The Countryside Exchange
in the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed

October 9 – 17, 1999

The Exchange in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Glynwood Center conducts Exchanges across the United States and Canada, but the Exchange in the Chesapeake Bay region is unique for two reasons. First is the special support Exchange communities receive from the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Second is the emphasis on watershed-based solutions.

The Chesapeake Bay Program provides funding to the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to guide and support communities through the Exchange process. The Chesapeake Bay Program, known internationally for its successful and innovative approach to ecosystem restoration, is a partnership among Pennsylvania; Maryland; Virginia; the District of Columbia; the federal government, represented by the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a liaison to the states’ legislatures.

The unique aspect of this partnership is that it is completely voluntary. None of its members are required to participate and it does not mandate regulatory solutions. To date, some of their accomplishments include establishing agreements to reduce nutrients and toxics, improve fish passage, increase underwater vegetation, restore forest buffers, and increase the involvement of local governments.

As the Bay Program has evolved, partners in the restoration effort have increasingly recognized the vital importance of local land use decisions and community involvement. Population growth in the region is expected to top 20 million by 2010, exerting enormous pressure on the Bay and its rivers. Construction of homes, businesses, shopping centers, and highways add to the pollution generated by agriculture. In addition, homeowners’ misuse of fertilizers and toxic pesticides, waste of water, and failure to maintain septic systems contribute to water quality degradation. Compounding these problems is the prevalent development pattern known as “sprawl,” which spreads new construction across the countryside.

The result is a dispersed, automobile-dependent society that has none of the characteristics that create a close-knit sense of community and motivate stewardship. Because land use decisions are frequently made at the local level, the Chesapeake Bay Program supports the Countryside Exchange as one tool for helping communities address their multiple needs while enhancing the stewardship of the Bay watershed.

The Chesapeake Bay Exchange encourages communities to identify themselves in the context of their watershed. Activities on the land may be artificially divided by political boundaries, but their effects can and do accumulate within the local watershed, large or small. The impact of poor land management in the hundreds of small subwatersheds that feed the Bay can be devastating to the ecosystem the Bay supports.

Communities that apply to participate in the Exchange are asked to frame their issues in terms of their local watershed. In addition, the communities are asked to consider, among other things, the impacts their localities have on downstream communities and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

How does the Exchange work?

The Role of the Alliance The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay is a regional, nonprofit organization that builds and fosters partnerships to restore the Bay and its rivers. Supported primarily by funds from the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has served as the regional coordinator for the Exchange since 1993.

As well as being a strong advocate of the consensus process, the Alliance has had a long-standing interest in growth and land use issues and in 1989 sponsored a major regional conference to address the subjects. Having now conducted seven Exchanges in the Bay region, the Alliance remains committed to the Exchange as a tool and model for local capacity-building.

The Alliance works with Glynwood Center to help communities prepare to host an Exchange team.

Alerting communities about applying to participate. Working with interested communities to develop and fine-tune proposals. Working with the Steering Committee to select host communities. Assisting chosen communities with preparations for hosting the Exchange team. Organizing the opening and closing events of Exchange week. Preparing the final, printed Exchange report. Working with the communities and the Steering Committee after the Exchange to assist with implementation of Exchange recommendations.

The Application Process

Exchanges in the Chesapeake Bay watershed take place every two years. Communities are selected through a competitive application process, led by a regional steering committee that is coordinated by the Alliance. The steering committee invites proposals from community organizations, environmental groups, planners, local commissions, local government officials and other entities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Applicants select specific issues that they wish to address. The committee evaluates the proposals based on how well the local issues mesh with the goals of the Exchange, as well as the strength and diversity of community members supporting the proposals. Up to three communities are selected to participate in each Exchange.

The Local Organizing Committee

After a community is selected to participate in the Exchange, the process begins with the formation of a Local Organizing Committee (LOC). The group that prepared the initial proposal is usually the starting point. The LOC must represent a diverse cross section of community interests, such as farmers, business owners, developers, and environmentalists. As the Exchange process develops, the community benefits not only from the team’s expertise but from better working relationships that come from getting to know the diverse groups and new partners who participate on the LOC. LOC members either volunteer their time or serve on behalf of organizations that support the Exchange. Overall, the LOC is responsible for all aspects of the team’s visit, from securing broad public involvement, to food, lodging, transportation, community meetings, and social activities. Key tasks include:

1. Identifying and refining the community’s issues.
2. Making sure all stakeholders are included in the planning process.
3. Developing the itinerary for the Exchange week.
4. Securing needed donations.
5. Arranging logistics and equipment for the Exchange week.
6. Spearheading follow-up on the team’s recommendations.

