Experts from the Chesapeake Bay Program report that between 2014 and 2022, the Chesapeake Bay watershed gained 4,310 acres of newly created or restored wetlands.
This is a slight increase (5.1 percent) of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement outcome to create or reestablish 85,000 acres of tidal and non-tidal wetlands, primarily on agricultural or natural landscapes. This figure includes 616 acres of wetlands on agricultural lands.
The Watershed Agreement outcome also calls for the function of 150,000 degraded wetlands to be enhanced by 2025. The latest data shows that 60,666 acres of wetlands have been enhanced (i.e., improving one or more functions of an existing wetland) between 2014-2022, meeting 40.4 percent of this goal.
Previously, the Wetlands Outcome was tracked using data collected through the National Environmental Information Exchange Network, or NEIEN. These data were reported by each of the watershed jurisdictions—Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, ...