A watershed is an area of land that drains to a particular river, lake, bay or other body of water. Within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, there are tens of thousands of smaller watersheds that drain into local waterways, which all eventually flow into the Bay. Protecting the region’s watersheds is critical because what happens on land has a direct impact on the water.
To protect watersheds, Bay Program partners are:
Learn more about watersheds.
Watershed protection efforts are measured with three indicators:
Quantitative goals have been set for these indicators. When the goals are reached, it should mean that efforts needed to protect watersheds have been implemented.
Long-term trend
N/A -- data for all component indicators have only been collected for five years.
Short-term trend (10-year trend)
N/A –- data for all component indicators have only been collected for five years:
- 2004: 58.8 percent
- 2005: 63.3 percent
- 2006: 69.1 percent
- 2007: 71.6 percent
- 2008: 74.3 percent
Change from previous year (2007-2008)
Index score increased from 71.6 percent to 74.3 percent of goal achieved.
*Note: The historic data featured in the land preservation indicator changed due to corrections by Virginia.
The most up-to-date tracking data gathered by Bay Program partners are used to provide an assessment of watershed protection efforts relative to goals adopted by the Bay Program partners.
Percent achievement values for each indicator assessed in the Protecting Watersheds category were averaged to create the index score. Values that exceed 100 percent (Preserving Lands) were converted to 100 percent for the calculation of this index score.
For more information contact:
Nita Sylvester at 800-968-7229 ext. 711