Governor Terry McAuliffe joined the governors and other high officials from the Chesapeake Bay Watershed states, the District of Columbia and the federal governments in signing the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement today in Annapolis, Maryland.
The agreement, developed over the last two years, lays out clear goals and outcomes for sustainable fisheries, vital habitats, water quality, toxic contaminants, healthy watersheds, stewardship, land conservation, public access, environmental literacy, and resiliency of the Bay ecosystem in the face of changing climatic conditions and rising sea levels.
“We have made great progress in meeting our bay restoration goals over the last 30 years” said Governor McAuliffe, “however, there is always more to do and the pace of implementation must be accelerated. This historic agreement lays out a path for improved science and policy, greater partnerships with citizens and stakeholders and allows for the flexibility necessary to make measurable improvements to a large and complex ecosystem.”
This is the fourth Chesapeake Bay Agreement signed since 1983, and the first to include full participation by the states of Delaware, New York and West Virginia who join the original signatories of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.
For more information about the signing of this historic Agreement visit: www.chesapeakebay.net/about/ecmeeting/2014_executive_council_meeting.
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