What does it mean to be a catalyst for clean water across an entire 64,000-square-mile watershed?
For the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland, it means building strategic partnerships that turn shared vision into tangible action across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
It means connecting people with their local waterways and empowering them to become environmental stewards.
And it means implementing boots-on-the-ground solutions that prevent pollution before it ever reaches our rivers and streams.
As part of our 2025 Changemakers initiative, Full Sail Media is proud to highlight the extraordinary work of this vital environmental organization that has been at the forefront of Chesapeake Bay restoration for over five decades.
A Legacy of Collaboration and Action
Founded in 1971 by a diverse coalition of citizens representing business, agriculture, conservation, academia, and government, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay emerged as a response to the Bay’s declining health and a lack of coordinated political action.
Today, under the leadership of CEO Kate Fritz, the organization operates across the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed with offices strategically positioned in Annapolis, Lancaster, Washington D.C., and Richmond.
“The Alliance is a regional environmental organization doing boots-on-the-ground work to restore the lands and waters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” explains Fritz, who has led the organization for seven and a half years. “We’ve been doing this for 54 years, so we really consider ourselves the first generation of Chesapeake Bay watershed restoration. We’re also looking ahead to being the second generation of that work.”
What sets the Alliance apart is their reputation as an honest broker and neutral voice in the often complex landscape of environmental advocacy.
Their collaborative approach brings together communities, companies, and conservationists with a shared goal: clean streams and rivers flowing through resilient landscapes, cared for by the people who live, work, and play in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Four Pillars of Environmental Impact
The Alliance’s work extends far beyond traditional conservation efforts. Their comprehensive approach addresses environmental challenges through four interconnected program areas:
- Agriculture: Supporting farmers in implementing best management practices that reduce runoff and improve the health of local waterways.
“We build partnerships to accelerate the implementation of restoration and conservation activities in different landscapes,” Fritz notes. “In rural landscapes, we collaborate with agricultural partners, farmers, and corporate partners to support conservation efforts.” - Forests: Working collaboratively to improve forest health, create new tree canopy, support private woodland owners, and communicate the vital benefits that trees provide to our watershed.
- Green Infrastructure: Reducing stormwater runoff through conservation landscaping practices in suburban and urban areas, including rain barrels, rain gardens, and permeable pavers.
- Stewardship & Engagement: Connecting more of the 18 million people who live in the watershed to their local waterways through education, volunteerism, and hands-on restoration activities.
“We aim to engage more of the 18 million people who live, work, and play in the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” Fritz explains. “This includes training community scientists to monitor water quality in their local rivers and streams. We also host the annual Chesapeake Watershed Forum, a major conference that attracts over 450 professionals each year.”
The Power of Partnerships
At its core, the Alliance is built on collaboration. As their name suggests, they serve as the “backbone” for action-oriented impact across the watershed, bringing together diverse stakeholders with a common purpose.
“Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do,” Fritz emphasizes. “None of our work happens in isolation. These partnerships take different forms depending on the needs of a given area or watershed.”
These partnerships range from corporate collaborations with companies like Hershey and Perdue to integrate conservation practices into agricultural supply chains, to working with Washington D.C. Department of Energy and Environment to install green infrastructure for residents, to collaborations with colleges and universities to build a pipeline of future environmental professionals.
“Building partnerships is a core part of our approach,” Fritz notes, “and we actively seek out opportunities to work together.”
While these collaborations come with challenges—building trust, securing resources, maintaining momentum—the Alliance firmly believes that working together creates more significant, lasting impact.
As Fritz puts it: “When more organizations align their efforts, when we all sit at the same table and wrestle with challenges as a team, we create meaningful, lasting change.”
Scaling Up for Greater Impact
In recent years, the Alliance has been laser-focused on expansion to meet the increasing need for on-the-ground restoration efforts.
“One of our biggest opportunities lies in corporate partnerships, particularly in agriculture,” Fritz explains. “By working with corporate supply chains—such as Hershey, Perdue, and Turkey Hill Dairy—we can reach hundreds of farmers at once, rather than engaging them one by one.”
This innovative approach leverages public dollars and private capital to directly support farmers in adopting conservation practices. What makes it particularly effective is the built-in trust—farmers already have relationships with these corporate partners, making collaboration more seamless.
“This work is critical because agriculture remains the only sector in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that has not reduced its pollution levels in the past 20 years,” Fritz points out. “By increasing adoption rates and investment in sustainable practices, we believe this initiative will create real, measurable progress.”
How You Can Get Involved
Want to be part of this watershed-wide movement for clean water? Here are just a few ways you can support the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay:
- Volunteer: From tree plantings to stream cleanups, there are opportunities for all ages and ability levels. The upcoming Treelay event on April 5th (a relay-style tree-planting event with the goal of getting thousands of trees in the ground in one day) will engage volunteers in planting trees at various sites across Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.
- Become a Community Scientist: Train to monitor water quality in your local rivers and streams, providing valuable data to track watershed health.
- Organize a Cleanup: Through Project Clean Stream, you can join an existing cleanup event or organize your own in your neighborhood, park, school, or church.
- Attend an Event: The Alliance hosts collaborative events year-round, including the Treelay, Wild & Scenic Film Festival, and Taste of the Chesapeake celebrations.
- Donate: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Alliance welcomes financial support to continue their vital work across the watershed.
“On a personal level, I feel incredibly honored to work on something I’m so passionate about,” Fritz shares. “Every day, my team and I wake up committed to improving water quality and restoring the environment. It’s a privilege to do something that will have a lasting impact on both local communities and the entire Chesapeake Bay region.”
At Full Sail Media, we’re honored to highlight organizations like Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay that demonstrate how collaborative action can transform our environment and communities.
