¶ … Chesapeake Foundation:

Following decades of decline, there have been winds of change both literally and figuratively throughout the Chesapeake Bay in 2010. During this period, the estuary's blue crab population increased with over 60%, water clarity enhanced, dead zones withdrew, and underwater grass beds enlarged. While some of these improvements were assisted by lower rainfall and typical wind patterns, they resulted in the ongoing recovery of the rich underwater meadows. However, these positive signals were because of the science-based regulations and hard work by the foundation and its allies.

With education being at the center of our mission, the foundation provided encouraging open-air learning experiences to over 27,000 students, 300 teachers, and 30 principals by June 30, 2010. Since most of the expeditions extended over multiple days, the foundation's total number of participant days was approximately 35,000. In September 2010, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Maryland Education program approved an environmental literacy high school graduation requirement for all students. We also launched a program to research and discharge public service journalism reports to extend our knowledge beyond field experiences.

The other success area was in the courtroom where America's Environmental Protection Agency signed a milestone accord that settled a lawsuit which was presented by the foundation and its allies. The lawsuit prompted the Obama administration to highly prioritize Bay restoration and provide a new federal Chesapeake restoration strategy. The legal action also established a solid deadline of end of 2010 for the agency to endorse a stringent new pollution-reduction diet for the Bay-area states.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation positioned the restoration of Chesapeake at the heart of the national agenda and political debates. This was after the endorsement of the federal Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act 2009 by the Introduction and Senate Committee. We also received an extraordinary boost in efforts to lessen excess pollution into streams feeding the Chesapeake Bay. This was mainly through the construction of pollution-reduction projects on farms from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority funds.

In efforts to strengthen the fight for clean water, CBF achieved its goal of raising $150 million within six years. The financial resources were significant and crucial to the foundation's capability to initiate and maintain aggressive measures to ensure healthy waters. With support from various organizational members, donors, and investors, CBF's total support and revenue in 2010 was $32, 050, 431.