Because the team and community have only seven days together, thorough preparation is critical to a successful Exchange. To assist in the planning process, Glynwood Center provides a detailed planning handbook and staff from the Alliance and Glynwood Center work closely with the LOC during their preparations. Some LOCs tackle the planning process as a group, while others form subcommittees that handle smaller tasks. However it develops, the Exchange is a whirlwind of activity and effort, but the results are well worth it.

The Exchange Teams
The professionals who serve as team members are recruited by Glynwood Center through its national and international network. They are invited to participate in a competitive selection process and are hand-picked for each Exchange, based upon their experience and ability to address the issues identified by the community. Team members must also have had no previous connection to the community so they can be completely objective.

A team of six to eight professionals-who volunteer their time and pay their own travel expenses-is assigned to each Exchange community. The team then spends one intensive week meeting with local residents, officials and organizations, to examine the issues identified by the LOC. Experience has shown that there are some particular activities and events that greatly enhance the Exchange week. For example, the team should be housed together, which allows them an opportunity to get to know each other. Social activities are important, as are unscheduled blocks of time that allow the team to work alone, revisit issues, or pursue additional information.

Based on their own experiences and the community’s goals, the team members formulate suggestions and recommendations. At the end of the visit, the team presents its recommendations to the community at a public meeting. These recommendations are incorporated into a written report that the team leaves with the community.

Talented and skilled team members are drawn from a wide range of ages, experience, and background. By combining experience with fresh perspective and immersing the team in a community where they can be objective, the Exchange process produces amazingly insightful analyses. Their independent vision and diverse mix of perspectives give the team the capacity to develop creative solutions that can be used to overcome community inertia.

It is important to note that team members and/or their employers donate not only their time, but also their travel expenses to and from the Chesapeake region. The incentive to make this kind of contribution lies in the professional development and enrichment that is a guaranteed outcome of the Exchange for every team member.

Implementation

Just as communities vary, so do the results of the Exchange. Team recommendations may be broad or fairly specific; they may or may not be easily acted upon. For example, a team may point out that an existing land conservation program is underutilized and would benefit from a promotional campaign that would be fairly easy to implement. On the other hand, some recommendations may require more effort or even a policy change, such as coordinating the activities of related agencies that are operating independently. Still other recommendations may call for significant philosophical shifts in the thinking of decision-makers, community planners, or the community itself.

Community responses to the team’s recommendations also cover a broad spectrum. In some cases, the Exchange may trigger a change that the community widely acknowledges is needed. In other cases, the Exchange may outline an issue that leads to community debate and a collective solution. In the latter case, the community has hopefully developed through the Exchange the necessary tools, enthusiasm, and partnerships to develop sound solutions.

The Exchange partners do not promise, nor do they promote, quick fixes. In many instances, teams point communities toward a path without developing the ultimate “answer”. After the team’s visit, community leaders should continue using the Exchange model of public participation and consensus building to resolve issues and develop long-term solutions. Again, the specific recommendations contained within the report are only part of the benefit reaped by the community. The strengthened partnerships, improved communications, and cooperative spirit cultivated through the Exchange process pay dividends long into the future, as the community works together to implement challenging recommendations.

The 1998 Countryside Exchange

The 1998 Countryside Exchange took place from October 9-17, at two locations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. One Exchange was located in the southern portion of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which fronts the Chesapeake Bay on its eastern border. The second was hosted in Richmond and Essex Counties, Virginia, where the Rappahannock River both joins and divides the two counties.

The Exchange teams arrived in Baltimore on October 8. By car, train, and plane, members gathered at the Homewood Suites Hotel near the Baltimore Washington International Airport for the Exchange Opening. Staff from the Alliance and Glynwood Center hosted a joint meeting on October 9 to orient the teams on the Chesapeake Bay watershed and its environmental and growth management issues. Team members also met the leaders of the Local Organizing Committees and began to hear first-hand about the places they were going to visit. At the close of the day, the teams completed the final leg of their journey by traveling with LOC members to their respective Exchange communities.

After an intense week of site visits, interviews, public meetings, and social gatherings, the two teams reassembled at the Admiral Fell Inn, at Baltimore’s historic Fell’s Point. The excitement generated by their visit was obvious. After a debriefing and farewell party, they departed for home. Local organizers then began studying the recommendations and planning steps for action.

The Exchange in South Anne Arundel County, MD
The Exchange in Richmond and Essex Counties, VA

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