Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee Publications
Microplastics in the Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed: State of the Knowledge, Data Gaps, and Relationship to Management Goals
Published on October 11, 2019A two-day STAC workshop entitled Microplastics in the Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed: State of the Knowledge, Data Gaps, and Relationship to Management Goals, was convened April 24th – 25th, 2019 at the George Mason University Potomac Science Center in Woodbridge, VA. Over 50 participants from government, academia, consulting, and non-governmental organizations met to present current research and policy initiatives, followed by facilitated discussion on data gaps and needs. The workshop was designed within the framework of an ecological risk assessment (ERA), treating microplastics in the environment similarly to other pollutants. Participants noted that while our understanding has progressed in recent years, we still have little idea of the magnitude and distribution of microplastics within the watershed, much less the potential impact microplastic pollution may be having on living resources.
Workshop participants concluded that microplastics pose a potential serious risk to successful restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. As a result, the following recommendations are being presented to the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) as urgent and immediate needs:
1. The CBP should create a cross-GIT Plastic Pollution Action Team to address the growing threat of plastic pollution to the bay and watershed.
2. The Scientific, Technical Assessment and Reporting Team should incorporate development of ERAs of microplastics into the CBP strategic science and research framework, and the Plastic Pollution Action Team should oversee the development of the Ecological Risk Assessments (ERAs) focused on assessment of microplastic pollution on multiple living resource endpoints.
3. STAC should undertake a technical review of terminology used in microplastic research, specifically size classification and concentration units, and recommend uniform terminology for the CBP partners to utilize in monitoring and studies focused on plastic pollution in the bay and watershed.
4. The CBP should develop a source reduction strategy to assess and address plastic pollution emanating from point sources, non-point sources, and human behavior.
5. The CBP should direct the Plastic Pollution Action Team and STAR Team to collaborate on utilizing the existing bay and watershed monitoring networks to monitor for microplastic pollution.
Establishing Multifunctional Riparian Buffers: How do we accelerate riparian buffer plantings across the Chesapeake Bay with the greatest economic, social and environmental impacts?
Published on December 20, 2019This report provides a summary of the proceedings of a STAC-sponsored workshop that explored market-based approaches for multifunctional buffers to identify means of accelerating riparian buffer plantings in the Bay watershed. This report also outlines specific recommendations identified by participants at the two-day workshop convened November 13-14, 2018 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
This workshop focused on scalable solutions to promote implementation of multifunctional riparian buffers with the objective to accelerate the rate of buffer plantings in Pennsylvania and the greater Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This workshop brought together academics, government officials, industry professionals, and farmers to discuss potential solutions to overcome barriers to success for each buffer market-based opportunity.
View detailsRevisiting Coastal Land-Water Interactions: The Triblet Connection
Published on September 23, 2019This report provides a summary of the proceedings of a Science and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) sponsored workshop on targeting advanced best management practices to benefit shallow water resources and explore potential refinements to the current CBP model segmentation strategy. This report also outlines specific recommendations identified by participants at the 2-day workshop, held in Frederick, Maryland on May 23-24, 2018.
This workshop provided an opportunity to evaluate whether the “triblet” concept (natural channels draining to tributaries along the transition zone connecting uplands to coastal waters and functioning as bioreactors) provides a useful basis for informing watershed management and advancing coastal research. Participants were varied in expertise, including watershed hydrology, estuarine circulation, biogeochemistry, and behavioral-economics. A significant portion of the workshop was dedicated to sharing insights to understand the role of triblets as bioreactors affecting the exchange between upland and coastal waters. Participants collaborated to identify key information gaps and research opportunities to advance Bay restoration.
Lessons learned and major findings from the workshop focused on the science gaps, as well as improvements to the Bay Program’s modeling strategy.
Factors Influencing the Headwaters, Nontidal, Tidal, and Mainstem Fish Habitat Function in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Application to Restoration and Management Decisions
Published on October 11, 2018In support of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) Fish Habitat Outcome 2-Year Work Plan (2018-19), the Sustainable Fisheries and Vital Habitat Goal Implementation Teams (GITs) obtained funding from the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) to conduct a workshop to develop a Fish Habitat AssessmentFramework for the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed (hereafter referred to as “the Watershed”). The workshop’sobjective was to identify the necessary information and analytical approaches needed to assess the condition and vulnerability of fish habitat in the Watershed. Such an assessment could identify the condition and primary drivers of fish habitat change, better guide conservation and restoration planning and investments, develop specific habitat management objectives to support the productivity of fish stocks, and evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to conserve and restore fish habitat.
Integrating Recent Findings to Explain Water-Quality Change: Support for the Mid-Point Assessment and Beyond
Published on June 30, 2018This workshop, hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), brought together water-quality managers and several groups of scientists working to synthesize management-relevant insights in their respective fields, in order to identify elements of research findings that could inform the development of Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) and future adaptive management.