2022
Annual Report
Protecting the Land and Water that Matter to You
Our mission is to conserve and restore the natural and cultural resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations.
Our Vision
Our Vision
Our Vision
We believe the Chesapeake is a national treasure that should be healthy, accessible to everyone and its watershed a place where people and wildlife thrive.
Our Mission
Our Mission
Our Mission
To conserve and restore the natural and cultural resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations.
We serve as a catalyst for change, advancing strong public and private partnerships, developing and using new technology and empowering environmental stewardship.
Our objective is to accelerate progress to conserve 30% of the Chesapeake watershed by 2030 by equitably connecting people to the Chesapeake while conserving and restoring priority lands and waters.
Our Community Committment
Our Commitment to the Communities We Serve
Our Commitment to the Communities We Serve
Protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay requires diversity in perspective and practice.
Chesapeake Conservancy understands that protecting and restoring the natural and cultural resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed require intentional commitment to inclusive practices and narratives within the conservation movement. Through our work we celebrate and elevate the people, places and cultures of the region, especially by engaging underrepresented communities. Committing to the values of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice is critical to achieve our vision of a Chesapeake that is healthy, accessible to everyone and a place where people and wildlife thrive. To that end, we commit ourselves to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice both in our programmatic priorities and our internal organizational development through inclusive recruitment of staff and board members and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture.
What we do
Chesapeake Conservancy is the only watershed-wide organization focused on both land conservation and stream restoration to achieve a healthier Chesapeake Bay. We’re using and sharing the latest groundbreaking data and technology, including artificial intelligence, to determine where to focus conservation efforts to have the most impact using the least resources.
Conserve Land
Conserving 30% of the Chesapeake’s lands and waters by 2030 is critical for climate resilience, biodiversity and water quality. We also strive to make these conserved lands publicly accessible.
Restore Streams
Restoring the Bay’s 100,000 small tributaries is key to restoring the Chesapeake watershed. Our data driven and partnership approach creates a healthier environment upstream, for a healthier Chesapeake Bay downstream.
Empower with Data
Using cutting-edge technology, our Conservation Innovation Center empowers the Chesapeake restoration movement to practice data-driven precision conservation—getting the right practices in the right places at the right scale.
2022 Stands Out as One of Chesapeake Conservancy’s Banner Years
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Please join us in celebrating what was truly a remarkable year for Chesapeake Conservancy and our partners: 2022. In our work to protect and provide access to the land and water that matter to you, we helped return 465 acres of ancestral homeland to the Rappahannock Tribe. We partnered to save the last remnants of a historically Black beach and created a new public park.
We advocated for the Chesapeake National Recreation Area as momentum continued to build for what has been a decades-long dream. We ensured that one of the Chesapeake’s most visited parks sets an example that is inclusive and welcoming for everyone.
We generated the first high-resolution change data that is available for the Chesapeake as open data, available to anyone, providing an unparalleled window into what is happening on the landscape over time. And, we saw on-the-ground results using technology to inform stream restoration in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
We accomplished these goals and many others with our incredible partners and through the support of donors like you. It was a year that Chesapeake Conservancy will not soon forget and that will inspire our climate crisis efforts to conserve 30% of the Chesapeake by 2030.
As you read this report highlighting our achievements and partners, we hope you will share this sentiment: “Land is more than dirt and acres. Land anchors life. See the beauty and wonders of the natural world, from the soil and creatures beneath our toes to the tree canopy and the birds above.”
Thank you for supporting and inspiring our work. You are helping to empower the Chesapeake conservation movement by using technology to achieve precision conservation.
Please note that in 2022, Chesapeake Conservancy changed its fiscal year. Previously reported as a calendar year, our new fiscal year is now October 1 through September 30. This annual report reflects a transitional year and reports finances and accomplishments for a nine-month period, from January 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022.
2022
Board of Directors
2022
Chesapeake Council
2022
Chesapeake Conservancy Staff
"Supporting the creation of the Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge—Maryland’s first new refuge in over 60 years and the Chesapeake Bay’s first in 25 years—has been an incredible honor. This refuge will help protect vital East Coast migratory habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, grassland birds and endangered species like the dwarf wedgemussel, Atlantic sturgeon and northern long-eared bat. This achievement was made possible through the dedication of the Chesapeake Conservancy and its committed conservation partners, who worked tirelessly to make this vision a reality. Their efforts not only help safeguard wildlife and water quality but also enhance climate resilience and expand recreational opportunities. I encourage others to support their work to protect our region’s most important landscapes—because the time to conserve is now."
- Stephen Schuyler, Focus Financial Partners senior wealth advisor and managing director and board member of National Park Trust
Federal and nonprofit partners celebrate the establishment of the Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge in December 2024. Photo by the Department of the Interior
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Organizational Achievements Since Our Founding
Secured more than $42 million in federal funds (FY15-22) to protect more than 7,500 acres of land at national parks, wildlife refuges and forests in the Chesapeake watershed along with partners through the Land and Water Conservation Fund program
Chesapeake Conservancy is committed to conserving 30% of the Chesapeake by 2030. Today, 22% of the watershed is conserved. Together, with your support, we can reach the 30% goal.
