Chesapeake Watershed Local Leadership Development Programs

Description

The 2014 Chesapeake Watershed Agreement establishes the goal to “[c]ontinually increase the knowledge and capacity of local officials on issues related to water resources and the implementation of economic and policy incentives that will support local conservation efforts.” Environmental Leadership Strategies (ELS) researched the needs of local officials, assessed the capacity of existing programs to meet these needs and recommended three potential delivery mechanisms to fill the needs that are not currently met:

1. A Bay-wide umbrella entity designed to coordinate and maximize the resources of existing programs;
2. A multi-pronged program through which states select an entity to serve as the primary delivery mechanism of information and discussion sponsor; and
3. Information and discussion forums delivered on specific topics or best practices by selected organizations in stages as resources become available.