The Integration & Application Network would like to recognize the indigenous native peoples who first lived in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The land and waters of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed were inhabited by numerous indigenous groups whose land was stolen from them. We cannot make amends for the injustices done to these peoples, but we appreciate that they were the original caretakers of the Chesapeake. The Chesapeake Bay Watershed includes historic lands settled by the Accomack, Arrohatec, Chesoenhaka (Nottoway), Chesapeake, Cuttatawomen, Doeg, Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee), Kecoughtan, Kiskiack, Lənape Haki-nk (Lenni-Lenape), Lumbee, Manahoac, Massawomeck, Monacan, Nacotchtank (Anacostan), Nandtaughtacund, Nansemond, Nentego (Nanticoke), Occohannock, Onawmanient, Onöndowa'ga:' (Seneca), Pamunkey, Patawomeck, Piscataway, Pissaseck, Pocomoke, Powhatan, Quiyoughcohannock, Rappahannock, Sekakawon, Susguehannock, Warrakoyack, and Youghtanund.
The report card was produced by the Integration & Application Network, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of Chesapeake Bay. The data and methods underpinning this report card represent the collective effort of many individuals and organizations working in the Chesapeake Bay scientific and management community. Funding was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The following organizations contributed to the report card: Chesapeake Bay Commission, Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake Bay Trust, Chesapeake Conservation Partnership, Groundwork USA, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Sea Grant, Morgan State University, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, Old Dominion University, OpinionWorks, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania State Extension, Smithsonian Institution, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Trust for Public Land, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, Versar Incorporated, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
The contents of the 1925 report card were based on references and the professional opinions from the following individuals: Bill Dennison, Don Boesch, Grace Brush, Robert Grumet, and Walter Boynton. Specific references include:
- Grumet, Robert S., writer. 2000. Bay, Plain, and Piedmont: A Landscape History of the Chesapeake Heartland from 1.3 Billion Years Ago to 2000. (The Chesapeake Bay Heritage Context Project, 183 p.) Annapolis, MD: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
- Brush, G.S. 1989. Rates and patterns of estuarine sediment accumulation. Limnology and Oceanography, 34(7), 1153–1388. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1989.34.7.1235
- Boesch, D.F. 2025. Predictive Ecology: The History of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science 1925-2025. Maryland SeaGrant. 188pp.
- Integration and Application Network (2002) Healthy Chesapeake Waterways. IAN Press, Cambridge, MD, 4pp. Available from: https://ian.umces.edu/publications/healthy-chesapeake-waterways/
Publicly available data used for the watershed indicators are from: Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC), EPA Water Quality Data Portal (WQX), Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, National Land Cover Database, Trust for Public Land, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Geological Survey, and West Virginia Department of the Environment.
The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and its funding sources. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government, or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or its funding sources.