Virginia is farther from its goal of preserving a fifth of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in open land than officials had thought, reports Greg Edwards , writing for the Media General News Service. The state has roughly 360,000 acres to preserve under the Chesapeake Bay 2000 Agreement — considerably more than the 239,000 acres previously thought.
It appears that Department of Conservation and Recreation incorrectly calculated in 2000 how much land Virginia had already saved toward the goal. They inadvertently included 116,511 acres of the George Washington National Forest.
Oops.
Under a 2000 agreement, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and the U.S. government pledged to protect the bay’s watershed by permanently preserving 20 percent in open farm, forest or park land by 2010. Maryland and Pennsylvania have met the goal.
