Publications

As part of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement to which the State of Maryland is a signatory, several plants in Maryland will be required to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in their affluent. To examine the feasibility of biological nutrient removal (biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal), the Bowie WWTP, an oxidation ditch system, was selected because there were few full scale studies on biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal in oxidation ditches under temperate weather conditions.

Download publication‍

This is a report on the status yields and trends of nutrients and sediment and methods of analysis for the nontidal data-collection programs in the Chesapeake Bay Basin

Download publication‍

This article discusses elements of the relationship between forests and water quality in the context of the forest buffer.

Download publication‍

The use of demonstration sites for riparian forest buffer establishment is one way to help accomplish the objectives of communication, education, and monitoring.The riparian forest buffers in this document are located in agricultural, rural and urban settings. An effort was made to locate restoration efforts in all three of these settings thereby showing the buffer's applicability in different land uses.

Download publication‍

The purpose of this handbook is to provide professional land managers and planners with the latest information on the functions, design, establishment and management of riparian forest buffers.

Download publication‍

Riparian lands provide a wealth of ecological benefits. For example, trees along the shoreline help to filter pollutants and sediment from runoff and groundwater before they enter the waterways. Trees also provide important habitat benefits for aquatic creatures. Fallen leaves and branches offer food and shelter, while shade helps to regulate water temperature and keep oxygen in the water. When riparian forests help to protect the streams and rivers in the Bay watershed, these benefits are realized downstream in the Chesapeake Bay. With more than 200,000 miles of streambanks and shoreline in the Bay watershed, riparian forests are vital for the success of the Bay restoration effort.

Download publication‍

This report contains background material that describes in more detail the technical basis for the recommendations and elaborates on the implementation options in the Final Report of the Riparian Forest Buffer Panel.

Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, USA, have agreed to reduce nutrient loadings to Chesapeake Bay by 40% by the year 2000. This requires control of nonpoint sources of nutrients, much of which comes from agriculture. Riparian forest buffer systems provide effective control of nonpoint source pollution in some types of agricultural watersheds. The expected levels of pollutant control by riparian forest buffer systems are identified for each of nine physiographic provinces of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Issues related to establishment, sustainability and management are also discussed.

Interim Report of the Riparian Forest Buffer Directive to the Chesapeake Executive Council

Download publication‍

This publication is a collection of case-studies that highlight accomplishments of local governments and citizen organizations to recognize the importance of forests to their communities and to take action to retain and restore those forests. It illustrates, in two separate sections, innovative riparian buffer and forest conservation programs initiated and implemented locally by the stewards of the Bay - its private citizens.

Download publication‍