Press Statement

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday ceremonially signed into law a measure that ensured Virginia will rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) effective this week and once again participate in a program that’s been vital for cutting carbon emissions and funding resilience efforts.

Governor Spanberger signed the bill in Richmond, flanked by lawmakers who helped carry the legislation during the 2026 legislative session and partners who had advocated for rejoining.

Governor Spanberger and the legislature should be applauded for rejoining RGGI, a regional carbon trading program for power plants that generates revenue, which is then used for priorities like flood preparedness and resilience programs.

Since its inception, RGGI has been an unqualified success. It has helped participating states cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 40% and generate over $11.4 billion in proceeds to go toward clean energy and resilience efforts, according to a recent report from the Acadia Center.

In an illegal—and costly—move, former Governor Glenn Youngkin pulled the Commonwealth out of the program in 2023. Virginia had generated an estimated $827 million in auction sale proceeds from 2021-2023, with nearly all funds going toward programs aimed at bolstering flood resilience and promoting energy efficiency.

The governor on Tuesday also ceremonially signed into law a number of other measures tied to the environment, including bills aimed at bolstering Virginia’s energy storage, expanding opportunities for solar projects, and holding electric utility companies accountable.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Policy Manager Jay Ford issued the following statement:

“Virginia’s re-entry into RGGI is great news for cutting carbon emissions and making the Commonwealth more resilient in the face of climate change.”

“Through the support for RGGI and other pro-environment bills, Governor Spanberger and her administration are off to a solid start in protecting Virginia’s air and waterways for all of our residents.”

“Scare tactics from the power industry notwithstanding, we’re hopeful that elected leaders can chart a sustainable path forward on RGGI that balances vital funding for flood and energy efficiency projects with consumer protections. Virginians deserve nothing less.”

State and Federal leaders on Tuesday put off a decision on whether they will grant a longstanding request by a council of Tribes from around Virginia to be added as signatories to the updated Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

The Bay Program’s Principals’ Staff Committee voted to hold off on deciding how to recognize the Tribes in the agreement until later this year and committed to work with the Tribes to develop a resolution for consideration in December establishing the structure for a “meaningful partnership” with the Tribes and the Bay partnership.

The action follows a resolution the Indigenous Conservation Council passed early last year asking to be included in the updated Bay Agreement. In December, the committee agreed to come up with solutions by July 1.

The Indigenous Conservation Council includes representatives from all seven federally recognized Tribes in Virginia. The Tribes have been steadfast partners in conservation work that aligns with the goals and outcomes in the update Bay agreement, including:

• Mussels. The Pamunkey, Mattaponi, and Upper Mattaponi Tribes have been active participants in the newly created Pamunkey Freshwater Mussel Alliance, a consortium of partners looking for opportunities to restore the population of freshwater mussels.
• Oyster restoration. The tribes have been invaluable supporters and partners on CBF’s oyster restoration efforts, including work through the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance.
• Land recognition. CBF has supported pushes from tribes, including the Nansemond Indian Nation, to reclaim ancestral land in parts of Virginia.

CBF is hopeful there will be a strong outcome where tribes are treated as equal partners in the Bay agreement, given the centuries of experience from Indigenous people on preservation and restoration.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek issued the following statement:

“Indigenous tribes are stewards of the lands and waters around the Chesapeake Bay and have been for thousands of years. For far too long, they have not had a seat at the table when it comes to Bay restoration.”

“Deliberations on whether to add the Tribes as partners have gone on for too long, and we are hopeful and determined to get a strong outcome where Tribes are meaningfully included in the partnership by the time the Bay Program’s Chesapeake Executive Council meets in December.”

“Tribes across the region would amplify their voices on Bay restoration, exercise their right to self-government, bring indigenous knowledge to conservation and restoration, and strengthen efforts to protect their ancestral lands and waterways.”

The Virginia House and Senate this week gave final approval to the Commonwealth’s two-year budget plan for the period starting July 1, shortchanging clean water and conservation priorities even as they delivered long-sought research funding for the menhaden population in the Chesapeake Bay.

Regrettably, the budget steers revenues from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a regional carbon trading program for power plants, away from resilience programs in order to accommodate scare tactics from the power industry.

