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1968 USF Geology Conference concludes with recommendation for the establishment of a bay management committee.
1970 Save Our Bay is formed. Founders of the environmental watchdog group include Betty and Don Castor and long-time bay activist Robin Lewis.
1972 Wilson-Grizzle Bill mandates advanced wastewater treatment for plants discharging to Tampa Bay.
1973 Tampaâs sewage woes get prime-time exposure in first of two 60 Minutes segments with Mike Wallace and Hillsborough Environmental Protection Commission Director Roger Stewart.
1978 ãItâs Another Fine Mess for the Bayä ö Nov. 27 Tampa Tribune headline trumpets the discovery of mountains of silty muck, up to 12 feet thick in places, escaping from a dredging project to create spoil islands.
1979 Tampa opens Howard F. Curren Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant at Hookerâs Point; the $90-million plant eliminates the decades-long practice of dumping barely treated sewage into Tampa Bay.
1982 First Bay Area Scientific Information Symposium (BASIS I) convened; calls for creation of a Tampa Bay Management Study Commission to identify major bay issues.
1984 Florida Legislature establishes the Tampa Bay Management Study Commission under the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and requests a management workplan.
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 1985 Commission issues report: The Future of Tampa Bay. While smallish by comparison to many of todayâs technical tomes, the 100-page document is the bayâs first comprehensive management blueprint and reaffirms the need for an entity to advocate on behalf of the bay and coordinate restoration. The Agency on Bay Management is formed under the auspices of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.
1987 Florida Legislature establishes Surface Water Improvement & Management (SWIM) program, designating Tampa Bay as a priority water body.
Grizzle-Figg legislation strengthens and expands the Wilson-Grizzle Act of 1972 mandating advanced wastewater treatment.
1988 The Ecology of Tampa Bay: An Estuarine Profile. Robin Lewis and Ernie Estevez collaborate on the first comprehensive scientific report on the bayâs ecology, establishing a framework for later management plans.
1990 Tampa Bay accepted into the National Estuary Program. Tampa Bay National Estuary Program is created. Shrimping banned in upper Tampa Bay.
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1991 BASIS II held; scientists advocate watershed approach to bay management.
1996 BASIS III held: participants merge research to identify remaining gaps.
 1997 Tampa Bay National Estuary Program releases Comprehensive Conservation & Management Plan for Tampa Bay. Signatories include six local governments, the state of Florida and U.S. EPA.
1999 Regional Planning Council garners 30,000 signatures to establish a specialty license plate for Tampa Bay. To date, tarpon tag sales have raised more than $660,000 for bay improvement.
2000 ABM and Tampa Bay Estuary Program study effects of proposed desal plant on Tampa Bay and other proposed water supply development projects, resulting in extensive recommendations.
2002 ABM creates task force to assist state in managing environmental crisis at Piney Point phosphate facility.
2003 ABM creates task force to investigate additional boat launching facilities in lower Tampa Bay.
2005 ABM marks 20th anniversary.
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