Chesapeake Bay Watershed Residents' Views on Agriculture and Water Quality

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Residents' Views on Agriculture and Water Quality

As part of the external evaluation of the Thriving Ag Project, researchers from Utah State University conducted an online survey of residents of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW) on their views of agriculture during summer of 2021. The survey conducted through Qualtrics asked about respondents’ levels of awareness of and views on water quality issues in local streams and waterways and the Chesapeake Bay in general. Questions also investigated residents’ perceptions of causes of water quality issues, how to address water quality issues, and the future of agriculture in urbanized areas (including views and values placed on urban agriculture, perceptions of issues related to agriculture, perceptions of agricultural land loss, views on solutions for agricultural land loss, and attitudes about the urbanization of agriculture in the CBW) including scenarios developed by the Thriving Ag research team to ensure agriculture is economically viable and environmentally sustainable in the future. Over 1,100 CBW residents participated in the survey that spanned rural and urban areas. Here is a descriptive report from the survey of CBW residents.