The budget does include an important first step toward requiring water conservation measures from energy-hungry data centers. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) will work with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to ensure the development of protective regulations. Unfortunately, the deal largely fails to tackle the environmental impacts of data centers, which are increasingly threatening the water and air quality in Virginia and helping drive up consumer utility bills.

Negotiators also fell short on funding other clean water and conservation priorities, including:

• Wastewater treatment plant funding. The budget would add almost $189 million for matching grants for wastewater treatment improvement projects, bringing investments up to $329.5 million for the state share of wastewater treatment plant improvements. Virginia’s 2023 assessment estimated the total wastewater infrastructure need over a 20-year period is about $15.8 billion. The ongoing modernization of wastewater treatment plants has greatly reduced pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.
• Virginia Conservation Assistance Program. The deal includes $4 million for the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program, which helps private property owners and community groups install nature-based projects that cut stormwater pollution. CBF had pushed to increase funding to at least $8 million over the biennium, as the highly successful program is consistently over-subscribed.
• Stormwater upgrades. The budget invests $43.5 million in the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, which provides grants for stormwater design with an eye toward cutting water pollution. CBF had advocated for $50 million.
• Urban and Community Forestry. The budget did not include funding for two community forestry positions within the Department of Forestry to support the Urban and Community Forestry program, which helps communities and local governments develop programs to expand urban tree canopy. CBF had advocated to include funding for the positions in the budget.

The legislature did deliver good news by approving an amendment from Governor Abigail Spanberger to provide $2 million to study menhaden, a critical forage fish, after funding for the study had failed two years in a row. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has stated that data on menhaden in the Bay remain “woefully inadequate.” The research could indicate whether the ongoing reduction fishery industry is sustainable there.

Everyone, including the industry, now apparently recognizes that more science is needed to properly manage this colossal fishery in the Bay.

The Bay is facing a crisis, and this research must be completed without delay. Virginia can’t allow the industry to slow roll this study to dodge new harvest limits. There must be a completely impartial study, not industry-rigged science.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Policy Manager Jay Ford issued the following statement:

“Lawmakers missed a major opportunity to invest in clean air and water in this budget. Virginia’s environment and the health of the Bay will be worse off over the next two years and beyond because of it.”

“The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has been an unqualified success, and we’re disappointed that scare tactics from the power industry now mean resilience programs will get shortchanged. We urge lawmakers to continue examining and improving RGGI before next year.”

“We are excited that, with the governor’s support, the legislature has finally recognized the importance of funding state-led, impartial research on menhaden. This is a major step forward to protect menhaden, as a lack of science has held back desperately needed reforms of the fishery.”

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Urges Bold Action by State, Federal Leaders to Meet 2040 Goals

As a key committee of state and federal leaders meets tomorrow to hash out Chesapeake Bay restoration plans, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is calling on them to take bold action to meet clean water goals by 2040.

In an important show of unity last December, governors from states around the Chesapeake Bay and federal partners agreed to an updated Chesapeake Bay restoration plan for the next 15 years. Since 1983, versions of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement have held together an unprecedented effort to restore the Bay—a national model of cooperative federalism to restore and conserve a national treasure.

The final agreement has a uniform deadline of 2040 for meeting Bay restoration goals to create clean water, thriving habitats and wildlife, healthy landscapes, and engaged communities. It also includes a 2033 midpoint check-in that offers a chance to adapt to the latest science.

Importantly, the updated agreement reaffirms the legally-binding commitments states have made to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution to the Bay’s rivers and streams.

Now states must put the investments and policies in place to meet those goals before 2040. While previous agreements have sparked important progress throughout the decades, states have repeatedly failed to fully meet all restoration goals. On June 30 at a Bay Program Principals Staff Committee meeting, high-level state and federal leaders will discuss next steps for reaching a restored Bay.

CBF urges state and federal leaders to develop an ambitious strategic plan to meet Bay restoration goals by 2040. The plan should offer opportunities to incorporate the latest science throughout the process, benefit plants and animals as well as reduce water pollution, and integrate indigenous knowledge. It also must confront mounting challenges from climate change, population growth, and development.

