Press Statement

Challenging the Trump Administration’s repeal of the landmark finding that climate change-fueling greenhouse gases pose a threat to the public, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) today joined partners in suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

CBF, represented by Earthjustice, today joined a coalition of organizations from across the country filing litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Since it was issued in 2009, the endangerment finding has supported regulations that fight climate change and its harm to people and the environment.

The Chesapeake Bay is on the front lines of climate change threats. Those include:

Sea level rise and flooding from increasingly intense storms overwhelm marshes and wetlands and damage homes and businesses in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

Extreme heat exacerbated by climate change hurts people, plants, and animals across our region.

Stronger and more frequent storms due to climate change add pollution to the Bay. Heavy rains increase polluted runoff and sewer overflows and intensify erosion. This dumps more nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment into rivers and the Bay, contributing to dead zones and algal blooms.

Warmer water holds less oxygen and stresses aquatic life, from brook trout to striped bass.

CBF has worked for years to address threats from climate change. That includes planting trees to cool city streets that bake during heat waves, installing living shorelines that use nature to protect waterfronts from storms, and working with farmers to build healthier soil that’s more resilient to droughts and flooding.

CBF Senior Vice President for Programs Alison Hooper Prost issued the following statement.

“Climate change is already harming people and the Chesapeake Bay, regardless of the Trump Administration’s ridiculous claims. This latest rollback is a threat to us all.

“Flooding and sea level rise are walloping communities up and down the Bay. Heat waves send people to hospitals from Baltimore to Richmond. Warmer waters are driving away striped bass, brook trout, and other wildlife. And increasingly intense storms are washing more pollution into rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

“We’re proud to join our partners in fighting this rollback that endangers everyone’s future.”

A Milestone is Reached for Pleasure House Point

The Virginia Beach City Council on Tuesday voted to move forward on purchasing the Crab Creek lots at Pleasure House Point, a step that will shield the land from planned development and ensure that the area will be preserved for conservation and recreation.

The action will help protect a small set of parcels on the eastern end of Pleasure House Point near the public boat ramp—land that could have been developed into up to ten duplexes or five single-family homes.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and other partner organizations have worked for years to protect undeveloped parcels adjacent to the site from further development. The purchase is an important milestone in safeguarding one of our community’s most ecologically valuable natural areas.

Though modest in size, this parcel is a critical piece of the puzzle in protecting Pleasure House Point, serving as an eastern entrance to the park, providing neighborhood access where people can run or walk their pets, and preventing development from splintering the park and waterfront. The land is also near classroom space CBF uses for its Environmental Studies Program at the Brock Environmental Center, offering a prime opportunity for hands-on study. For many years, conservation organizations recognized the importance of this land and sought opportunities to preserve it.

The majority of Pleasure House Point was acquired and preserved in July 2012 as a collaborative effort between the Trust for Public Land, the City of Virginia Beach, and CBF.

There remains another area on Pleasure House Point still at risk of development, but Tuesday’s action will go a long way toward helping preserve a set of parcels on the eastern end of the site.

We congratulate Councilman Joash Schulman, the entire Virginia Beach City Council, and City staff on this achievement and thank them for their vision and dedication to protecting Virginia Beach’s natural resources for current residents and future generations.

CBF Hampton Roads Director Christy Everett issued the following statement:

“Moving forward on purchasing the Crab Creek lots will ensure that the local community will be able to access this beautiful habitat and recreational area for years to come.

“Though small, this parcel is critical to preserving the area’s integrity and preventing development along this treasured waterfront.

“The Chesapeake Bay Foundation thanks the Virginia Beach City Council for its leadership in moving to protect this vital land.”

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and Maryland farmers will plant thousands of trees and improve hundreds of acres of grazing pastures for cleaner rivers and streams, and more resilient farm businesses, thanks to a recent grant.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)’s  Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant totaling $939,700, plus $267,800 in matching funds, will implement regenerative agricultural practices on nearly 1,700 acres, including managed livestock grazing and streamside forest buffers, across Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.

