(The Center Square) – Gov. Josh Shapiro braved the snow to head to Baltimore on Tuesday where he accepted his new role as chair of the Chesapeake Executive Council.
The council is made up of governors from states whose waterways are part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed – Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia – as well as the mayor of the District of Columbia.
Shapiro is succeeding Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in the role. The two executives exchanged hats, a fisherman’s hat for Shapiro and a baseball cap with a blue crab for Moore. They made plans to fish on the bay their council is working to clean and protect.
“I think it’s important for me as a Pennsylvanian to be part of this conversation. I think for a long time Pennsylvania took a back seat when it came to cleaning up the Bay, and now we are helping lead that discussion,” said Shapiro. “I made commitments when I was elected governor to clean up our waterways to support our farmers and grow the tourism economy that relies on clean air and pure water in Pennsylvania and beyond.”
The state’s efforts to improve its waterways include providing support to farmers toward sustainable agriculture. Shapiro said their efforts have reduced nitrogen pollution by ten times the amount reduced in the entire decade prior. He said they had planted 945 miles of buffers along rivers and restored 139 miles of streams “to water quality standards that are acceptable.”
Shapiro celebrated the fact that the portion of the Susquehanna River that flows into the Chesapeake Bay and directly past the Governor’s Mansion in Harrisburg, saying he “got the second best grade of the entire watershed.”
Earlier this year, Shapiro was elected the chair of the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers. That association includes executives from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Québec and Wisconsin.
The roles underscore Shapiro’s efforts to draw economic activity in the region through tourism and outdoor recreation. The increased attention on Shapiro’s regional profile comes as he heads into an election year and rumors swirl about the potential for a 2028 presidential bid.