CBF President and CEO Hilary Harp Falk issued the following statement:

“The updated Chesapeake Bay Agreement reflects something remarkable: states across the watershed and the federal government came together around a shared promise to restore America’s largest estuary. Now comes the hard part. Success won’t be measured by commitments on paper. It will be measured by what leaders do in the coming years to reach these goals by 2040.

“Good intentions alone don’t restore the Chesapeake Bay. States have made meaningful progress over the past four decades, but it hasn’t been enough. Meeting the 2040 deadline will require sustained investment, decisions driven by science, and accountability at every level of government. The pollution reduction commitments in this agreement aren’t just promises; they’re legally binding under the Clean Water Act. We expect every jurisdiction to meet them.

“We’ll work alongside our state and federal partners to help turn this vision into reality. But if governments fail to uphold their commitments, we are prepared to use every tool available to hold them accountable. The Chesapeake Bay has shown us that restoration is possible when we follow the science and have the courage to act. This is our opportunity to finish the job for future generations.”

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger on Friday requested that lawmakers add $2 million to the biennial budget for research into the Chesapeake Bay menhaden population—funding that is vital to understanding the key forage fish and its importance to Bay ecology.

Governor Spanberger and her team deserve enormous credit for recognizing the importance of this research and working toward a solution on moving it forward.

The Bay is facing a crisis, and this research must be completed without delay. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has stated that data on menhaden in the Bay remains “woefully inadequate,” and developed a plan for a menhaden study in 2023 together with a wide variety of stakeholders.

State funding for menhaden research has been delayed every year since then. House lawmakers had included the funding in earlier versions of their budget proposals this year, but it was not in the final deal the General Assembly this week sent to the Governor’s desk.

Recent polling shows that about 80 percent of Virginia voters support both state funding for a menhaden study, and support ending large-scale commercial menhaden fishing in the Bay pending further research.

Virginia is the only state along the Atlantic coast that still allows industrial menhaden fishing in state waters. That lone remaining industrial operation extracts over 100 million pounds of menhaden from Chesapeake Bay waters each year, with no scientific understanding of the impacts to the Bay’s ecology or coastal communities.

Menhaden are a small fish that are an important food for many species, including osprey, striped bass, bluefish, whales, and dolphins.

This month, a Bay-wide peer-reviewed study of osprey found widespread reproductive failure, documented an 80% decline in menhaden deliveries to nests, and concluded that menhaden availability is likely the primary driver.

For years, watermen, recreational anglers, birdwatchers, and local residents have reported seeing fewer menhaden schools and struggling osprey colonies.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Forage Campaign Manager Will Poston issued the following statement:

“Governor Spanberger has shown important leadership in the face of persistent and likely worsening menhaden problems in the Chesapeake Bay. This is a solid down payment on urgently needed research.”

“Unfortunately, many questions remain about the health of the Bay’s menhaden population and the iconic species such as osprey that depend upon it. This is precisely why independent science on menhaden in the Bay is so important.”

“We want to thank Governor Spanberger, and we thank Delegate Betsy Carr in particular for her persistence on this issue. We urge the General Assembly to support this amendment.”

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives yesterday passed a suite of bills aimed at addressing mounting concerns around data center development.

Data centers are already affecting Pennsylvanians by using significant quantities of public water resources, increasing electricity bills, and filling communities with noise and harmful air pollution from diesel generators.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is greatly concerned about the lack of transparency and regulation around the construction of data centers in Pennsylvania. Without proper controls, data centers pose significant risks to Pennsylvania communities, the health of local streams, the Susquehanna River, and the Chesapeake Bay, and the air we breathe.

Measuring and monitoring environmental impacts of these major projects is key to protecting water quality. But many data center sites are currently not required to address these environmental concerns during and after construction.

CBF supported three bills just passed in the House that would increase regulations related to data center water usage and require reporting environmental data. They also empower local communities to regulate data centers by enacting updated zoning laws. Those include:

• HB 2150 requires data centers to report annual water and energy use.
• HB 2151 empowers municipalities to regulate data centers through a guided framework of local zoning and ordinances.
• HB 2246 ensures large data centers cannot move forward without clear guardrails by strengthening water-use permits, monitoring impacts, and protecting local communities’ access to clean water.
• CBF is also supportive of Governor’s Shapiro’s Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) standards, a bill that also just passed in the House.

