Efforts to halt the degradation of the Chesapeake Bay started as early as 1973. The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, which was passed in 1987, expanded on these early efforts by setting more defined goals and objectives. The purpose of this law was to regulate the development of lands considered to be important to the protection of water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Henrico County’s Chesapeake Bay Preservation Program was developed out of this legislation and is reviewed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation for compliance with the state Act. The County’s program focuses primarily on the management of those lands known as Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas. Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas have two designations: Resource Protection Areas and Resource Management Areas. With proper management, these lands offer significant economic benefits for the Commonwealth of Virginia by maintaining water quality and preventing pollution. The County of Henrico is committed to protecting the quality of the Bay and its tributaries for its citizens, present and future.
