The USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program arose from such a call to action. Under the broad umbrella of its federal, state and local partnerships, the Bay Program has led efforts to define quantitatively and qualitatively the conditions implied by the bumper sticker. The initial work in the late 1970s and early 1980s was to gather available quantitative data about the Chesapeake Bay environment, to characterize how it was THEN, at some point in the past, and how it was NOW. The work included hypotheses on the causes of change and proposals for their reversal. Since then, nutrient and sediment reduction goals have been set; various restoration goals, habitat requirements and water quality criteria have been established to define desirable endpoints; and management actions have been implemented to reduce pollutants, to conserve and protect resources. A long term monitoring program was established in 1984 to provide ongoing information about water quality and certain biological groups that are sensitive to water quality changes that could serve as early indicators of improvement or degradation.