The decades-long effort to protect one of the nation’s most important waterways The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and the site of some of the most significant moments in the nation’s history. This book provides for the first time a comprehensive story of the effort to save and protect its waters and living resources for future generations. Andrew Ramey describes the enormous task—engaging the states in the Bay’s watershed and the federal government since 1983—to realize one of the largest, most complex, and most expensive ecosystem restoration projects ever undertaken. He also unfolds a dramatic political narrative, tracing the momentous changes in American environmental politics from the “green” heyday of the 1960s and 1970s to the environmental movement’s collision with the Reagan administration in the 1980s and the movement’s ultimate triumph over the anti-environmental backlash of the 1990s and early 2000s. Along the way, he clarifies assumptions about the environmental movement, the major parties’ roles in it, and our society’s efforts to forge sustainable relationships with the natural world. Saving the Chesapeake reveals how a campaign to rescue this crucial resource altered the course of American environmentalism. Saving the Chesapeake is both necessary and completely original. Among its many strengths, Ramey's work complicates existing narratives about the relationship between political parties and environmentalism, demonstrating the surprising ways that Chesapeake conservation cuts against the expected grain of partisan polarization. A truly enjoyable and insightful book? Michael Lewis, Salisbury University The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is a force in watershed protection. This engaging account of its role, working side-by-side with scientists, government officials and citizens, provides critical insight into how the Chesapeake region cultivated the world's premier watershed restoration program. The campaign is not over and the CBF continues to play a singularly important role.? Ann Swanson, former director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission How do you-can you-recover a troubled ecosystem of national importance amid booming growth and development, a population doubling to 18 million residents? Historian Andrew Ramey takes a deep and hopeful look at fifty years of restoring Chesapeake Bay, one of the biggest and most complex such efforts ever undertaken. His book is an overdue analysis of an environmental campaign with implications for waters around the planet.? Tom Horton, former environmental columnist for The Baltimore Sun and author of Bay Country How do you—can you—recover a troubled ecosystem of national importance amid booming growth and development, a population doubling to 18 million residents? Historian Andrew Ramey takes a deep and hopeful look at fifty years of restoring Chesapeake Bay, one of the biggest and most complex such efforts ever undertaken. His book is an overdue analysis of an environmental campaign with implications for waters around the planet.― Tom Horton, former environmental columnist for The Baltimore Sun and author of Bay Country Andrew S. Ramey is Director of Advising for the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University.