Rob Schnabel has been the Maryland restoration scientist since 2000. He works throughout Maryland leading CBF’s conservation initiatives and meeting with farmers to provide technical assistance and secure funding through agency and private sources. He promotes regenerative agriculture as a key solution to our water, climate, biodiversity, and farming profitability challenges. Rob builds collaborative networks, serving as the the co-coordinator of the Maryland Grazers Network and on the steering team of the Bay-wide Mountains-to-Bay Grazers Alliance. Rob advocates for equity in the agricultural community and shares his hands-on experience and real-world examples from farmers to guide and inform CBF’s lobby team. In 2021, he developed legislative goals for new regenerative practices within the Maryland Agriculture Cost Share (MACS) program, resulting in 10 new regenerative practices that include grazing systems and agroforestry.
Rob participates in federal and state workgroups, including the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Forestry Workgroup, the Natural Resource Conservation Service State Tech Committee, Maryland’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program team, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Stream Releaf Team to promote long-term solutions for Bay restoration. Rob has designed and advocated for living shorelines, and his living shoreline project at St. John’s College in Annapolis served as the model for the passage of the Living Shoreline Act in 2007. Prior to CBF, Rob worked for private consulting firms working on all phases of stream restoration and living shoreline projects. Rob’s passion for the environment was sparked during his time as a camp counselor, where he led hiking trips along the Appalachian Trail and guided canoeing adventures on the Shenandoah River. Join him for large-scale volunteer tree planting events or farm tours showcasing ecosystem and economic benefits of regenerative agriculture.