Stewardship practitioners and others who wish to engage the public through outreach and engagement in communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed will benefit from a systematic analysis of barriers for stewardship engagement in local communities.

For over 30 years, citizen science organizations have been a trusted voice and advocate for the health of tributary watersheds to Chesapeake Bay. By engaging citizens in promoting specific Bay friendly actions, these clean water advocates have hoped to improve Bay water quality. However, no comprehensive assessment had been conducted to establish a baseline of current behaviors or measure behavior change.