a person speaks to a group of people gathered around them

For almost 40 years, the Alliance has been engaging and empowering local government officials to implement conservation actions that protect and/or restore their local waterways. The Local Government Initiative Team works to facilitate the flow of information among levels of government and expands the knowledge and capacity of local governments on topics related to the health and restoration of the watershed.

One way the Alliance does this is through local government engagement opportunities, like our Wandering Waterways tour series and Local Government Roundtables. The initiative employs the expertise of team members to create a multi-faceted approach to engage local officials, including the Local Government Advisory Committee, technical assistance, education and training, and communications.

The Local Government Leadership Workgroup, with Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) GIT Funding, performed a Local Government Technical Assistance Inventory and Gap Analysis. Using EPIC as the contractor, the inventory and gap analysis aims to help provide recommendations to CBP decision makers about how to best allocate resources to support local governments accessing technical assistance.

Pilot Year Results:

  • Directly supported 11 partner towns and 57 local officials
  • Partnership with Virginia Municipal League and Maryland Municipal League
  • Identified 30+ potential green infrastructure projects on public lands
  • Waitlist of towns interested in participating in the program

Check out an example of a Green Infrastructure Action Plan, created for Woodstock, Virginia.

“Thank you and your [Alliance] team for all your efforts on this stormwater project. We are using some of this for future CIP planning/grant applications. It was very helpful. We all appreciated the Alliance’s work.” – Jill Jefferson, Town of Woodstock

a group of people pose for a picture

Alliance Green Infrastructure Team members meet with local officials from the Town of Mount Crawford, VA during a site visit.

*The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay provides no cost planning, design, and implementation support for green infrastructure practices to address stormwater runoff, reduce flooding and erosion, and improve public spaces.

Thank you to our funders, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Trust, and CBP GIT funding for making this work possible. Learn more about our most recent Wandering Waterways tours.

Support the Alliance’s Efforts