ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland’s Whole Watershed Program, established under the Whole Watershed Act passed in 2024, continues to progress with planning and development for targeted watershed restoration projects across the state. In March 2025, the state selected five initial watersheds for funding and focused assistance: Antietam Creek in Washington County, Baltimore Harbor, Newport Bay near Ocean City in Worcester County, the Severn River in Anne Arundel County, and the Upper Choptank River on the Eastern Shore spanning Caroline, Talbot, and Queen Anne’s counties.
The program, a five-year pilot, provides technical and financial support to watershed sponsors for designing and implementing conservation and restoration initiatives. These efforts address local challenges such as flooding reduction, equitable waterfront access, habitat restoration, and water quality improvements, while contributing to broader Chesapeake Bay goals emphasizing shallow waterways like creeks, streams, and rivers.
In 2025, the state management team—comprising experts from the Maryland departments of Agriculture, Emergency Management, Environment, Natural Resources, and Planning, plus the Critical Area Commission—collaborated with sponsors to identify 37 priority projects involving more than 75 partners. For fiscal year 2026, the state allocated $11,248,876 to these projects, supplemented by $11,007,788 in matching funds secured by sponsors from other sources.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Deputy Secretary David Goshorn stated, “The projects selected for the Whole Watershed Program represent bold visions for the future of watershed restoration in the state. These are projects that are geared toward addressing specific, local issues—reducing flooding in neighborhoods, building equitable waterfront access, and restoring habitat areas. Making real progress on these goals will benefit these communities, the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding watershed.”
DNR Watershed and Climate Services Director Natalie Snider added, “The wide range of projects put forward for the Whole Watershed Program demonstrates how valuable this program is. These are projects that are tailored to the unique needs of each watershed, and they will serve as examples of how targeted restoration can improve water quality, protect communities, and improve habitat.”
Specific projects include marsh restorations at Horner Marsh and Bay Creek in Newport Bay to counter sea level rise and ditching impacts; tree plantings in low-income urban areas via the Watershed Steward’s Tree Ambassador Program, oyster reef construction, stormwater management, equitable access improvements at Mulberry Hills trail, and Jabez Branch conservation in the Severn River; equitable waterfront access in Baltimore Harbor’s Cherry Hill neighborhood, a tidal wetland near Medstar Harbor Hospital, and a Reel Rewards invasive species fishing bounty; buffer plantings and stream restorations in Antietam Creek to combat erosion and nutrient/sediment runoff; and stormwater wetland projects in the Upper Choptank to mitigate residential flooding and enhance habitats.
For Southern Maryland, encompassing St. Mary’s, Calvert, and Charles counties along with southern Prince George’s, the current phase does not include a selected watershed. The five pilot areas represent diverse geographies but none fall within Southern Maryland’s primary river systems like the Patuxent, Potomac tributaries, or St. Mary’s River. However, the program’s statewide model and alignment with Chesapeake Bay restoration priorities hold implications for the region.
Southern Maryland relies heavily on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for commercial fisheries, recreation, tourism, and water quality. Local efforts, such as those by the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association monitoring and habitat restoration, complement broader Bay initiatives. The Whole Watershed Program’s success in demonstrating effective, targeted interventions could inform future expansions or similar funding opportunities for Southern Maryland watersheds, particularly as the state finalizes monitoring plans in 2026, develops finance and implementation strategies, evaluates additional funding, and advances community engagement through public meetings and outreach.
In 2026, the state management team will finalize watershed monitoring to measure impacts, co-develop finance and implementation plans with sponsors to identify resources and collaborations, evaluate future projects for funding, and implement community engagement plans. This phase may open pathways for additional watersheds, potentially including those in Southern Maryland, as the pilot evaluates scalability.
The program supports Maryland’s commitments to Bay health, where Southern Maryland communities benefit from reduced pollutants, enhanced habitats for species like blue crabs and oysters, and resilient coastal areas amid climate challenges. While no direct projects are funded in the initial five watersheds, the initiative’s focus on measurable, community-driven restoration provides a framework that could extend benefits to Southern Maryland through future cycles or related Bay-wide efforts.
A full list of projects and partners appears in DNR’s Whole Watershed Program annual report and on the program site. The approach emphasizes collaboration across agencies and partners to achieve cost-effective outcomes for water quality, habitat, and community well-being statewide
