Richmond Delegate Betsy Carr Earns Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia Legislator of the Year Award

Delegate Betsy Carr (D-Richmond) received a Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Virginia Legislator of the Year award this week for her work securing critical funding aimed at helping the Chesapeake Bay’s menhaden population and her longtime environmental stewardship and advocacy for policies to improve the health of the Bay.

After years of efforts from Delegate Carr and other advocates, the legislature this year finally included state funding for research into menhaden, a critical forage fish that’s vital to the health of osprey, striped bass, and other wildlife.

The menhaden reduction fishery is an industrial operation concentrated in the Chesapeake Bay, where a fleet of vessels catches more than 100 million pounds of the fish each year.

A push for research funding to better assess the effects of the fishery on Bay health had failed two years in a row. Thanks to Delegate Carr’s staunch advocacy, lawmakers added the funding to the two-year budget just before it ended up passing in late June.

Delegate Carr also led other legislation during the 2026 legislative session to protect menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is currently weighing reforms that include quota periods to better spread the menhaden harvest out throughout the season—an idea Delegate Carr had pushed through one of her bills this year.

Delegate Carr played a major role this year in securing key investments for clean air and water in the Commonwealth. She is vice chair of the Appropriations Committee and was one of a handful of lawmakers that negotiated the final biennial budget deal.

That included record funding for the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program (VACS), a popular program that provides grants to farmers that institute sustainable practices.

“Delegate Carr has consistently been a champion of conservation, climate resilience, and clean water policies throughout her time in the General Assembly,” said CBF Virginia Policy Manager Jay Ford. “Her advocacy this year helped secure much-needed funding for research into menhaden, which will go a long way toward improving the science surrounding this critical fish vital to a healthy Chesapeake Bay.”

“As a budget conferee, Delegate Carr was also instrumental in pushing to secure key clean water and pro-environment investments in the final two-year budget deal. We look forward to working with Delegate Carr on these issues heading into the 2027 session.”

Delegate Carr said she was honored to receive the award from CBF.

“Taking steps to promote a healthy menhaden population in the Bay will benefit everyone. I’m thankful we were able to get much-needed research funding across the finish line this year,” Carr said.

“I’m proud to work with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to secure funding for this measure and make other investments that will improve Virginia’s environment and the health of the Bay. Together, we’ll continue to make the Commonwealth a great place in which to live, work, and play.”

CBF presents its Virginia Legislator of the Year awards to lawmakers who have made outstanding efforts in the General Assembly to improve the health and resources of Virginia’s rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. Recent Virginia Legislator of the Year awards include Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Fairfax), Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington and Alexandria), and former Senator Emmett Hanger (R-Augusta).