Riparian forest buffers are one of the most significant best management practices used by the Chesapeake Bay Program to achieve nutrient reduction in the Bay watershed. Riparian forest buffers are linear bands of trees and other vegetation of various widths located on the edge of a waterway. They serve as an interface between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The Chesapeake Bay Executive Council signed the historical Directive No.94-1. In this document there was the recognition that riparian forests used as buffers between terrestrial land use and waterways provide a means for nutrient reduction to achieve the water quality goals of the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement.