Former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance have been declared the winners of the 2024 presidential election. This comes at a critical juncture for the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort, which faces a 2025 deadline under the current cleanup agreement and questions about what comes next.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation President and CEO Hilary Harp Falk issued the following statement:
“For almost sixty years, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has been following the science, advocating for clean water, and educating the next generation of environmental leaders. Our commitment to restoring the Chesapeake Bay and ensuring accountability—regardless of who is in the White House or who is in control of Congress or the state houses—has never wavered.
“As the Trump Administration and other newly elected officials return to Washington, D.C., the next phase of Bay restoration will require bold leadership, partnership, and accountability.
“As we have since our founding, and with the support of our members, we will continue fighting for clean water and vibrant communities every single day—finding common ground with willing elected officials from both sides of the aisle and at all levels of government. By working shoulder-to-shoulder, we prove that the Bay brings us together while addressing the climate crisis and leaving a legacy of clean water to the next generation.
“As the federal/state Bay partnership stares down another missed deadline of 2025 and faces uncertainty of what’s to come, we know this: Saving the Bay has always been a unifying goal.
“In 1984, President Reagan said in his State of the Union address, ‘Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative challenge, it's common sense . . . We will begin the long, necessary effort to clean up a productive recreational area and a special national resource—the Chesapeake Bay.’
“That was a great moment for the Bay and indicative of the extraordinary bi-partisan cooperation the Bay has always inspired because it is so tied to our nation’s history, our culture and heritage, and the livelihoods of everyone who has ever called this ‘land of pleasant living’ their home—even if it’s just for four years in Washington, D.C.
“Now is not the time to slow down. It is time to double down. We have too much at stake: clean water, healthy communities, and strong economies.”
Washington, D.C. Communications & Media Relations Manager, CBF
[email protected]
202-793-4485
