It has been one year since Gov. Wes Moore announced that Maryland was shifting its Chesapeake Bay cleanup strategy to align with the latest science, which recommends focusing water quality improvement efforts on increasing shallow water habitat and living resources, such as fish and crab populations.

According to Sec Josh Kurtz, “At the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), we’ve made significant strides during the past 12 months to shift from a strategy that I’ve often referred to as ‘restoration by opportunity’ to a more directed approach that also prioritizes environmental co-benefits such as habitat creation, shoreline resilience, and climate change mitigation.”

Some positive signs for the Bay: The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science released its annual Chesapeake Bay health report card in July, with the overall Chesapeake Bay earning a grade of C+ (55%), the highest grade since 2002. This latest review of the watershed’s health shows that the partnership of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement is strong as the DNR assess how to best move forward together beyond 2025. Recently, they’ve also seen an increase in Bay underwater grasses acreage as well as continued success with oyster restoration efforts.

To better align with the new strategy, DNR has updated its Grants Gateway funding process to fund pollution reduction projects with co-benefits. The Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund is helping to fund work to add 330 acres of new forest and 22 acres of native meadow throughout 12 counties in Maryland. In Oxford, DNR is assisting efforts to convert 30 acres of agricultural land into meadows and forested land. And in Anne Arundel County, DNR is working with Anne Arundel County to  restore the Jabez Branch to reduce polluted runoff from nearby roadways and create new habitat in the Severn River watershed.

The Secretary goes on to list further advancements the DNR has made towards restoring the Chesapeake Bay. See his full message here