Last year, President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order calling on the federal government to “define environmental goals for the Chesapeake Bay” and take the lead in organizing restoration efforts. This month,  the Chesapeake Bay Program posted draft goals and outcomes for this initiative on its Web site about the Executive Order and solicited public comments.

The draft spells out goals, such as restoring water quality and fish and wildlife populations; it also describes “measurable outcomes,” outlining how the achievements would be defined. The Web site states that public feedback will be used to help finalize the government’s strategy for the Chesapeake Bay, set to be released May 12. The Web site will be open for comments until April 2.

It’s worth asking, though, whether public feedback will truly be considered, or if the whole thing is just a nice public relations move. But first there is the question whether public feedback will come at all.

There’s not much online buzz about the plans – so far, just a couple of comments on the Web site where they are posted. And a quick Google News search soon after the draft was published yielded just one five-paragraph story published elsewhere about the draft. On such a big issue, one might reasonably expect a greater public response, perhaps some speculation, at least something in the great communications platform that is the Internet.

Given more time, it is possible that the requested  public comments–which could generate new ideas and point out overlooked points and missteps in the plans–still might not appear online.

While past public forums about the Executive Order and a draft strategy released in November did inspire discussion, not much of it has appeared on the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Web site. All the stories and documents posted on the home page have yielded only one true comment, along with one pingback and two trackbacks. In November and December, the public did have the option of sending comments directly to the government. But still, the fact that so little has been discussed in public on the bay program’s official Executive Order Web site could signal that the site is not bringing enough public exposure to the Chesapeake Bay restoration plans. It might even signal that the public is largely apathetic to the Chesapeake Bay restoration.

Regardless of why the public isn’t engaging on the topic, it could spell trouble for the Bay and the potential success or failure of the Executive Order.