Summary
Organization name
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Address
100 Wildwood WayHarrisburg, PA 17110
PA, US
MD, US
VA, US
Washington, DC, US
About
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The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Mission is to Save the Bay and its waterways by educating, uniting, and inspiring people to take action.
We have a vision for a healthy and resilient Chesapeake Bay ecosystem where people, plants, and animals thrive together.
Help us to raise $40,000 and unlock a $5,000 match during Extra Give!
Much of our work is focused on Pennsylvanian and right here in Lancaster County. Although we have made great strides in reducing pollution in the Commonwealth over the last few decades, nearly one-quarter of Pennsylvania's rivers and streams continue to suffer from too much pollution.
Through education, restoration, and advocacy we can and will save the Bay!
2025 Highlights
Lancaster Water Week
Photo by Avery Van Etten
Farmers Breakfast
Pequea to the Bay Boat Trip
Photo by Kelly O'Neill
Columbia-Manor Tributary Bus TripOutdoors for All Day at Cullitan Park
Rainfall Simulator at Lancaster Science Factory
PA Clean Rivers & Streams Legislative Action Day
Pennsylvania Programs
Education
For more than 50 years, CBF's award-winning environmental education program has been a cornerstone of our effort to reverse the Bay watershed's decline, reaching over 1.5 million learners since its inception. CBF educates tens of thousands of students, teachers, and school administrators each year through immersive field experiences and professional development courses that foster lifelong connections to and stewardship of the watershed. On our PA Rivers & Streams Environmental Education Program, a canoe-based exploration of waterways in central PA, students conduct macroinvertebrate and water chemistry assessments to learn how agriculture and other human activities affect water quality.
PA Watershed Resiliency & Planning
PA Watershed Resiliency field staff work one-on-one with willing landowners to implement agricultural conservation practices that improve farm sustainability, significantly reduce pollution such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment to local waterways, and strength communities’ resilience to climate change. CBF incentivizes conservation practices by offering cost-share vouchers to help landowners pay for the installation, planning, or design of on-farm conservation practices. Ashley Spotts, our Lancaster resiliency staff has been working with landowners for CBF for 20 years!
CBF’s Watershed Resiliency Planning Program is a recognized pioneer in aligning local stakeholder and community interests with high-resolution watershed modeling to develop science-led plans that provide a roadmap to restore nonpoint source impaired streams to health. Leveraging our successes in the Halfmoon and Pequea Creek watersheds, which are now in plan implementation and adaptive plan management, CBF has written plans for Pequea Creek and Upper Conestoga in Lancaster County.
Building upon the experience and expertise from our previous watershed management plan development, CBF is continuing to develop plans and engage communities in the Columbia-Manor River Tributaries watersheds. Once these recommendations are approved and fully implemented, these watersheds will return to nonimpaired.
8 Years of Restoration through the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership
2025 marks the end of an 8-year campaign to plant 10 million trees throughout Pennsylvania between 2018-2025! The Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership, including many organizations in Lancaster County, supported this phenomenal goal. Partners have ranged from local to national conservation groups, government bodies, and businesses across Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic. Trees play a vital role in keeping soil in place and preventing it from washing into waterways and are essential for maintaining clean water in our local rivers, streams, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
While the program ends in 2025, the work does not. Partners will continue planting and maintaining tree projects, as will the Chesapeake Bay Foundation through the work of our Pennsyloania Watershed Resiliency program. Thank You for your commitment to this amazing endeavor!
THANK YOU 
Advocacy
Pennsylvania’s clean water efforts have been gaining significant momentum. Ensuring that momentum continues to accelerate and grow will be of utmost importance. With the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint deadline of the end of 2025 looming, this includes creating a new vision for Bay recovery efforts. This effort, referred to as Beyond 2025, requires leadership, commitment, and investment from Pennsylvania, other Bay states, and the federal government. It represents a unique opportunity to take the lessons learned from the Blueprint, focus on building a resilient watershed, and, importantly, centering efforts around people—their local environment, communities, and economy.
Thank you again for your support and helping us save the Bay! For more information on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, visit CBF.org.
Giving Activity
Mission
Founded in 1966, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is the largest independent conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Bay.
Our Mission
Save the Bay and its waterways by educating, uniting, and inspiring people to take action.
Our Vision
A healthy and resilient Chesapeake Bay ecosystem where people, plants, and animals thrive together.
Organization Data
Harrisburg, PA 17110