9M acres now protected in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

MARYLAND – 9 million acres are now protected from development within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The new designation covers about 22% of the total land in the region. The Chesapeake Conservancy calls this a win because the land acts as a filter for the water before it hits the bay. That in turn benefits watermen’s catch and people who use the bay for recreation.

The president of the Chesapeake Conservancy says there are more steps to take to protect the watershed. “Maryland is actually leading the pack, they’ve protected close to 30% of the state and they’ve set a new goal of 40% by 2040. We have a lot more land to protect across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed about 3 million acres,” said Joel Dunn. President of the Chesapeake Conservancy.

The goal of this project calls for 225,000 acres of wetlands and 695,000 acres of forest to also be protected.