Publications

This report contains the principal findings and recommendations of a Chesapeake Executive Council-appointed panel on riparian forest buffers. Background material which describes in more detail the technical basis for the recommendations and elaborates on the implementation options is available as a Technical Support document.

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On October 5-6, 1994, the Nutrient Subcommittee and Forestry Workgroup of the Chesapeake Bay Program hosted a conference on the subject of riparian forest buffers. Participants came together to discuss, debare and learn about the value of our riparian forest resources and their potential use as protective buffers for water quality, fish and wildlife, and other diverse objectives.

Riparian forest buffers are essential components of maintaining long-term stream and watershed health and resilience in the Chesapeake Bay region. Riparian forest buffers also provide valuable ecological functions for wildlife habitat and biodiversity. This guide has been prepared as a resource to the many who wish to establish a forest buffer efficiently, effectively, and with a minimum of maintenance.

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The Chesapeake Bay 2005 Health and Restoration Assessment is presented in two parts. Part Two: Restoration Efforts is divided into five sections. In Reducing Pollution, efforts are compared to goals defined by the Bay states' river-specific cleanup plans. Monitoring data, tracking information, and computer simulations are used in this section. In the remaining parts, restoration efforts are compared to goals adopted by the Bay Program. Monitoring and tracking data are used in these sections.

On April 3, 2008, the Chesapeake Bay Program released its Chesapeake Bay 2007 Health and Restoration Assessment. The report gives watershed residents a clear and concise synopsis of Bay health and on-the-ground restoration efforts taking place across its vast watershed.

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The purpose of this report is to analyze the feasibility of using poultry litter for energy in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Using excess manure to feed energy generation systems in this region could potentially result in a reduced nutrient load to the Bay, thus improving water quality. In order to better assess the feasibility of this option, this report explores technologies that could potentially be used to convert poultry litter into energy and identifies impediments and incentives that a litter-to-energy project may encounter.

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A Socioeconomic Atlas for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed presents information about population, economy and commerce, social and cultural characteristics, recreation and tourism, administration and government, and land use for counties within the Bay watershed. Over 30 color maps are included, along with data tables, descriptive information, and a list of data sources.

This report sets the foundation for developing sedimentsheds to help determine the source of sediment that is contributing to water clarity violations in a SAV grow zone to assist with the 2010 sediment reallocation process. The report details the history of the 2003 Sediment Cap Load Allocations, describes sediment sources and sinks, and presents an exploratory analysis of Chesapeake Bay wide water quality monitoring data with the purpose of prioritizing areas with poor water clarity and high inorganic solids (sediment) in the water column.

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The State of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Watershed provides current information on the conditions and challenges that face the Chesapeake Bay today. Through an intricate suite of environmental indicators, Bay scientists assess both the state of the Bay and the state of the Bay’s restoration. Chesapeake Bay Program partners track some 100 indicators of Bay health – 89 are based on environmental monitoring and tracking data, while 11 employ computer model forecasts to project future water quality conditions resulting from today’s restoration initiatives. This suite provides us the most comprehensive look at the current state of the Bay while allowing Bay scientists to predict likely future conditions.

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On April 18, 2007, the Chesapeake Bay Program released its Chesapeake Bay 2006 Health and Restoration Assessment. The report gives watershed residents a clear and concise synopsis of Bay health and on-the-ground restoration efforts taking place across its vast watershed. The report is divided into two parts: Ecosystem Health and Restoration Efforts. This format of reporting, first used to detail the condition of the Bay in 2005, allows the Bay Program partnership to look at the effectiveness of clean-up actions across the entire watershed and allocate restoration efforts appropriately.

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