A New Strategy for Restoring the Chesapeake Bay

After more than two decades of restoration efforts through the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Chesapeake Bay scored an ecosystem health rating of 45 percent out of 100 in this year’s Bay Barometer. A new Presidential Executive Order provides the federal government with a fresh strategy for restoring clean water, recovering habitats, sustaining fish and wildlife, and conserving lands. The USGS, partnered with NOAA, will be central to the strategy by leading efforts to provide scientific information that addresses the impacts of climate change and land use on the Bay ecosystem, including sea level rise and changes in stream flow, water temperature and nutrients. Using an approach called ecosystem-based adaptive management, the USGS will help partners target restoration activities, monitor ecosystem improvement, and evaluate the effectiveness of restoration actions and policies. For more information about the USGS role in the Chesapeake Bay Strategy and specific USGS studies, visit the USGS Chesapeake Bay website, or contact Scott Phillips at swphilli@usgs.gov