The grant from NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund is funded primarily by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Chesapeake Bay Program Office. Additional funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.  The Fund helps farmers reduce their pollution ‘footprint’ by implementing farm conservation plans that reduce agricultural runoff, the largest contributor of nutrient pollution in Maryland.

In Maryland, CBF and farmers will use this funding to implement regenerative agriculture practices on farms across the state, including:

• Adding 500 acres of rotational grazing of livestock, which diversifies pastures to restore the soils’ “sponge,” resulting in better water infiltration and retention and making farms more resilient to droughts and intense weather associated with climate change;
• Creating 26 acres of silvopasture—adding trees throughout livestock grazing pastures to keep animals cool with shade, which is critical for animal health and reproductive success;
• Planting an additional 10 acres of forested streamside buffers, which are an effective way to absorb water, prevent flooding, and reduce pollution from running off of farms into local waterways.

The grant will also fund two economic studies on Maryland farms to assess how regenerative farming can improve a farm’s resilience and profitability. The studies will compare grazing dairy operations to more conventional, corn-based confinement dairy farms, as well as row crop farms (corn and soybean) that use regenerative farming versus those that do not.

Additionally, the grant will support several on-farm educational events that will equip farmers with tools to improve farm resiliency and soil health. By using less fertilizer, farmers can improve profitability and the community benefits of cool, clean local streams and Chesapeake Bay.

Grant funds awarded to CBF for the project will also support work on farms in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

CBF Maryland Watershed Restoration Scientist Rob Schnabel issued the following statement:

“Regenerative agriculture works with nature, leading to healthier streams and increased biodiversity, and helping Maryland farmers reduce costly fertilizer use. Currently only half of Maryland farms are profitable, and challenges with extreme weather, droughts, and floods are continuing to erode farmers’ bottom line. This NFWF funding will allow us to demonstrate the economic, ecosystem, and community benefits of regenerative farming as we implement these systems on farms across the state.”

Throwing new obstacles at Chesapeake Bay restoration, the Trump Administration rolled out a top-line budget proposal today that undermines the science and programs needed for a healthy Chesapeake Bay.   

Restoring the Bay relies on support from many federal efforts that would be slashed or eliminated in the latest budget request. Last year, Trump’s budget proposed similar cuts to investments in programs needed for a healthy Bay. In recent months leaders in the House and Senate rejected those reckless cuts and funded Bay restoration efforts.  

Proposals related to Chesapeake Bay restoration in the Trump Administration’s budget proposal include: 

• A cut to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program’s budget from its current level of $93 million down to $91 million. The Chesapeake Bay Program is the lead federal partner in restoring the Bay and coordinates across federal and state partners. The majority of the Bay Program funding goes directly to work in communities that leads to healthier waterways, including grants for tree plantings, oyster restoration, and other community projects.  The overall EPA budget was slashed by 52 percent.
• NOAA’s environmental and climate education grants would be eliminated. That includes the Bay Watershed Education and Training program (BWET), which jump-starts hands on learning outside for students and teachers around the Chesapeake Bay.
• Reduced investment in NOAA climate science research programs. More frequent and more intense storms due to climate change wash more pollution into the Chesapeake Bay, and warmer water temperatures harm fish and wildlife. This threatens coastal communities, fisheries, and our ability to restore the Bay. Cutting this research at NOAA would hamper our understanding and adaptation to these threats.
• Major cuts to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), including elimination of the USGS Ecosystems Missions Area. This includes programs that provide the critical science necessary for restoration and conservation in the Chesapeake Bay region and that help manage invasive species, such the invasive blue catfish. 
• A 90 percent cut to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and elimination of key grants for Clean Water Act work. These programs provide communities across the watershed with financial support to put in place practices that reduce pollution in rivers and streams. That includes upgrades to wastewater and sewage systems needed to prevent disasters like the recent Potomac River sewage spill.  
• The elimination of the National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways and Trails Network, which connects visitors to the natural and cultural heritage of the region.
• The elimination of the EPA’s environmental justice programs, which aim to protect the health of people in communities where they are at risk from pollution.  

