Publications

Since the 1980's, urban forest research and new technical analysis tools have defined a wider role and value for urban trees. There is greater recognition of how urban trees and forests improve air and water quality, reduce sotrm water runoff, conserve energy, and protect public health. Increasingly, these benefits are being better defined and quantified through scientific research. At the same time, the loss of trees and forests in developing watershed continues, and urban tree canopy in inner cities deteriorates through removal or lack of replacement. The rate of converseion of forests to urban uses increased twofold from 1982 to 2001 in the United States, reinforcing the need for greater integration of foest and land use planning (NRCSm 2001).

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As the Chesapeake Bay Program resolves some of the issues before it, other problems come to the forefront for consideration. The 1983 Bay Agreement identified a small number of critical issues to be addressed. The selection of these issues was based on a consensus among citizens, resource managers, and the scientific and technical community. These groups agreed, first, that these problems were important, and, second, that we knew enough about them to develop successful solutions. The Chesapeake Bay Program is moving in uncharted waters. No other environmental management effort on this scale has ever been attemptedin a system as complex as the Chesapeake.

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As the Chesapeake Bay Program resolves some of the issues before it, other problems come to the forefront for consideration. The 1983 Bay Agreement identified a small number of critical issues to be addressed. The selection of these issues was based on a consensus among citizens, resource managers, and the scientific and technical community. These groups agreed, first, that these problems were important, and, second, that we knew enough about them to develop successful solutions. the Chesapeake Bay Program is moving in uncharted waters. No other environmental management effort on this scale has ever been attempted in a system as complex as the Chesapeake.

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In an effort to quantify toxic contaminants entering Chesapeake Bay, the USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program compiled, as part of its BasinwideReduction Strategy, a Toxics Loading Inventory. The Inventory estiamtes toxic contaminants entering the Bay from major sources (non-tidal fluvial, atmospheric, urban runoffm and point sources) and will be used to calculate a mass balance of contaminant loads to the tidal portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Calculation of a mass balance load requires that the concentration data used to estimate loads from various sources are comparable.

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In 2009, the EPA requested that the National Research Council (NRC) evaluate and provide advice on the CBP nutrient reduction program and strategy. The EPA specifically directed NRC to evaluate the tracking of best management practice implementation, tracking and accounting efforts, the two-year milestone strategy, and the states' and federal agencies' adaptive management strategies, and to suggest improvements to these strategies that might better attain the CBP goals (see Box S-1). The committee has not been charged to review the TMDL or the models used to develop it. To carry out this work, the NRC appointed a multidisciplinarycommittee of experts to provide advice to the EPA, the six states in Chesapeake Bay watershed, the District of Columbia, other federal agencies, and other interested parties.

In 2009, the EPA requested that the National Research Council (NRC) evaluate and provide advice on the CBP nutrient reduction program and strategy. The EPA specifically directed the NRC to evaluate the tracking of best management practice implementation, tracking and accounting efforts, the two-year milestone strategy, and the states' and federal agencies' adaptive management strategies, and to suggest improvements to these strategies that might better attain the CBP goals (see Box S-1).

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This is a summary list of the major directionss, goals and commitments the stakeholders have developed at theToxics Reevaluation and Revision (Toxics R&R) forums and working sessions. More detao;ed stalejp;der cp,emts amd doscissopm are recprded om tje Toxics R&R stakeholder proceedings. This summaru will be upaded as we get addtional stakeholder input.

Restoring water quality and living resources are the principal goals of the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement. In 1992, these goals were reaffirmed by recognizing the importance of the Bay's tributary stream and rivers. since then, commitments have beenmade to restore the extent and quality of habitat for anadromous fish other living resources. In 1994, the Executive Council recognized that forests along waterways, known as "riparian forests", are an important resource that help achieve both nutrient reduction and haitat restoration goals. Therefore, the Directive has called on the Cheaspeake Bay Program (CBP) to take actions to increase its focus on riparian stewardship in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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The purpose of this report is to present a synthesis of the USGS Chesapeake Bay science related to this 2001-06 golas and provide implications for environmental management. The report provides USGS findings that address the science needs of the CBP restoration goals and includes summaries of: 1) land-use change; 2) water quality in the watershed, including nutrients, sediment, and contaminants; 3) long-term changes in estuarine water quality; 4) estuary habitats, focusing on submerged aquatic veetation (SAV) and tidal wetlands; and 5)factors affecting fish and waterbird populations. A summary of the major CBP restoration goals and associated USGS findings and their management implications are presented in the document.

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Local governments in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, of which there are over 1,650, have repeatedly indicated a need for tools, techniques and models to help them contribute to the Chesapeake Bay restoration and protection effort and simultaneously, achieve community goals. With this in mind, the Chesapeake Bay Local Government Advisory Committee, developed the Local Government Pollution Prevention Toolkit to help local governments implement pollution prevention programs. Local governments are vital to the pollution prevention (P2) effort; however, a gap exists in the practical and technical information available to this audience. The Toolkit seeks to fill this gap.

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