Chesapeake Bay Program Fails to Recognize Tribes as Watershed Agreement Signatories

After nearly two years of negotiations, the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Policy Steering Committee announced Thursday that a coalition of Indigenous tribes will not become signatories to the revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

This is deeply disappointing, if not necessarily surprising. Tribes are right to be frustrated—and had previously decided to suspend talks with the Chesapeake Bay Program on their longstanding push to be included. They deserve meaningful inclusion and recognition in Bay restoration efforts.

The Indigenous Conservation Council (ICC), which includes representatives from all seven federally recognized tribes in Virginia, has worked for more than a year to secure meaningful inclusion and recognition in Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. They have been met with persistent delays and no concrete action.

In December 2025, Tribal leaders gathered in front of the governors throughout the region and were told that they were valued and welcomed into the partnership. Just before a July 1 deadline to come up with solutions, the Bay Program’s Principals’ Staff Committee voted to hold off on deciding on how to recognize tribes in the partnership until later in the year. The ICC had passed a resolution in January 2025 asking to be included as signatories to the updated agreement.

Tribal nations are sovereign governments, and that status is the basis for signatory standing. Their Indigenous Knowledge is invaluable to stewarding the health of waterways, and their conservation work in the Bay watershed includes the examples below—which are by no means an exhaustive list of their work:

• 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. Tribal Nations, including the Nansemond Indian Nation, have been invaluable supporters and partners on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) oyster restoration efforts, including work through the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance.
• Reclaiming ancestral lands. Tribal Nations across Virginia are reclaiming ancestral lands in the Bay watershed:
  • The Rappahannock Tribe reacquired 465 acres at Fones Cliffs on the Rappahannock River in 2022.
  • The Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe reacquired more than 850 acres along the Mattaponi River.
  • The Chickahominy Tribe reacquired Mamanahunt—more than 800 acres along the Chickahominy River.
  • The Nansemond Indian Nation reclaimed ancestral land in Suffolk, with CBF’s support.
  • Earlier this year, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe reacquired Windsor Shades, a 13-acre site on the Pamunkey River.

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

“This outcome is incredibly disappointing—and was entirely preventable. It’s unacceptable that the Chesapeake Bay Partnership did not follow through on promises to engage in good faith and include Tribal Nations as signatories.

“For far too long, Tribal Nations have not had a seat at the table even while delivering invaluable contributions to broader goals of clean water, thriving habitat, and healthy landscapes.

“The push for meaningful tribal inclusion should not end with today’s action. The Bay Program created this problem, and it cannot pass the burden of fixing it back to the Tribes by waiting for them to return or inviting them to a table that already failed them. Instead, it must go to the Tribes directly, own the harm this process caused, and commit to a concrete timeline for signatory status. We stand ready to work with all parties on a path forward should talks resume in the future.”