Annapolis, MD – Chesapeake Conservancy President and CEO Joel Dunn issued this statement following Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s bill signing of the Clean Water Commerce Act.

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“The Clean Water Commerce Act of 2017 represents a sound step forward in promoting new and innovative ways to restore the Chesapeake Bay.

“The Chesapeake Conservancy commends Governor Larry Hogan and the General Assembly for creating a new tool in our efforts to deliver results on Bay restoration.

“Two years ago, the Chesapeake Conservancy’s Conservation Innovation Center (CIC) brought an innovative approach to improve data to the Chesapeake Bay Program. Last December, along with our partners we completed the Chesapeake Bay High-Resolution Land Cover Project, one of the largest, high-resolution land cover datasets for the nation.

“Our team of conservation entrepreneurs produced 1 meter by 1 meter resolution land cover data for the entire 64,000 square mile Chesapeake Bay watershed. This new land cover classification provides 900 times the amount of information as the existing dataset.

“This high resolution data now makes it possible for everyone engaged in pollution reduction projects to have the most accurate data available, increasing effectiveness in reducing nutrient and sediment pollution.

“The Clean Water Commerce Act creates a market to purchase successful outcomes rather than funding projects. The new high resolution data can increase the likeliness of success and enhance the pace of water quality improvements throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”

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