Chester RIVERKEEPER© Program

To reverse the river's decline and remove it from the State of Maryland's list of "impaired waters," CRA hired the first Chester RIVERKEEPER® in September 2002.  CRA provides a vigilant presence on the Chester, a guardian for its living resources, and an outspoken advocate for restoring what has been lost.

As a member of Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc., CRA and its Chester RIVERKEEPER® have joined over 150 river, bay and lake "keeper" programs around the nation whose active presence on their waterways is making a difference.

The Chester RIVERKEEPER® represents the public and our right to clean water, insisting on the enforcement of all laws that protect the Chester and empowering citizens to hold people in authority accountable.

CRA has made remarkable strides, both in creating an informed and involved citizenry and in advocating for the health of the Chester River watershed.

The Waterkeeper Alliance

 Waterkeeper Alliance is the international center of a network of Waterkeeper programs.  The Alliance approves new Waterkeeper programs, licenses use of the Waterkeeper names, represents the individual Waterkeepers on issues of natiaonal interest, and serves as a meeting place for all the Waterkeepers to exchange information, strategy and know-how.  The Alliance and its member Waterkeeper groups meet at least once a year, rotating between regions.  They communicate regularly in the interim, supporting and  empowering member Waterkeeper organizations to protect communities, ecosystems and water quality.

 Waterkeepers take personal responsibility for the water bodies they represent, actively patrolling and protecting over 100,000 miles of rivers, streams and shoreline.  In June 2006, there were 156 Waterkeeper organizations internationally employing more than 350 full-time and 150 part-time environmental activists, attorneys, and scientists.

The Waterkeeper  Concept                   

Each Waterkeeper program reflects the needs of the water body and community it represents.  The common thread is that for each water body and community there is a full-time person who serves as the Waterkeeper, the public advocate for that body of water.  Waterkeepers are part investigator, scientist, lawyer, lobbyist and public relations agent.

A Waterkeeper's "clients" are all the users of the watershed for which the Watekeeper advocates.  A successful advocate has a diverse bag of tools that allows her or him as the Waterkeeper to get the job done.  All Waterkeepers have some kind of boat, ranging in size from canoes to research vessels, but sometimes a pair of hip boots is more important than a boat.  Sometimes a legal brief is more important than either.  Each water body has its own unique set of challenges requiring its own unique strategy.