MARYLAND—The USDA Forest Service has released a Chesapeake Forest Restoration story map highlighting collaborative restoration efforts throughout the watershed. The story map is a visual summary of the Chesapeake Forest Restoration Strategy updated by the Forest Service and partners in 2020. The strategy was the basis for the first watershed-scale Shared Stewardship agreement signed by all the state foresters in the watershed and the Chief of the Forest Service in October 2020.

The new story map shows how trees and forests throughout the watershed contribute to a healthy Chesapeake Bay. It also describes specific practices and strategies for restoring forests in different landscapes and contains information about the role forest restoration can play in mitigating and adapting to climate change in the watershed.

Since 1992, the Forest Service has led a collaborative partnership to address forestry issues as part of the Chesapeake Bay Program. Forests are the most beneficial land cover for reducing nutrient and sediment pollution and for restoring the functions and services of Chesapeake ecosystems. Through forest restoration, as forests and tree canopy are re-established and forest health is improved, the landscape moves to an improved ecological condition.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States, and its watershed footprint is equally large, covering 64,000 square miles—spanning Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. This region encompasses 150 major rivers and streams, and over 18 million people live within the watershed. Unfortunately, many forests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been lost. The remaining forest land is increasingly impacted by fragmentation and development. Through the efforts of communities and landowners, forest stream buffers and urban tree plantings are restoring tree canopy cover, which is critical for recovery of the bay watershed.

Additional information about ongoing forest restoration work in the watershed can be found on the Chesapeake Riparian Forest Buffer Network, Chesapeake Tree Canopy Network and Chesapeake Bay Program’s Forestry Workgroup webpages.

June 4-12 is Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week.