Congress will now aim to pass a budget before the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) urges lawmakers to reject the steep cuts for Chesapeake Bay work in the Trump Administration’s budget request.  

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Senior Vice President for Programs Alison Hooper Prost issued the following statement:  

“The Chesapeake Bay must be feeling a bad case of déjà vu. President Trump is once again swinging a wrecking ball at the very work that keeps the Bay alive.  

“This budget pulls the rug out from under one of America’s greatest environmental success stories: the Chesapeake Bay. If the Trump budget becomes reality, kids will lose hands-on outdoor learning, science needed to make waterways safe to swim and fish will be sidelined, and pollution will continue to threaten people’s health. 

“The cuts proposed by the Trump Administration could leave cash-strapped states struggling to meet their commitments to reduce pollution to the region’s waterways. Just a few months ago, Congress rejected similar cuts in a show of bipartisan support for the Bay. Now Congress must once again protect the work needed to fulfill the federal government’s promise to restore the Chesapeake Bay.” 

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) will create cleaner rivers and streams in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia through regenerative farm practices like converting row crops to pasture, better livestock grazing, and streamside trees under a new National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant.

The Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant of $939,700, with $267,800 in matching funds, will implement nearly 1,700 acres of agricultural conservation practices, including managed grazing and planting trees along streams.

The grant is made from NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, funded primarily by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Chesapeake Bay Program Office. Additional funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

In Pennsylvania, CBF will collaborate with Capital Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc. (Cap RC&D) to provide educational resources, peer-to-peer technical assistance, field days, and pasture walks in Lancaster, York, Adams, Cumberland, Lebanon, Dauphin, and Franklin counties.

With Cap RC&D, field days will focus on improving pasture conditions, soil health, and converting row crops to grazing. This produces less polluted runoff, healthier soils, and reductions in fertilizer use and farm costs, all of which leads to cleaner water in local streams and the Chesapeake Bay.

Pastures with deep-rooted forage plants are more resilient to extreme weather, like prolonged droughts or torrential rains. Veterinary expenses and cull rates may drop because of fewer foot ailments and other herd health problems, since the livestock are more active and outside with less exposure to pathogens.

Grant funds awarded to CBF for the project will also go toward economic case studies on farms in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, looking at the costs and benefits of shifting to regenerative production systems like grazing.

Kelly O’Neill, Agriculture Policy Analyst with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Pennsylvania said:

“For Pennsylvania, this grant means that more farmers will improve their grazing efforts by learning from other farmers.

“Federal and state investments in regenerative agriculture are good for farm productivity and the health of local streams by keeping soil and nitrogen on the land instead of running into local waters.

“Regenerative grazing has helped many farmers to balance expenses and income, while improving the quality of farm life by reducing labor and costs. Livestock move frequently through a series of paddocks, allowing the forage plants to recover while the animals are grazing elsewhere.

“Grazing operations generally have lower start-up and maintenance costs than the alternative. Many livestock farmers shifting to grazing can spend more time managing pastures and monitoring herd performance, and less on a tractor.”

New Regulations Starting This Week Will Better Protect Rockfish During Hot Summer

This week, Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will implement new fishing seasons for striped bass starting on Wednesday, April 1 after a short legislative delay. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) welcomes these new regulations, which are intended to protect the Chesapeake Bay’s struggling striped bass population. CBF and its members submitted hundreds of public comments in support of the new seasons during the state’s public comment period.

For six consecutive years, Maryland’s young striped bass have struggled to survive early life, leading to fewer harvestable adult fish sought by anglers. DNR’s new regulations are a step in the right direction to help the species recover and rebuild in the Chesapeake Bay.

The new seasons will include a full August fishing closure, which will better protect striped bass in the hot summer when fish are under environmental stress and many die after being caught and released. Maryland will also open a few additional weeks of catch-and-release fishing in April when mortality rates are much lower.

These changes will greatly simplify Maryland’s striped bass fishing season calendar, making regulations easier for anglers to follow. This is especially important since fishery managers assume that rules are being followed when making conservation decisions.

Maryland anglers who want to help protect striped bass must use circle hooks and artificial lures, limit fish’s air exposure, and consult DNR’s striped bass forecast as temperatures warm up this summer. Other species like cobia and red drum are also much more common in Maryland waters during summer and can offer additional fishing opportunities. Anglers can always target invasive species like blue catfish, which have no catch limits.

CBF Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden issued the following statement:

“Striped bass desperately need our help, and Maryland’s new regulations are a strong step to rebuilding rockfish numbers. By closing August fishing and simplifying its seasons, Maryland is giving striped bass a fighting chance. We applaud DNR’s collaborative approach to protecting this beloved fishery.”

Virginia Delegate Betsy Carr, a champion of conservation, climate, and environmental issues, has been appointed to the Chesapeake Bay Commission.

The Commission is a tri-state partnership that seeks to provide coordination and leadership of state legislative and policy actions to restore the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The commission also provides key input to Congress on Bay budget and policy issues.

Delegate Carr (D-Richmond) joins Senator Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William), the commission’s vice chair, Senator Richard Stuart (R-King William), Delegate Rob Bloxom (R-Accomack), and Delegate Alex Askew (D-Virginia Beach) as Virginia lawmakers on the commission.

Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources David Bulova, a former delegate, is also a commission member, as is former First Lady of Virginia Pamela Northam.

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

“Delegate Carr has been a steadfast advocate for conservation, climate resilience, and clean water policies that benefit the Chesapeake Bay throughout her time in the General Assembly.

“Her leadership on issues like menhaden and environmental education and her senior position on the appropriations committee will ensure Virginia’s priorities are well-represented on the Chesapeake Bay Commission, whose bipartisan work is critical to advancing Bay restoration and preservation goals.

“We congratulate Delegate Carr on joining Secretary Bulova, Senator McPike, Senator Stuart, Delegate Askew, Delegate Bloxom, and former First Lady Northam to help serve as the Commonwealth’s collective voice on the commission.”

Becky Gwynn, executive deputy director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, received a prestigious environmental award on Thursday at the 2026 Environment Virginia Symposium in Lexington for her longtime work in the field, which includes promoting conservation efforts and developing innovative wildlife management solutions throughout the Commonwealth.

The Erchul Environmental Leadership Award recognizes a Virginian who has made significant individual efforts to improve the environment. The Commonwealth’s environmental community nominates candidates, who are judged on their vision, expertise, commitment, integrity, communication skills, accomplishments, and diplomacy.

“Becky has been a major friend to the Chesapeake Bay through her invaluable work on conservation efforts and wildlife preservation over her decades of distinguished service to the Commonwealth,” said Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Executive Director Chris Moore.

“It’s been a privilege to work with her and we at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation congratulate her for receiving this much-deserved award. Becky’s hard work has been instrumental to conserving a wide range of habitats and native species throughout the Commonwealth.”

The award is named for the late VMI professor Capt. Ronald A. Erchul, Ph.D., founder of the Environment Virginia Symposium.

Gwynn was presented with the award at the 2026 symposium, which took place this week at VMI in Lexington. It attracted hundreds of attendees, including from environmental nonprofit and conservation groups, to discuss environmental topics of concern for the Commonwealth.

Gwynn has supported CBF’s work on Libby’s Garden, a special pollinator garden and seed library at our Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach, and helped spearhead a massive, first-of-its-kind project to relocate a major seabird colony during construction on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.

In her experience at DWR, Gwynn has also been involved in the acquisition of more than 20,000 acres included in DWR’s Wildlife Management Area system.

“Becky Gwynn is a true giant of wildlife conservation in Virginia and our region,” said Ryan Brown, Executive Director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. “Her lifetime of contributions to our natural resources will leave a legacy for generations to come, and it is gratifying to see her receive this richly deserved recognition.”

Gwynn graduated from William & Mary with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and received a Master of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from Virginia Tech.

