Chesapeake Tributaries Initiative

The Chesapeake Tributaries Initiative is a community-driven approach to achieve measurable, near-term conservation outcomes for local creeks and streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Restoring the Bay’s 100,000 small tributaries is key to restoring the Chesapeake as the watershed’s land-to-water ratio is 14:1, the largest of any of the enclosed coastal water bodies in the world. With all that land draining into very little water by comparison, stringing together high-value projects is the fastest way to see an improvement in fish, insect and wildlife habitat. There is a lot of good work underway, and the Chesapeake Tributaries strategy aims to amplify this momentum by boosting coordination and funding to restore streams back to health.

In 2022, Chesapeake Conservancy and our partners’ goal to restore 30 agriculturally impaired Pennsylvania streams by 2030 received a significant boost from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA awarded $197 million for 41 locally led conservation projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), including Chesapeake Conservancy and 13 partners to implement a strategy to rapidly restore agriculturally impaired streams in Central Pennsylvania.

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