Chesapeake Bay Foundation

The foundation is funded by left-of-center private groups and government agencies such as the D.N. Batten Foundation, National Geographic Society, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Town Creek Foundation, ² the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ³

The group supported the Clean Power Plan which was an Obama administration attempt to force the replacement of conventional energy sources with weather-dependent energy sources. ⁴

Background

Arthur Sherwood and a group of Baltimore businessmen founded the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in late 1966 at the behest of then-Maryland Governor Millard J. Tawes (D). ⁵

In 1973, the group acquired a property on Meredith Creek near Annapolis, Maryland that is used to host school field trips. ⁵

In 1976, then-U.S. Senator and group board member Charles Mathias (R-MD) passed a seven-year EPA Chesapeake Bay study in which group staff members served as sources to the EPA and the universities carrying out the study. ⁵

In the late 1980s, the group pressured Virginia into banning production oil wells. ⁵

As of November 2023, it claims to have 200,000 members and supporters and approximately 230 staff members. ⁵

Advocacy

Clean Power Plan

In 2015, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation supported the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan which would have shifted away from conventional energy sources and replaced them with weather-dependent, intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar. ⁴

In 2019, the group opposed the Trump administration’s repeal and replacement of the Clean Power Plan claiming it would make climate change and pollution worse. The nonprofit joined other groups in a lawsuit against the Trump administration and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated the rule and ordered the EPA to write a new one. ⁴

The case was ultimately heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, which in its ruling imposed limits on the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions. ⁶

Trump Administration Regulations

A January 2020 blog posted by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation attacked the Trump administration for undoing Obama administration environmental regulations alleging that it stripped protections for wetlands and streams, allowed more air pollution, and limited scientific input. ⁷

Plastic Bag Taxes

In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation which allowed cities and counties to impose a fee for disposable plastic bags which some northern Virginia cities and counties implemented. In September 2022, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation urged Virginia Beach residents to contact their city leaders and pressure them to impose the fee. ⁸

Criticism Of Climate Pact

In October 2021, officials from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and EPA signed a pact to address climate change as a part of cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation criticized the pact claiming the states have not been doing enough to address climate change and urged the EPA to put more pressure on Pennsylvania, which it claimed was far behind on its environmental commitments. ⁹

Maryland Climate Change Bill

In 2022, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation supported the passage of the Maryland Climate Solutions Now Act which mandates “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2045 and encourages more tree planting. ³

Environmental Education Standards

In July 2022, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation praised the state of Pennsylvania for implementing environmental education requirements in the state science curriculum to take effect in July 2025. As a part of the environmental curriculum, it would include Meaningful Watershed Environmental Experiences part of which include civic action and community engagement as part of student action projects. ¹⁰

Inflation Reduction Act

In September 2022, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation announced its support of the $369 billion so-called Inflation Reduction Act because it included climate change provisions and $20 billion to the USDA for conservation programs. ⁸

Environmental Justice

In March 2023, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation endorsed the A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice for All Act proposed by Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) in the House and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) in the Senate. The bill, crafted using the left-of-center identity politics framework of environmental justice, would ban towns and cities from experiencing discrimination such as unequal environmental impacts based on race, color, and national origin; and permits residents and groups to sue if alleged discrimination occurs. It would restrict permitting of projects in nonwhite neighborhoods and award $75 million in annual “environmental justice” grants. ¹¹

Chesapeake Bay Report Card

In February 2023, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued its annual report on the bay’s health giving it a 32 out of 100 or a D+. Since the report card has been issued starting in 1998, the bay’s health score has gone up by 5 points from 27 out of 100 to 32 out of 100 in 2023. ¹

Leadership

Hilary Harp Falk is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s president and CEO and has worked in that role since 2021. Previously, she was at the National Wildlife Federation. ¹²

William C. Baker is the past president, having held the post from 1982 to 2021. ¹³

Otis S. Jones is the chair of the board of trustees. ¹⁴

Financials

According to its 2022 tax return, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation had $37,482,212 in revenue, $31,537,989 in expenses, and $125,747,119 in assets. ¹⁵

It awarded grants to Lynnhaven River Now ($183,000), Chesapeake Bay Trust ($127,206), Virginia Department of Forestry ($38,306), Solar Oysters, LLC ($37,500), Capital RC&D Area Council, Inc. ($33,311), Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay ($21,949), Groundwork RVA ($11,088), ShoreRivers, Inc. ($10,307), Virginia Forage and Grasslands ($7,658), Crow and Berry ($7,120), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ($6,660), Chesapeake Conservancy, Inc. ($6,392), EnRichmond Foundation ($6,295), and Future Harvest CASA ($5,335). ¹⁵

Left-of-center private groups and government agencies such as the left-of-center “dark money” network operator Arabella Advisors ¹⁶ client D.N. Batten Foundation, National Geographic Society, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Town Creek Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture fund the group. ³