Delaware and the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed is a large ecosystem that encompasses six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia. In Delaware, the western edges of Delaware’s three counties, New Castle, Kent and Sussex, contribute to the health and integrity of the Chesapeake Bay. Approximately 34% of Delaware’s acreage drains into the bay system, with nearly all of that in agricultural production. Delaware’s contributing portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is wholly comprised of five sub-watersheds. Each of the five is distinct in soil types, physical description, land use, social composition, and agricultural production. The five sub-watersheds are; Chester-Sassafras, Choptank River, Naticoke River, Blackwater-Wicomico, and Pocomoke. Because of their distinctiveness, Delaware’s contributing portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is complex in natural resources, environmental factors and land uses. For more insight into Delaware’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed please see the following detailed profiles of the five contributing sub-watershed.

Natural Resource Conservation Service Chesapeake Bay Watershed

The NRCS has released its Chesapeake Bay and Agricultural Conservation Resource Brief.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest, most productive estuary in North America. Because of the high land to water ratio, every conservation action in the watershed benefits the Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Program is a regional partnership of local, state, and federal agencies along with non-governmental organizations that has led and directed the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay since 1983.  To read more information on the Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Conservation Resource Brief please download the following report.

• National Natural Resource Conservation Service Chesapeake Bay Watershed 

The following files requires Adobe Acrobat

NEW! Cropland & Forestland: Improving Your Water Quality
Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Conservation Resource Brief  (786 KB)
2006 Chesapeake Bay Accomplishment Report (398 KB)
 

Success Stories

Hopkins Family Farm is Conservation Role Model

USDA Radio Spots 

This is a link to the Delaware News Page which list and link to downloads of USDA Radio Spots.  The site requires Windows Media Player software.  A link to download the software is also provided.

The following Audio Files Require Windows Media Player
 

Title	Description of Audio File	Length	Size	Format
The Chesapeake Bay Farmer	This is a story about a Delaware farmer´s love for farming and his passion for the environment. On this edition of AGRICULTURE USA, Brenda Curtis visits the Carlton Jones farm in Sussex County, Delaware.	00:05:00	(4,679 KB)	Media Player
Conservation Farming	This is a true story that shows just how much farmers love their business of farming and the land.	00:02:50	(2,696)	Media Player

NRCS Resources

NRCS Programs in Delaware

USDA's Service Center Locator to identify your local NRCS contact

Profiles of Delaware’s sub-watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

The following Documents Require Adobe Acrobat

Chester Sassafras Watershed (103 KB)
Choptank River Watershed (101 KB)
Nanticoke River and Blackwater- Wicomico Watershed (111 KB)
Pocomoke Watershed (103 KB)

Maps

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Acreage  (1.3 MB)
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Delaware  (114 KB)
Chester Sassafras Watershed  (97 KB)
Choptank River Watershed  (128 KB)
Nanticoke River and Blackwater- Wicomico Watershed  (143 KB)
Pocomoke Watershed  (93 KB)

Conservation Security Program

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes on Tribal and private working lands. Working lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture, and range land, as well as forested land that is an incidental part of an agriculture operation. The program is available in all 50 States, the Caribbean Area and the Pacific Basin area. The program provides equitable access to benefits to all producers, regardless of size of operation, crops produced, or geographic location.

2006 Watersheds are the Choptank and the Upper Nanticoke. For more information about CSP and this year’s Delaware CSP watersheds please visit our CSP webpage.

Other Chesapeake Bay Watershed States

• Maryland
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia
• West Virginia

Links to Partners in the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay Program Office - The Chesapeake Bay Program is a unique regional partnership that has led and directed the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay since 1983. The Chesapeake Bay Program partners include the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia; the District of Columbia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative body; the Environmental Protection Agency, representing the federal government; and participating citizen advisory groups.

Chesapeake Bay Journal - Bay Journal is published by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to inform the public about issues and events that affect the Chesapeake Bay.

Technical Information Maps of the River Watershed

The Following Documents Require Adobe Acrobat

NOTE: The MB Files are Very Large and will require time to Download
 

Delaware Contacts

Bay Contact:
Rob McAfee
NRCS Chesapeake Bay Watershed Coordinator
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
(443) 482-2953
robert.mcafee@md.usda.gov

Dastina Johnson
Public Affairs Specialist
Contact:  dastina.johnson@de.usda.gov
(302) 678-4179
FAX: (302) 678-0843

Last Modified:  09/25/2007 07:47:22 AM

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