Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Workgroup
The Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Workgroup guides managers, provides technical expertise, and applies research to protect and restore SAV in the Chesapeake Bay.
Upcoming Meetings
Habitat GIT Office Hours - December 2024
Friday, December 20, 2024 from 10:00am - 12:00pmSAV Workgroup Winter Meeting - February 2025
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 from 12:00pm - 5:00pmScope and Purpose
The SAV Workgroup serves the broader Bay community by guiding managers on the protection and restoration of SAV. The Workgroup carries out its mission by providing technical expertise and applying research findings to issues impacting SAV in the Bay.
Projects and Resources
Modeling the past to predict the future: forecasting the relative role of climate change and habitat management on Chesapeake Bay SAV
This project, conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and supported by a diverse group of steering committee members, modeled the impact of climate change on Chesapeake Bay SAV. The final report, PNAS article, and link to an associated Shiny App that predicts Bay-wide SAV as well as salinity zone and segment-specific SAV, are hyperlinked below. This work was funded through the Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding Program.
Shiny App: https://vims-sav.shinyapps.io/testshinyrmd/#section-segments
Chesapeake Bay SAV Monitoring Effort
The Chesapeake Bay Program is working towards a three-tiered hierarchical monitoring approach for SAV. To learn more about the effort, visit our webpages at:
https://www.chesapeakebay.net/what/programs/monitoring/sav-monitoring-program
Chesapeake Bay SAV Restoration Manual and Outreach Materials
The below resources, developed by Green Fin Studios in partnership with the SAV Workgroup, include a Chesapeake Bay SAV Restoration Manual and accompanying outreach materials. This work was funded through the Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding Program.
- SAV Restoration in Chesapeake Bay: A Guide to the Restoration of SAV in Chesapeake Bay and its Tidal Tributaries [PDF, 14.6 MB]
- SAV Restoration Quick Start Guide [PDF, 1.7 MB]
- SAV Restoration Fact Sheet [PDF, 5.2 MB]
- SAV Restoration Bookmark [PDF, 866.8 KB]
- SAV-ing the Sassafras River [PDF, 930.0 KB]
Tributary Specific SAV Fact Sheets
The Chesapeake Bay Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Synthesis Project brought together experts from the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership specializing in SAV, water quality, and land-use research and management. The goal of the project was to conduct a synthesis of multiple long-term datasets to determine what role the growing human population in the Chesapeake Bay watershed has played in influencing SAV distribution and abundance and if the sustained efforts and management actions implemented by the CBP partnership have benefited SAV habitat.
In response to interest from resource managers, local planners, and watershed organizations, the SAV Synthesis Project team conducted segment-specific reviews of SAV trends and progress towards restoration targets and created SAV fact-sheets for each segment. This local-scale segment review aims to provide a summary of information that may guide local planning and implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to encourage SAV recovery throughout the Bay.
The information provided in these fact sheets, along with accompanying data and information linked or referenced, should serve as references and guidance for resource managers and local planners in the identification and implementation of BMPs that benefit SAV recovery in their creeks, tributaries, or jurisdictional areas.
You can access the fact sheets here: https://gis.chesapeakebay.net/sav/
or on our CAST website here: https://cast.chesapeakebay.net/Home/TMDLTracking#SAVReportsSection
SAV Regulatory Review
The below resources, developed by the Chesapeake Legal Alliance in partnership with the SAV Workgroup, include a comprehensive regulatory review for Chesapeake Bay SAV and an accompanying searchable database for CB SAV statutes, regulations, and relevant policies. This work was funded through the Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding Program.
Publications
2024-2025 SAV Action Plan
This two-year workplan identifies actions the workgroup will take to advance the SAV Outcome.
View details2024-2025 SAV Management Strategy
This management strategy identifies approaches for achieving the SAV Outcome.
View detailsChesapeake Bay SAV Habitat Requirements and Restoration Targets: A Technical Synthesis
The first Chesapeake Bay SAV technical synthesis.
View detailsWatershed Agreement
Vital Habitats Goal
Members
Brooke Landry (Chair), Maryland Department of Natural Resources
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Email: Brooke.Landry@maryland.gov
Phone: (410) 260-8629
Rebecca Golden (Vice Chair), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Hadijah (Dede) Lawal (Staffer), Habitat Goal Implementation Team Staffer, Chesapeake Research Consortium
1750 Forest Drive Suite 130
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Email: lawal.dede@epa.gov
Phone: (410) 267-5745
Alyson Hall, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Amanda Shaver, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Becky Swerida, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Bill Dennison, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Bob Murphy, Tetra Tech
Carl Friedrichs, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Cassie Gurbisz, St. Mary's College of Maryland
Chris Adriance, District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
Chris Patrick, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Cindy Johnson, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Dave Wilcox, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
David O'Brien, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Gloucester Point (VA) Field Office
Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062
Email: David.L.O'Brien@noaa.gov
Doug Myers, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Richard Zimmerman, Old Dominion University (ODU)
5115 Hampton Boulevard
Norfolk, Virginia 23062
Email: rzimmerman@odu.edu
Phone: (757) 683-5991
Don Weller, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
Enie Hensel, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Erin Reilly, James River Association
Erin Shields, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Jackie Specht, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Jessie Jarvis, University of North Carolina
Robert Orth, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Jonathan Lefcheck, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Jonathan Watson, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Katia Engelhardt, UMCES Appalachian Laboratory
301 Braddock Road
Frostburg, Maryland 21532
Email: engelhardt@al.umces.edu
Phone: (301) 689-7140
Kayla Clauson, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
Kelly Somers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 3
Ken Moore, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Lauren Alvaro, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Lora Harris, UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL)
Maile Neel
Magdalene Ngeve
6117 Plant Sciences Building 4291 Fieldhouse Drive
College Park, Maryland 20742
Email: magngeve@gmail.com
Marc Hensel, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Mark Lewandowski, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Email: mlewandowski@dnr.state.md.us
Phone: (410) 260-8634
Mark Luckenbach, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
Matt Robinson, District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
Megan Fitzgerald, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 3
Mike Johnson, Virginia Marine Resources Commission
Mike Naylor, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
580 Taylor Ave Bldg E3
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Email: mike.naylor@maryland.gov
Phone: (410) 353-2049
Mike Norman, Anne Arundel Community College
Nancy Rybicki, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Peter McGowan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Peter Tango, Monitoring Coordinator, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
1750 Forest Drive Suite 130
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Email: ptango@chesapeakebay.net
Phone: (410) 267-9875