The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (ACB) is a regional nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 that builds and fosters partnerships and consensus to protect and to restore the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

. ACB works by creating dialogue between groups that don't necessarily see eye-to-eye, in order to create joint solutions for the betterment of the bay and its watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

. ACB also supports and maintains citizen volunteer activities at the local level, encouraging regional "citizen scientists" to monitor bodies of water

Surface water

Surface water is water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean; it is related to water collecting as groundwater or atmospheric water....

 in their area and become directly involved in the bay restoration effort.

The allicance was founded in 1971 and has offices in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, and Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. ACB focuses its activities around four main areas:

• Watershed Promotion and Partnerships. Programs which teach sustainable ways to live in the watershed area.
• Restoration and Monitoring. Programs which promote on-the-ground restoration
  Stream restoration
  Stream restoration or river restoration, sometimes called river reclamation in the UK, describes a set of activities that help improve the environmental health of a river or stream. Improved health may be indicated by expanded habitat for diverse species and reduced stream bank erosion...
  
   and maintenance of the watershed, usually involving citizen participation.
• Communication and Information. Providing objective, in-depth information on issues that are important to restoring the bay.
• Public Policy. Projects that facilitate the balanced analysis of Chesapeake Bay policy issues, fosters citizen participation in the establishment of sound policy, and builds consensus where constructive dialogue is lacking.

ACB coordinates the "RiverTrends" program, a citizen water monitoring program in which volunteers throughout the Bay watershed analyze water samples they collect from local streams. This program compliments government water monitoring programs by filling data gaps in area where no data is currently collected.

ACB also sponsors three annual "River Sojourns." These are educational and awareness-raising events in which an average of 60 people take a five-day camping and paddling trip down different rivers in the Bay's watershed. The trips build an ethic of environmental stewardship via on-river and camping activities focusing on historical, ecological, and cultural topics. The River Sojourns take place on the James River

James River

The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...

 (Virginia), Patuxent River

Patuxent River

The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River between...

 (Maryland), and Susquehanna River

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

(Pennsylvania).