This may establish strict guardrails to hold data centers accountable to environmental standards.

These measures now move on to the Pennsylvania Senate, where they must be adopted and then signed by Governor Shapiro before becoming law.

CBF Pennsylvania Executive Director Julia Krall issued the following statement:

“Pennsylvania just took a mighty step forward in fighting the mounting threats from data centers. The fact that these data center projects are not required to report their electricity and water usage or environmental impacts is a major concern. We simply cannot understand threats we do not regulate or measure.”

“Pennsylvanians suffer when these data center sites destroy clean water and air. We must empower these communities with legislation that works for them, their families and homes, and their rivers and streams. We urge the Senate to protect Pennsylvania’s people and waterways by swiftly passing these bills.”

Repeated delays on science reaffirm need to pause reduction fishery in Chesapeake Bay

House and Senate lawmakers in Virginia announced a deal this weekend on a two-year state budget that once again does not include much-needed funding to study the Chesapeake Bay’s menhaden population—bowing to pressure from industry to delay this vital research.

The funding, which had been included in previous House budget proposals this year, is critical for understanding the population of menhaden in the Bay and the impacts of industrial factory fishing.

This year marks the third in a row since the state developed a study plan with Omega Protein, conservationists, and academics. Each year industry delay tactics have helped kill the funding, despite broad support from Virginians who want to see this fishery managed with better science.

Recent polling shows that 80 percent of Virginia voters support state funding for a menhaden study, and 79 percent support pausing the fishery in the Bay until research is completed. This research would help show exactly what risks the industrial menhaden fishery poses to the Bay and better inform how many menhaden the Bay ecosystem needs to thrive.

Menhaden are foundational to a healthy Chesapeake Bay. They serve as highly nutritious food to some of the most iconic and important species in the Bay, including striped bass, osprey, red drum, and whales.

Estimates in 2025 from Maine to Florida show that there are far fewer menhaden up and down the East Coast than previously thought. Menhaden catches by small-scale watermen in the Bay have declined significantly in recent years. Osprey chicks are starving to death at unprecedented rates in parts of the Bay where they traditionally rely on menhaden for food. Amid these intensifying warning signs and absent new research, the only commonsense remedy is to pause the industrial menhaden fishery in the Bay.

Existing research focuses on the coastwide menhaden population in the Atlantic Ocean—there is no menhaden-specific science in the Chesapeake Bay estuary, where industrial fishing pressure is heavily concentrated. Additional research is needed to understand exactly why the Bay is flashing red warning signs on menhaden.

Virginia is the only state along the Atlantic coast that still allows industrial menhaden fishing in its state waters. That lone remaining industrial operation—foreign-owned Omega Protein and their fishing partner Ocean Harvesters—extracts over 100 million pounds of menhaden from Chesapeake Bay waters each year.

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has stated that data on menhaden in the Bay remains “woefully inadequate,” and developed a plan for a menhaden study in 2023 together with the industry and other groups.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Forage Campaign Manager Will Poston issued the following statement:

“No science, no industrial fishing. With one massive industry continuing to empty the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia must pause menhaden reduction fishing in the Bay.”

“The menhaden industry has not once offered public support for funding state menhaden research. The continued political pressure from Omega Protein and their McGuireWoods lobbyists to delay science is damning—and should concern everyone who cares about the Bay.”

“Meanwhile, Chesapeake Bay watermen are seeing menhaden catches plummet, blue crab fishermen are spending more on bait, and osprey chicks are starving to death.”

Virginia lawmakers in the House and Senate this weekend rolled out a compromise proposal for the biennial budget that starts on July 1, which unfortunately shortchanges clean water and conservation priorities in the first budget that will be enacted under the revised Chesapeake Bay agreement.

Among the most concerning items: steering nearly half of revenues from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a regional carbon trading program for power plants, away from programs like flood preparedness and energy efficiency efforts for low-income residents to accommodate recent scare tactics from the power industry over utility rates.

The proposal moves toward requiring data centers to use recycled water or other non-wasteful means for cooling—one of the standards the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), and Appalachian Voices had urged lawmakers to develop. Unfortunately, the deal largely fails to tackle the environmental impacts of data centers, which are increasingly threatening the water and air quality in Virginia and consuming massive amounts of energy—helping drive up consumer utility bills.

