The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) was created in 1967 and works to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay through educating, advocating, litigating, and restoring. The vision of the organization is that "the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers, broadly recognized as a national treasure, will be highly productive and in good health as measured by water clarity, lack of toxic contaminants, and abundance of natural filters in the water and on the land." Each year, the organization creates one specific goal that they work to achieve. This year, CBF is trying to increase the Chesapeake's Health Index score form 27 to 40, and ultimately get it to 70 by 2050. Other ongoing goals include reducing the annual loading of nitrogen by 50 percent, reducing the flow of toxic chemicals to the Bay watershed by 25 percent, achieving a tenfold increase in the oyster population, a twofold increase in the blue crab population, and a fivefold increase in the shad population, and reducing the of loss of forests, farms, and wetlands by 30 percent.
This is a great website to inform people about the efforts to protect the bay. I am particularly passionate about protecting the bay, because I spent a good bit of time in high school and college helping out and learning about the efforts to save the highly endangered migratory bird species the Red Knots. This species relies heavily on horseshoe crab eggs found in the Chesapeake Bay to gain enough weight to survive their great journey from the tip of South America to the Canadian Arctic. I liked learning about the efforts and goals set in place to improve the health of the bay and its wildlife.