A crab trap, a red buoy and a blue bin containing silver fish
Fishing Boat on the Chesapeake Bay TNC works with fishermen and communities in the Chesapeake Bay. © Jason Houston

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Chesapeake Bay

Securing clean water and protecting critical habitats in our nation’s largest estuary.

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Join Our Cause

We're working across six states and Washington, DC—64,000 square miles of streams and rivers, forests, farms and cities. Your support will mean cleaner water, healthier habitat and more abundant life in the Chesapeake Bay.

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(Castor canadensis). Damming of streams and rivers by millions of beavers in the Chesapeake Bay region once contributed to brackish conditions more favorable to oysters.

Video

It's All Connected

In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, there is an untold connection between beavers and oysters. Watch the video to learn more about this unique story.

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Our Stories

The bay is a natural engine that powers our region’s economy and ecology.

Success

Bay Highlights

10 ways we’re working to secure clean water and protect critical habitats in our nation’s largest estuary.

Oysters grow in clusters to form great reefs, protecting themselves from predators and providing habitat for other species.

Conservation Update

Oyster Restoration in Maryland

We're bringing back an icon to the Chesapeake Bay.

A leafy tree frames a calm river.

Feature

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna, the 16th largest river in the United States, supplies drinking water to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians along its reach.

View of Marshyhope Creek

Places We Protect

Nanticoke River Watershed

The 725,000-acre Nanticoke watershed supports a wide variety of plant and animal species, including more rare plants than any other landscape on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Young watermen are redefining the character and approach to working the Chesapeake Bay.

Conservation Update

Aquaculture by Design

New research helps answer the question: can oyster aquaculture help make the Chesapeake Bay cleaner, faster? Click play to watch a video or click the link below to read more.

Aquaculture Helps the Bay
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Protecting Land to Protect the Bay

Canoeing past a cypress tree on Nassawango Creek.
Nassawango Creek Preserve One of the last pieces of true wilderness left on the East Coast, Nassawango Creek flows southward into the Pocomoke River, a major tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. © Alan Eckert Photography
New Point Comfort Light is the third-oldest surviving light in the Chesapeake Bay and the tenth-oldest in the United States.
New Point Comfort Strategically located on a peninsula jutting into the Chesapeake Bay, New Point Comfort is a key stopover point on the Atlantic Flyway. © Dana Blackmer Photography
Nanticoke River, Delaware
Middleford North Preserve The preserve hugs a portion of Gravelly Branch, a last undisturbed portion of the Nanticoke River watershed, one of the Chesapeake Bay’s most productive tributaries. © Harold Malde
Artist Nancy Tankersley works on a plein air oil study of the landscape at King's Creek/Choptank Wetlands preserve.
Choptank Wetlands A survey of natural areas conducted by the Smithsonian Institution ranked this marsh system as one of the most important Chesapeake Bay natural areas. © Mark Godfrey / TNC
At Great Falls, the Potomac River builds up speed and force as it falls over a series of steep, jagged rocks and flows through the narrow Mather Gorge.
Great Falls Park At Great Falls, the Potomac River builds up speed and force as it falls over a series of steep, jagged rocks and flows through the narrow Mather Gorge. © Devan King / TNC
Kayakers enjoy a fall day on Nanjemoy Creek.
Nanjemoy Creek The "green thumb" of the Potomac River and one of Maryland's most pristine watersheds. © Alan Eckert Photography
A kayak offers the best way to enjoy the sights and sounds of this watery wilderness.
Dragon Flats Widely considered Virginia's most pristine blackwater stream, Dragon Run widens to form the Piankatank River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. © Andy Lacatell / TNC
The Prothonotary Warbler got its name from the bright yellow robes worn by papal clerks, known as prothonotaries, in the Roman Catholic church.
Robinson Neck Preserve Upland forests provide an important buffer in the protection of these marshes and the entire Chesapeake Bay. © Matthew Wroblewski / flickr Creative Commons CC by 2.0
Canoeing along Cumberland Marsh
Cumberland Marsh The preserve protects a pristine marsh habitat on the Pamunkey River, a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. © Daniel White / TNC
× Canoeing past a cypress tree on Nassawango Creek.
× New Point Comfort Light is the third-oldest surviving light in the Chesapeake Bay and the tenth-oldest in the United States.
× Nanticoke River, Delaware
× Artist Nancy Tankersley works on a plein air oil study of the landscape at King's Creek/Choptank Wetlands preserve.
× At Great Falls, the Potomac River builds up speed and force as it falls over a series of steep, jagged rocks and flows through the narrow Mather Gorge.
× Kayakers enjoy a fall day on Nanjemoy Creek.
× A kayak offers the best way to enjoy the sights and sounds of this watery wilderness.
× The Prothonotary Warbler got its name from the bright yellow robes worn by papal clerks, known as prothonotaries, in the Roman Catholic church.
× Canoeing along Cumberland Marsh