At the same time, the budget proposal maintains a state sales and use tax break for data centers that cost Virginia about $1.9 billion last year alone and directs a panel to study potential reforms that won’t report back to lawmakers until December. The deal also establishes a $1.2 billion fee tied to data center energy consumption.

In one positive, for 2027 the deal also fully funds the Virginia Agricultural Cost-Share Program, which helps farmers install projects that reduce pollution to local waterways.

But overall, negotiators did not include sufficient funding for an array of other clean water and conservation priorities as well.

Those include:

• Wastewater treatment plant funding. The budget deal adds almost $189 million for matching grants for wastewater treatment improvement projects, bringing investments up to $329.5 million for the state share of wastewater treatment plant improvements. This is short of Virginia’s own needs assessment to upgrade our wastewater systems. The ongoing modernization of wastewater treatment plants has greatly reduced pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.
• Virginia Conservation Assistance Program. The deal includes $4 million for the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program, which helps private property owners and community groups install nature-based projects that cut stormwater pollution. CBF had pushed to increase funding to at least $8 million over the biennium, as the highly successful program is over-subscribed.
• Menhaden. The proposal does not include $2 million for much-needed research into the menhaden population in Commonwealth waterways that House lawmakers had included in earlier versions. Atlantic menhaden are a critical forage fish in the Bay serving as a food source for a variety of species including striped bass, redfish, humpback whales, and birds like osprey and bald eagles. Their abundance directly affects commercial and recreational fisheries, tourism, and coastal communities.
• Stormwater upgrades. House and Senate lawmakers included $43.5 million for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, which provides grants for stormwater design with an eye toward cutting water pollution. CBF had advocated for $50 million.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Policy Manager Jay Ford issued the following statement:

“This budget deal fails to meet the moment and will mean dirtier air and water for residents of the Commonwealth.”

“We appreciate the investments in clean water resources, but had hoped to see more meaningful solutions addressing the harm to Virginia communities from the unchecked data center boom.”

“Virginia’s rejoining of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a step forward. But it’s shortsighted to shift almost half of all RGGI proceeds away from vital resilience programs to accommodate scare tactics from the power industry. Before pulling from underfunded programs that protect our communities and permanently lower electricity costs for low-income Virginians, we should look first to hold the industry accountable.”

“It’s encouraging that data centers could be required to use more environmentally friendly cooling methods, but there must be additional clean energy requirements if Virginia hopes to rein in their negative impacts on our air and water.”

“We are also deeply concerned that lawmakers failed to include funding for a much-needed study on the menhaden population in the Chesapeake Bay once again. This research is vital for understanding the flashing warning signs we are seeing for menhaden in the Bay.”

House and Senate lawmakers have introduced new competing proposals for Virginia’s biennial budget that starts on July 1—both of which unfortunately fall short when it comes to reining in the impacts of the data center industry and delivering the results Virginians deserve.

House lawmakers’ latest offer does not include any environmental standards for data centers, and maintains a state sales and use tax break that cost Virginia about $1.9 billion last year alone. Instead, it would establish a commission to consider reforms, with a report due back to lawmakers in the fall. It remains to be seen what reforms a commission might ultimately recommend, but what we do know is that this path would lead to further delay and uncertainty.

The Senate proposal, meanwhile, includes an “impact” fee for data centers that use diesel or gas-powered backup generators. It also does not include any reforms to the sales and use tax and exemption and does not sufficiently address many data center impacts including air pollution, climate, and adverse health effects related to the data center industry’s thirst for more fossil fuel generation.

Data centers are already affecting Virginians in many ways—driving up electricity bills, saddling communities with noise and harmful air pollution from diesel generators, and using significant quantities of public water resources. Without proper regulations, data centers pose significant risks to Virginia communities, the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and the Commonwealth’s air and waterways.

