of James River National Wildlife Refuge, 2010
- Launched the Star-Spangled Banner Geotrail, 2010
- Provided advocacy and education support for protection of the Jesuit Lands, 2010
- Published Conserving Chesapeake Landscapes report, 2010
- Developed President Obama’s Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Executive Order #13508, specifically the conservation and access goals, 2009