The Chesapeake Executive Council Meeting is held at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C
Written by Chase Douglas
The Chesapeake Conservation Partnership (CCP) just reached a momentous milestone as we welcomed our 100th partner organization! Since its inception in 2009, the CCP has grown significantly as it has brought new partners from across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This is such a critical moment for CCP because it underscores the importance of collaborative action in the efforts to bring about meaningful change.
The partnership is a coalition of diverse organizations and agencies engaged in land conservation and related fields within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Our partners include several federal agencies, tribes, non-profit organizations, and regional organizations. We also have partners in each of the six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s boundary.
The true value behind the expansion of the partnership is the collaboration between the organizations that leads to creative solutions for the major barriers faced with land conservation. As the CCP Charter states, “The Partnership’s strength is in the diversity of its individual organizations that actively engage in creating and executing a collaborative agenda to continue to achieve the permanent protection of landscapes.”
Beyond the importance of creating a shared vision, the CCP partnership is most effective when it utilizes the diversity of its partners to identify and address the various reasons and benefits for conserving important landscapes throughout the region, including economic sustainability, scenic, historical and cultural heritage, working lands, important wildlife habitat, water quality and supply and overall quality of life. By approaching land conservation with a holistic view, the CCP is able to bring about meaningful efforts to conserve the natural landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay for all people.
A perfect example of this is our newest partner, Nature Forward, whose mission is to “inspire residents of the greater Washington, DC, region to appreciate, understand and protect their natural environment through outdoor experiences, education and advocacy.” Most recently, they hosted the 2024 Naturally Latinos Conference, “Perteneciendo: Nuestras Raíces, Nuestra Tierra (Belonging: Our Roots, Our Earth),” which focused on the needs and interests of Latine environmental professionals, environmental justice advocates, educators and nature enthusiasts. This conference highlighted the importance of rich cultural heritage being interwoven with our efforts to conserve and preserve the land where we live.
The poster session of the Chesapeake Watershed Forum is held at the National Conservation Training Center
Other recently added partners include Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, Inc., Casey Trees and Indigenous Conservation Council for the Chesapeake Bay, and we are excited for all the partners who asked to be listed. If you click this link, a PDF list containing a comprehensive list of partners will open, or you can see the list of partners on the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership website under the “Our Partners” tab.
If you are part of a non-partisan organization or entity working on conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and want to become a partner of the CCP, please apply here: Chesapeake Conservation Partnership: New Partner Application Form.
Positive messages are written in chalk along Springlawn Trail in Chester County, Pa
Image credit:
- Chesapeake Bay Program November, 2023
- Chesapeake Bay Program November, 2023
- Chesapeake Bay Program March, 2020
Lightning Update is a regular communication of the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions of the Partnership or member organizations.
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Support for the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership is provided by:
National Park Service Chesapeake
EPA Chesapeake Bay Program
USDA Forest Service
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Virginia Outdoors Foundation
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Chesapeake Conservancy
The Chesapeake Conservation Partnership is co-convened by:
