1973
Mathias Boat Trip:  Charles "Mac" Mathias, a U.S. Republican senator, organizes a five-day boat trip and discovers firsthand from scientists, watermen, and environmentalists that the Chesapeake Bay is in dramatic decline. He begins organizing political support for a multi-year, in-depth scientific study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

1975
Kepone Fishing Ban: Scientists find evidence of a pesticide called Kepone in sediments, oysters, and finfish, forcing the governor of Virginia to ban oystering and fishing along a 100-mile stretch of the James River, reaching down to the mouth of the Bay.

1977-1981
Bernie Fowler Lawsuits: Led by state Senator Bernie Fowler, three Southern Maryland counties file lawsuits forcing the state of Maryland and EPA to devise a new water quality plan for the river. Scientists at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) provide key evidence documenting the role of nitrogen and phosphorus in degrading the river.

1977
EPA Bay Study: The EPA begins a five-year $27 million study of the Bay with funding secured by Senator Mathias. Scientists focus their research on submerged aquatic vegetation and inputs and effects of toxics and nutrients.

1979
Harry Hughes Boat Trip: Maryland governor Harry Hughes tours the lower Patuxent River with CBL scientists & officials from 3 Southern Maryland counties. The conditions they witness - turbid waters, dead oysters, & depleted oxygen readings - prompt Hughes to commit the state to better management of the river and its watershed.

1981
Patuxent River Charrette: A 3-day conflict-resolution technique brings together scientists, citizen activists, & officials from 7 counties, the state of Maryland, & the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. They reach consensus on a cooperative strategy to begin restoring the river's water quality.

1982-1983
EPA Releases Bay Findings: The 5-year study identifies nutrients as the major systemwide problem, causing declines in underwater grasses & the rise of dead zones of low oxygen. Citizens, scientists, & environmental organizations call for a plan to use those findings to clean up the Bay.

First Chesapeake Bay Agreement:  Governors from 3 states sign a pledge to work on reducing pollution & restoring the ecological health of Chesapeake Bay. The agreement establishes an executive council, an implementation committee, & an EPA Chesapeake Bay Program office in Annapolis.

1985
Phosphate Ban: Governor Hughes signs a bill banning phosphates from detergents sold in Maryland, ending a 4-year legislative battle between environmental organizations & detergent industry lobbyists. Within 2 years, Maryland phosphorus loadings decline by 16-21%. Bans follow in the District of Columbia (1986), Virginia (1988), & Pennsylvania (1990).

Rockfish Moratorium:  Based on new research, the state of Maryland declares a moratorium on catching & selling rockfish. Virginia later bans fishing in spawning areas before finally imposing a total fishing ban 4 years later. Striped bass populations increase from less than 9 million in 1982 to more than 70 million by 2004.

1987
Second Chesapeake Bay Agreement: The partners begin establishing a more specific, goal-oriented framework, setting 32 specific commitments in 6 broad areas: water quality, living resources, public access, population growth and development, public information and education, and better coordination.

1997
Pfiesteria Outbreak:  A toxic organism Pfiesteria piscicida is blamed for causing sick fish and sick fishermen on the Eastern Shore. Scientists identify runoff of chicken manure as a probable cause for toxic blooms. New legislation requires farmers to submit nutrient-management plans to the state.

2000
Site 104 Debate: The state of Maryland drops plans to place sediment dredged from shipping channels into a deep site just north of the Bay Bridge.

Third Chesapeake Bay Agreement:  The signatories set 102 commitments in 5 categories, calling for measurable progress and more regulatory actions in a partnership that was once completely voluntary.

2008
Blue Crab Crisis: After a decade of declines in the Bay's blue crab populations, a cutback on the harvest of female crabs is put in place by Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission. Virginia suspends its historic winter crab dredge fishery.

2009
Rejection of Asian Oysters: After numerous studies and completion of an Environmental Impact Study, Maryland and Virginia and the Army Corps of Engineers decide not to allow the introduction of Crassostrea ariakensis, a fast-growing Asian oyster favored by Virginia oyster growers.

Maryland Oyster Policies Revised:  The Governor's Oyster Advisory Commission, chaired by William Eichbaum, recommends expanding oyster sanctuaries and opening more Bay bottom to leasing for private aquaculture.

2010
TMDL Lawsuit: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and EPA settle their lawsuit with a binding agreement calling for EPA to establish the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), putting the Bay on a "pollution diet."

Current Crises?

Phosphorus Management:  What are the options for reducing the runoff of phosphorus from the farms of Pennsylvania and the Eastern Shore of Maryland?

Conowingo Dam:  What should be done about the all the sediment coming down the Susquehanna River, most of it from Pennsylvania? Now trapped behind the Conowingo Dam, that sediment is at risk of being scoured out by the next great storm and released into the Chesapeake Bay.