Critical Funding at Stake as Lawmakers Prepare for Special Session

After legislative proposals to study a controversial fish failed three years in a row, Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) this week threw his support behind researching menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.

Scott’s comments are a positive step toward helping secure much-needed funding to study the small forage fish important to a healthy Chesapeake Bay. Menhaden serve as highly nutritious food to some of the most iconic and important commercial and recreational species in the Bay, including striped bass, osprey, red drum, and marine mammals. These fish are the target of several fisheries including the largest industrial fishery on the East Coast, which harvests more than 100 million pounds of menhaden from the Bay annually. Troubling signs are growing around menhaden in the Bay.

Scott told the Virginia Mercury that even as he and other legislators look to cut back on the number of state-approved studies and commissions, research into topics like how menhaden are faring in the Bay is beneficial.

“These studies are important because they inform the legislation, and you can’t make good legislation if you don’t understand it,” Scott said.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation strongly supports the $2 million for research into menhaden that House lawmakers included in their two-year budget proposal.

Estimates 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 more than 80 percent in recent years. Osprey chicks are starving at unprecedented levels in parts of the Bay where they traditionally feed on menhaden.

Existing research focuses on the entire menhaden population up and down the East Coast and does not specifically consider whether menhaden are struggling in the Chesapeake Bay, where the fishery is concentrated.

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

The coming special session on the budget next month will give lawmakers an opportunity to invest in this science. Unfortunately, time and time again the industry has worked to undermine Virginia menhaden research with delay tactics.

Recent polling shows that 80 percent of Virginia voters support state funding for a study to improve management of the menhaden fishery and answer longstanding concerns.

The General Assembly did not advance several promising pieces of legislation during the 2026 session that would have protected menhaden in the Bay—making it all the more important that lawmakers send money for research to Governor Spanberger’s desk.

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

“We appreciate Speaker Scott’s highlighting the importance of studying the menhaden population in the Bay. We agree—research on menhaden in the Bay is long overdue amid growing ecosystem alarm bells.

“Menhaden catches by Chesapeake Bay watermen are plummeting and osprey chicks are starving to death at unprecedented levels. There’s no denying that something is wrong. Virginia can’t keep putting off action.

“Menhaden science would inform sustainable Chesapeake Bay management and improve our understanding of the ecological impacts of this highly concentrated factory fishing operation.

“The industry has consistently blocked science and conservation, but bipartisan public opinion polling is clear: 92 percent of Virginia voters think the Commonwealth should leave more menhaden in the Bay.

“As lawmakers head back to their districts ahead of the special session on the budget, we urge them to listen to these constituents and support funding for menhaden research.”

In another step to address threats from invasive blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay, the House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation today that will help watermen catch and sell more Chesapeake blue catfish.

The Mitigation Action & Watermen Support (MAWS) Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Sarah Elfreth of Maryland and Rob Wittman of Virginia, aims to set up a new market for blue catfish as pet and animal food. Efforts to expand catfish processing around the Chesapeake Bay have faced hurdles from U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection requirements that don’t apply to any other fishery.

The bill would launch a two-year pilot program in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office to provide grants to pet and animal food manufacturers to purchase blue catfish from watermen or processors. The program would also gather data on how the fishery benefits the Bay’s fish and crabs.

Blue catfish are native to the Mississippi River drainage but have become ubiquitous in the Bay’s rivers after being introduced decades ago. These invasive fish comprise up to 75 percent of the total fish weight in some Chesapeake rivers. Blue catfish have voracious appetites and feed on struggling native species like menhaden, striped bass, shad, and blue crabs.

CBF Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek issued the following statement.

“Blue catfish are a major threat to the Bay and the fish, crabs, and other species that call it home. This bill provides a resourceful solution to address this threat.

“The more blue catfish watermen catch, the better for the Bay. Standing up a new market for invasive blue catfish as pet food will complement the growing demand for delicious wild-caught Chesapeake catfish that people are already enjoying.

“We’re grateful for the leadership of Congresswoman Elfreth and Congressman Wittman in finding creative ways to fight the Bay’s blue catfish problem.”