Publications

The data in Bay Barometer reflect the Chesapeake Bay’s health over the course of many years and, in some cases, decades. The publication offers a snapshot of the best available information from 2017 and 2018 on ecological health and our efforts to protect and restore the nation’s largest estuary, as well as our progress toward achieving the goals and outcomes of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

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This PowerPoint is designed for audiences that have some background in watershed implementation plans and knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL). It will inform them about the co-benefits associated with implementing certain conservation practices. The majority of these practices not only help in meeting your state’s water quality goals under the Bay TMDL, but also can meet other restoration goals not only for the Chesapeake Bay, but for the local waterways in your community. These conservation practices can benefit you and your community by providing economic and public health benefits; your state by helping to meet their goals for reducing nutrient pollution; and your local waterways by helping with their restoration and protection.

The workgroups at the Chesapeake Bay Program recommend 12 outcomes to consider when planning your conservation practices. They’ve developed a series of fact sheets to help you understand why they are beneficial and what would be the best for your and your community’s needs.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided expectations for the Phase I and Phase II Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) in 2009 and 2011, respectively, for the seven Chesapeake Bay watershed jurisdictions to demonstrate reasonable assurance that those allocations assigned to the jurisdictions would be achieved and maintained, and that the 2017 targets would be achieved. Through signing the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the jurisdictions reaffirmed their commitment to achieving these goals by 2025. In recent discussions, the jurisdictions remain committed to the 2025 goal.

EPA is now providing expectations for the jurisdictions’ Phase III WIPs to maintain accountability in the work under the 2010 Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL), encourage continued adaptive management to the new information generated during and after the Bay TMDL 2017 midpoint assessment, and lay the groundwork for implementation of the next generation of innovative practices. In addition, the Principals’ Staff Committee (PSC) established expectations for how to account for changed conditions due to Conowingo Dam infill, climate, and growth. These expectations are directed toward ensuring that the seven jurisdictions, and their local, regional, and federal partners have all practices in place by 2025 that will achieve the Bay’s dissolved oxygen, water clarity/submerged aquatic vegetation, and chlorophyll-a standards.

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Land Use Options Evaluation Outcome: By the end of 2017, with the direct involvement of local governments or their representatives, evaluate policy options, incentives and planning tools that could assist them in continually improving their capacity to reduce the rate of conversion of agricultural lands, forests and wetlands as well as the rate of changing landscapes from more natural lands that soak up pollutants to those that are paved over, hardscaped or otherwise impervious. Strategies should be developed for supporting local governments’ and others’ efforts in reducing these rates by 2025 and beyond.

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Land Use Methods and Metrics Outcome: Continually improve the knowledge of land conversion and the associated impacts throughout the watershed. By 2016, develop a watershed-wide methodology and local-level metrics for characterizing the rate of farmland, forest, and wetland conversion, measuring the extent and rate of change in impervious surface coverage and quantifying the potential impacts of land conversion to water quality, healthy watersheds, and communities. Launch a public awareness campaign to share this information with local governments, elected officials, and stakeholders.

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Diversity Outcome: Identify minority stakeholder groups that are not currently represented in the leadership, decision making and implementation of current conservation and restoration activities and create meaningful opportunities and programs to recruit and engage them in the Partnership’s efforts.

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Adaptation Outcome: Continually pursue, design and construct restoration and protection projects to enhance the resiliency of the Bay and aquatic ecosystems from the impacts of coastal erosion, coastal flooding, more intense and more frequent storms and sea level rise.

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Monitoring and Assessment Outcome: Continually monitor and assess the trends and likely impacts of changing climatic and sea level conditions on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, including the effectiveness of restoration and protection policies, programs and projects.

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Environmental Literacy Planning Outcome: Each participating Bay jurisdiction should develop a comprehensive and systemic approach to environmental literacy for all students in the region that includes policies, practices and voluntary metrics that support environmental literacy Goals and Outcomes of this Agreement.

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Sustainable Schools Outcome: Continually increase the number of schools in the region that reduce the impact of their buildings and grounds on their local watershed, environment and human health through best practices, including student-led protection and restoration projects.

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