Virginia—predominantly Northern Virginia—is the data center capital of the world. This growth has shown no signs of slowing down, with new data centers popping up all over the state. Dominion, for example, expects that 51% of its electricity will be sold to data centers by 2035. In other words, most of the electricity from Virginia’s largest utility would not go to residential households, small businesses, churches, or schools—it would go to a single energy-hungry industry. It is time for lawmakers to rein in the escalating energy use and water consumption of these data centers.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), and Appalachian Voices are calling for Virginia legislators to implement legislation—whether through the budget process or potentially a special session—that establishes reasonable safeguards on data centers now. Specifically, data centers should:

• Power their facilities with clean energy on their own dime;
• Be prohibited from building dirty power sources on-site that burden Virginia communities with harmful air pollution;
• Cut harmful impacts of backup diesel generators by maintaining at least two hours of non-polluting backup power at all times; and
• Fully offset their water consumption in water-scarce areas by using recycled water for cooling.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Policy Manager Jay Ford issued the following statement:

“Virginia’s data center boom is moving faster than the law. This year, lawmakers must enact strong regulations for data centers that protect our air and water. Unless Virginia acts now, we’ll pay for the rapid expansion of data centers in the Commonwealth with our drinking water, clean air, and thriving waterways.”

Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Nate Benforado issued the following statement:

“Data centers continue to flock to our state, and it is hurting everyday Virginians. But this unfortunate dynamic is also an opportunity. Virginia can stand up and demand this industry be better neighbors and citizens.”

Appalachian Voices Director of State Energy Policy Peter Anderson issued the following statement:

“So far, the General Assembly has allowed the unconstrained development of polluting data centers in the Commonwealth, and this simply cannot continue. If our decisionmakers demand that the wealthiest industry in the world achieve sensible public health and environmental standards, the industry will do it.”

The river, once associated with pollution and degradation, has become a pillar for community enjoyment and recreation

Officials honored the Conestoga River as Pennsylvania’s River of the Year for 2026 today at a ceremony in Lancaster County Central Park, marking a significant milestone in the river’s comeback.

The event is a part of Lancaster Water Week, an annual celebration of the 1,400 miles of streams and rivers in Lancaster County, hosted by Lancaster Conservancy. This week of events encourages people to enjoy, learn, volunteer, and take action to clean and protect the waterways throughout the county.

Historically, the Conestoga River was highly polluted, and many tributaries are still considered impaired. However, the river has become a source of increased recreation and enjoyment for local communities. It received 2,510 votes for river of the year, demonstrating a local source of pride and engagement.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Senior Watershed Planner Brian Gish is a Lancaster native, and led a multi-year effort, to develop a comprehensive plan to improve the headwaters of the Conestoga River.

Gish issued the following statement:

“How Lancaster has rallied around the Conestoga River has been nothing short of inspiring. My entire life, I’ve encountered negative perceptions of this waterway, but recently I’ve seen attitudes pivot. In my conversations with the watershed’s farmers, residents, and leaders, indifference is transforming into passion and action.”

“Countless projects are undoing centuries of damage, driven by a community—my community—reconsidering its relationship with this river. The Conestoga’s future is our future, and we’re taking steps to secure both. I’m seeing our river heal. If we stay the course, it will be healthy in our lifetimes.”

Ashley Spotts, CBF’s Lancaster Restoration Biologist, has spent more than two decades working on projects along the Conestoga as well. She specializes in planting riparian buffers, groups of trees along waterways to filter out pollutants.

Spotts issued the following statement:

“I’ve always had a passion for native plants, and I’ve worked 20 years with many farmers and landowners along the Conestoga River and its tributaries to plant trees in an effort to raise water quality. It feels so good to return to a planting years later and see a small forest, with fruiting persimmons and oaks branches weighted down with acorns. Not only will this provide resources for the plants and animals on land, but I know these trees mean healthier water as well.”

CBF, led by Spotts, is planning an event to be held in August, that will bring together landowners, farmers, and partners to launch a watershed improvement plan developed by Gish for the Upper Conestoga watershed. Developing quality plans in priority watershed areas, with support from partners and landowners, is central to CBF’s water improvement work throughout Pennsylvania.

As CBF celebrates forty years of protecting and restoring Pennsylvania’s environment, we want to celebrate all of the hard work of our people, partners, and communities. We are deeply thankful to be able to carry out the work we do, and we look forward to improving the rivers and streams of Pennsylvania together.