The Chesapeake Bay is at a crossroads. A decade ago, state and federal partners along the country’s largest estuary entered into a binding agreement to restore the bay’s sprawling ecosystems.

Now, the agreement is up for renewal in 2025. Gov. Wes Moore is set to chair the first meeting to consider the plan's future in early December.

Have efforts to clean up the Bay during the ten years the agreement has been in effect yielded results? What lessons learned over the years can be applied to a new plan?

Hilary Harp Falk is the President and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an environmental preservation group focused on the bay's many estuaries and ecosystems. Since she became the head the organization in 2022, Falk has committed to reinvigorating state, municipal and federal efforts to restore the bay.