Project Focus
The Pesticides & The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Project was founded in 2007 by Maryland Pesticide Network and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. The Project launched in order to bring together a diverse group of Bay restoration stakeholders to assess pesticide impacts on the Bay and identify and implement solutions to reduce the use and risks of pesticides in the watershed. It remains the first such initiative in Maryland dedicated to reducing the occurrence and risks of pesticides in the Bay watershed in order to protect water quality, aquatic life, wildlife, and public health.
Project Participants
The Project’s more than 300 stakeholders include scientists, public health experts, health care providers, beekeepers, waterkeepers and watermen; federal, state, county and city government agency representatives and agricultural community members; as well as the pest management industry, environmental and environmental health organizations and policymakers. Project stakeholders participate in three working groups related to research and issues education outreach to the public, farmers and to landscaping and pest management professionals.
Project Goals
- Identify relevant research and data gaps to assess the main pesticides of concern in the watershed.
- Identify Best Management Practices to prevent pesticide runoff and promote less-toxic strategies.
- Collaborate with, educate and support the agricultural community in implementing Best Management Practices and protecting farmer family health.
- Educate residential and commercial communities about reducing pesticide use and runoff – encouraging use of non-chemical and least-toxic alternatives.
- Identify policies needed to reduce the impact of pesticides on the watershed.
- Assess the need for strengthening and expanding existing policies and laws and identify needed policies to reduce the impact of pesticides on the watershed.
The Annual Conference
The Pesticides & The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Project’s holds an annual conference, which brings together stakeholders committed to Bay watershed restoration. The annual meetings focus on cutting-edge research on the impacts of pesticides on the watershed, on children, wildlife and pollinators, as well as the relationship between pesticides and climate change.
Learn about the 2022 Conference and view the presentations by leading experts.
Project Working Groups
Stakeholders are invited to participate in four Project Working Groups. Learn more about these groups and solutions their collaboration is producing:
Fact Sheets & Key Links
- Sign Up for MPEN Action Alerts!
- Safer Disinfectants for Covid-19 for Home & Business
- Fact Sheet: Impact of Neonicotinoid Pesticides on Chesapeake Bay Watershed Aquatic Life
- Fact Sheet: Cover Cropping to Protect Pollinators
- White Paper
- Healthier Alternatives
- Research Matrix
- Farmer Information Kit
- 2020 Pesticides & Chesapeake Bay Watershed Project Conference presentations
- Prior Annual Conference Presentations
- Best Mgt. Practices Guide
- Statement of Principles
- What Farmers Need to Know About Neonicotinoid Pesticides
