The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

devoted to the restoration and protection of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was founded in 1967 and has headquarters offices in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. The foundation has field offices in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. Salisbury is the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region, with a population of 33,050 at the 2020 United States census ...

;

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

;

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

;

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

and Washington, D.C.

Establishment

The foundation was established by Arthur Sherwood, a businessman and lawyer, with friends in 1967. As of 1996 CBF had about 80,000 dues-paying members.

Programs

CBF offers an

outdoor education Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors, such as during school camping trips. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or quest, journey wilderness-based experiences which engage participants in a v ...

program that has introduced several generations of school children to the Chesapeake Bay through several idyllic outposts along the Bay's shores, such as Fox Island, Smith Island, Bishops Head, and others. Children learn the fragile nature of the Bay's

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

, and the extent of its watershed, much of which includes their own homes in

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

ia. CBF also lobbies

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and local governments on

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

s intended to protect the health of the Bay. In 2024, the CBF lobbied to stop construction of proposed power lines through Maryland.

Litigation

The foundation has litigated multiple cases regarding protection of bay water quality, both at the federal and state level. In 2009, CBF filed suit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to finalize a total maximum daily load (TMDL) ruling pursuant to the Clean Water Act that would restrict

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

from farms, land development, power plants and sewage treatment plants. EPA agreed to settle the lawsuit and issued its TMDL for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution on December 29, 2010. This was the largest, most complex TMDL document that EPA had issued to date. In early 2011 the American Farm Bureau Federation and other agricultural trade associations, along with the National Association of Home Builders filed suit challenging EPA's authority to issue the TMDL. CBF and other organizations (both environmental groups and local governments) filed a motion to intervene in the case. In 2013 the Pennsylvania district court judge upheld EPA's authority, and following appeal by the trade associations, the judge's decision was affirmed by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2016 the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

declined to hear the case, thereby upholding EPA's authority. In the 2010s and 2020s, CBF was involved in lawsuits to stop the relicensing of the

Conowingo dam The Conowingo Dam (also Conowingo Hydroelectric Plant, Conowingo Hydroelectric Station) is a large hydroelectric dam in the lower Susquehanna River near the town of Conowingo, Maryland, Conowingo, Maryland. The medium-height, masonry gravity dam ...

, a

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

plant that generates emission-free electricity to power 165,000 homes. In 2020 CBF filed a lawsuit against EPA for its failure to require the states of New York and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

to reduce pollution in the bay.

New headquarters building

In 2001, CBF moved from a walkable

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

location in Annapolis to a new headquarters building, the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, about 5 miles (8 km) outside of town. The new building, at the former site of the Bay Ridge Inn on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, is a

green building Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...

that demonstrates a number of energy-saving and other sustainable features. It was the first building to receive the

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

(LEED) "Platinum" rating from the United States Green Building Council. The new headquarters is not accessible by public transportation. The foundation's choice for a new headquarters site symbolizes a dilemma of the modern environmental movement: how to be connected to the environment without despoiling it. In this case, the enlarged footprint of employees and visitors forced to drive to the building was offset by its reduced imperviousness compared to the former inn, use of recycled materials, re-use of

wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...

on-site, and use of composting toilets. The building was an early adopter of green building principles, but apart from

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s and

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

s, remains inaccessible by other modes of transportation.

Leadership

In January 2021 CBF president Will Baker announced that he intended to retire by the end of 2021. Baker became president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organization in 1981. In November 2021 the foundation announced that the new president and CEO will be Hilary Harp Falk.

References

External links

Chesapeake Bay Foundation
- official site
Chesapeake Bay Foundation records
- University of Maryland Libraries Nature conservation organizations based in the United States Environmental organizations based in Maryland Water organizations in the United States Environmental organizations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Maryland Chesapeake Bay {{Environmental-org-stub