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Eat Your Invasives: The Bay’s Battle with Blue Catfish Blue catfish have been terrorizing Chesapeake Bay’s native fish for decades; they consume smaller fish and invertebrates in huge quantities and compete with larger fish. Some of their prey species are economically important, like blue crabs and menhaden, while others are already the focus of recovery…
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The Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses 64,000 mi2 of land and the homes of over 18 million people; the unfortunate truth is that this population is an unwitting source of debris of all types in both local waters and the Bay. Whether we’re talking about plastic straws, disposable masks, fishing line, or derelict crab traps, tons…
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Solar energy is becoming less expensive and more efficient. However, the utility-scale solar panel installations being proposed and installed around the Mid-Atlantic region will transform land characteristics. Currently, guidance and understanding of best practices relating to the land development and management of solar installations in the Chesapeake Bay region is unclear. What is the state…
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In 2019, the Local Government Advisory Committee and Local Leadership Workgroup began work on a suite of learning materials that frame the Chesapeake Bay Program’s goals through the lens of a very important audience: local government officials. Elected officials make decisions for their communities that impact restoration progress. This past year, a second phase of…
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In March 2023, the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee brought together scientific and management experts to assess stream restoration practices. Over the course of three days, the group explored common practices, assessment approaches, and ecosystem impacts with the goal of improving restoration outcomes. Join us on Wednesday, February 21st, from noon to 1 pm to learn…
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The Chesapeake Bay watershed is a dynamic system; change is occurring on scales from tidal to geological. Human development has a tremendous impact on the environment around us, and in turn, our communities are impacted by the environment through heat islands, flooding, pollution, and more. What does the future of the watershed look like and…
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The pathway to understanding is easier for many people when diagrams, illustrations, photographs, or video footage are involved. Visual explanations can increase information retention, transmit information more quickly, and motivate viewers more effectively than other forms of information. In today’s fast-paced society, there is a lot of competition for people’s attention and time, but the…
added a new Event
The pathway to understanding is easier for many people when diagrams, illustrations, photographs, or video footage are involved. Visual explanations can increase information retention, transmit information more quickly, and motivate viewers more effectively than other forms of information. In today’s fast-paced society, there is a lot of competition for people’s attention and time, but the…
One of the core conclusions of the Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR) report is that there is great potential and urgency in the restoration of shallow water areas; they are the places where many of our favorite Bay species live and reproduce as well as where most people interact with the Bay. With so…
The implications of the Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR) report ripple through all aspects of the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. One of the core conclusions of CESR is that there is great potential and urgency in the restoration of shallow water areas; they are the places where many of our favorite Bay species live…
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) at St. Michael’s wants to hear from you! They are currently reviewing their folklife programming/exhibitions and want to hear directly from the community about what you want to see. Folklife includes living traditions that are passed down over generations, including: work practices and tool craft, community activities, family life…
The Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR) report was released by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), an independent liaison between the Bay’s scientific community and the Chesapeake Bay Program. Over 60 experts were involved in its creation, and its pages reflect on how the restoration effort is going, the gaps in our current…
Geographically explicit, data-rich Chesapeake Bay report cards have been developed annually by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science for 16 years. But over the past several years, the report card expanded to include the Chesapeake watershed and the suite of indicators has expanded to include economic indicators, social indicators and an environmental justice…
Agriculture is one of the largest land uses in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The food produced here supports the growing population in the watershed and beyond, but production also leads to nutrients entering the Bay. The Farm Bill provides critical support to producers and environmental protections. While food production and other agricultural programs are necessary,…
There is a need to bring science to more people as well as bringing more people (and diversity) to science. Our speakers will demonstrate how UMCES works to fill both needs. On one hand, they have two programs for training for students from underrepresented groups. On the other side, they package the state of the…
Those “forever chemicals” you may be hearing about are Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, more commonly known as PFAS. They persist in our environment and are linked to long-lasting impacts on fish, other wildlife, and human health. In response to growing concerns nationally and locally, the Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC)…
With four cohorts of the Chesapeake Student Recruitment, Early Advisement, and Mentoring (C-StREAM) program interns out in the world, it’s time to reflect and learn from the alumni. The primary goal of C-StREAM is to encourage and support underrepresented students, including students who identify as people of color and/or who are first generation college students,…
In 2014, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement outlined dozens of outcomes organized under ten goals for the health and protection of the watershed Many of the outcomes are meant to be realized by 2025. With this deadline approaching fast and seeing various degrees of success so far, how does the restoration community use tools and…
September marks the two year anniversary of the first CRC Roundtable. When establishing this platform, one of CRC’s priorities was to create a space where all people could gather and have an open, honest discussion. To celebrate the Roundtable’s birthday, we’re taking a look at lessons learned from other successful collaborative efforts as well. Both…