Established the Conservation Innovation Center to empower the conservation community with access to the latest data and technology
Our team of geospatial analysts worked with partners to produce 1-meter-resolution land cover data for approximately 100,000 square miles of land in and surrounding the Chesapeake Bay watershed for the Chesapeake Bay Program. This data is open for all land conservation entities, large or small, to use to implement precision conservation. We continue to create tools for our partners to command the data and drive impressive change on the ground.
Through land conservation, restoration and empowering the conservation community with the latest data and technology, we are working every day to slow climate change and help communities become more resilient.
Together with our partners, Chesapeake Conservancy's achievements include:
- Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network for 206 new access sites
- Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (Chesapeake Trail)
- Mallows Bay–Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary
- Werowocomoco
- Antietam National Battlefield
- Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
- Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
- Elktonia/Carr’s Beach
- Fort Monroe National Monument
- George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
- Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park
- James River National Wildlife Refuge
- Pissacoack
- Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge
- Creation and expansion of state and local parks
For more information, review this comprehensive list of our organization's achievements since our founding.
Your gift today
Supporting our work directly supports the Chesapeake you love
More than 18 million people call the Chesapeake home and have fallen in love with its awesome landscapes and rivers. So much so that thousands of acres of open space disappear each year. We are in a race against time to conserve, protect and restore what makes the Chesapeake so special before it is too late. Thank you for supporting our work. No amount is too small or too large to help us achieve great things together.
“When we are gone, what is going to do the most good? We have made a home with nature, we’ve enjoyed it. Now it is incumbent upon us to pass those treasures on to future generations.”
– Charles and Mary Dankmeyer, members of our Seven Generations Society who have left a planned gift for Chesapeake Conservancy in their will.
To find out how to make a planned gift, visit our website.
Your tax-deductible contribution of any amount is truly appreciated. Our tax ID number is 26-2271377.
2022
Highlights
Virtual Connections
Webcams
We are grateful for our partnerships with explore.org, the Crazy Osprey Family, Corporate Office Properties Trust and the owner of the great blue heron rookery for the generosity that makes these webcams possible. Millions of viewers from all over the world watched the cams in 2024.
Champions of the Chesapeake
Since 2014, Chesapeake Conservancy’s annual Champions of the Chesapeake awards have recognized individuals and organizations from across the region for exemplary leadership and dedication to protecting and restoring the Chesapeake’s natural systems and cultural resources.
In 2022, Chesapeake Conservancy proudly presented the Champions of the Chesapeake awards to Rappahannock Tribe Chief Anne Richardson and Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation President and Founder Vince Leggett.
Courtesy Photo
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin
Courtesy Photo
U.S. Representative John Sarbanes
Courtesy Photo
Defensores de la Cuenca Co-Founder and Executive Director Abel Olivio
Photo by Jess Lombardi
Chesapeake Conservancy President and CEO Joel Dunn
Financial Report
For more detailed information on our financials and governance, visit our website.
Donors
Our sincere appreciation to the individual, foundation and corporate donors who have made our work possible. We truly appreciate your generosity.
($500-$999)
Contact us
Chesapeake Conservancy is a nonprofit organization based in Annapolis, Maryland. We are conservation entrepreneurs. We believe that the Chesapeake is a national treasure that should be accessible for everyone and a place where wildlife can thrive. We use technology to enhance the pace and quality of conservation, and we help build parks, trails, and public access sites. Chesapeake Conservancy works in close partnership with Indigenous Tribes, the National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management Eastern States, as well as other federal, state and local agencies, private foundations and corporations to advance conservation.
Earl Conservation Center
1212 West Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Photo Credits
Chair and the President: Jody Couser
Organizational Achievements: “Brown Pelican Rookery” Michael Weiss
Your Gift Today: “Kayaker” Yazan Hasan
2022 Accomplishments: “Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford at Sandy Point State Park Bilingual Nature Center” Office of Maryland Governor, Elktonia Beach Signing Ceremony” Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program, Fones Cliffs Boat Tour” Tami Heilemann/DOI, “Bird River Aerial” Chesapeake Bay Program, “Computer Collaboration” Jody Couser
Innovation Map: Chesapeake Conservancy
Podcast: Mark Hamilton
Virtual Connections: “Peregrine Falcon” Peter Turcik
Champions of the Chesapeake: “Rappahannock Tribe Chief Anne Richardson” Zhivko Illeieff/The Conservation Fund and “Blacks of the Chesapeake Founder and President Vince Leggett,” Courtesy Photo
Closing Photo Montage (clockwise): “Staff Paddle” Matthew Provost, “Crab Feast” Jennifer Yin, “Belted Kingfisher” Sue Buyaskas, “Pier Fishing at Gloucester Point Beach” Stephanie Little, “Osprey” Jack Anderson, “Greenbury Point” David Sites, “Sunset at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge” Sue Buyaskas and “Deer Peeking Out” Sue Buyaskas