Getting started in the science and environmental restoration workforce can be a daunting and twisting path. Internships help young scientists experience and better understand what a career in the geosciences might look like, but beyond research experience, are we giving interns the soft skills they need to succeed on their long-term career path? CRC’s Chesapeake…
The term “heat island” refers to an area that is significantly warmer than its surroundings, generally due to human activities. The temperature difference between the heat island and surrounding areas is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most noticeable during the summer and winter. The primary cause of hotter temperatures are…
Hurricane Agnes was a formative event in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The scale of the devastation was unparalleled and caused the Bay community to take a long look at business as usual and determine how we could better prepare for extreme events. The Chesapeake Research Consortium was born out of this desire to understand the…
Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) was born out of environmental challenges to the Chesapeake Bay. It rose from the havoc that Hurricane Agnes left behind to chart a path towards filling knowledge gaps and prioritizing informed decision-making throughout the Bay community. Part of this process has been creating pathways to ensure that, as we move forward…
Communication experts know that facts often do little to persuade; it is stories and emotions that change minds and win people over. Through photography, poetry, prose, murals, sculpture, song, and more, artists are able to reach people in a way that statistics do not. A photograph of a waterman’s skiff at home amongst shimmering waves…
Of the 18 million people in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, no two are the same. Each person has their own beliefs, concerns, and motivations. Acknowledging this, how do we align social behavior, community sustainability, and the wider Bay restoration effort to achieve the best outcome for all? Join us on Wednesday, February 16th, from 12-1…
Collectively, we have been working towards the restoration of Chesapeake Bay for around five decades; in fact, CRC is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. We have seen a lot of progress, but we also still have a long way to go. What needs to happen to keep moving us forward? One answer to that…
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as ‘forever chemicals,’ have been manufactured and used in a variety of industrial and consumer products in the United States since the 1940s, but have only recently received broad public interest. Numerous PFAS are present in the environment and have the potential to adversely affect human health and…
You’ve likely heard about invasive species before; do nutria, phragmites, emerald ash borer, or blue catfish ring a bell? These are all commonly known invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay region, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. The Chesapeake Bay Program notes that there are over 200 known or possible invasive species…
The Conowingo Dam has been a topic of heated discussion for decades. In that time, we have learned more and more about the system and made decisions according to that learning. Along with the science behind the issue, the story of the Conowingo has developed over decades – who holds the pen, how has the…
Moving Beyond Concern: Emerging Management for Contaminants We first noted substances negatively affecting the health of humans and the environment in the Chesapeake Bay watershed decades ago: mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, and others. We now have emerging compounds of concern such as pharmaceuticals and hormones. Management of these contaminants brings a unique set of…
How do we make sure that interns are getting the most out of their internships, both for sake of the intern’s future career path and filling the pipeline with a competent workforce? Summer internships should have implications beyond August, with impacts to the intern and the field. One tool for mentors and students looking for internships…
The environmental workforce that will inhabit and take care of the Bay area will be critical in bringing the full range of solutions to the table to face the challenges of the future. There are new faces emerging, including the new network of Bay professionals being trained through CRC’s Chesapeake Student Recruitment, Early Advisement, and Mentoring…
Our community within the Chesapeake Bay watershed includes tens of thousands of people who identify as American Indian. We all have a common goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. How can we better listen to, engage with, and support the restoration work that American Indian communities are doing? Join us…
The Chesapeake Bay starts in the freshwater streams of the watershed: small trickles of water join rushing rivers that eventually bring their billions of gallons of water to the Bay. The health of streams is vital to our communities, our wildlife, and the overall water quality of the larger Bay. Stream health is a major…
Earth Day 2021 is almost here and people around the planet will be celebrating its beauty and working together towards a greener future. Like the larger Earth, the Chesapeake Bay watershed is also stunningly beautiful, home to many humans and vibrant wildlife, and in need of collective action. We will be reflecting on decades of…
Shallow water is a dynamic piece of the Chesapeake Bay watershed puzzle. There are myriad interactions between land and sea that manifest in shallow water, making modeling this environment a hefty undertaking. How do we improve our collective understanding of these complicated but crucial environments to make good management and restoration decisions? Join us on…
For February’s CRC Roundtable, we are building on last month’s climate resilience discussion to talk specifically about sea level rise. Sea level rise is one of the most tangible symptoms of climate change and it impacts a variety of natural and societal systems, from tides to community infrastructure. In order to plan for sea level…
Join us for the first CRC Roundtable of the new year, Tackling a Global Problem at the Community Level: Building Climate Resilience.Climate change is a global phenomenon but resulting impacts, like flooding, habitat loss, shift in fisheries species, and urban warming are felt at the local level. Many communities wrestle with understanding the range of projected impacts…
Join us on for this month’s CRC Roundtable, Citizen Science for the Win-Win. Citizen science, particularly within environmental monitoring programs, boosts public understanding of and trust in environmental protection and restoration programs by engaging the community in data collection. Citizen involvement also greatly increases the volume and spatial extent of data collected, well beyond what academic researchers and…
Join us on Wednesday, November 18 from 12:00-1:00pm for this month’s CRC Roundtable, Adding EJSCREEN and Local Tools to Your Environmental Justice Toolbox, to discuss making EJ plans actionable through national and regional data. During the first half of the webinar, our invited speakers will provide an overview of EJSCREEN and the Environmental Justice and Equity Dashboard…