Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee Publications
Advancing Monitoring Approaches to Enhance Tidal Chesapeake Bay Habitat Assessment for Submerged Aquatic Vegetation, Water Clarity, Chlorophyll a and Dissolved Oxygen
Publication date:STAC Workshop Report
The STAC Workshop, "Advancing Monitoring Approaches to Enhance Tidal Chesapeake Bay Habitat Assessment," focused on gaps and cost challenges limiting habitat assessments as outlined by the water quality standards under the TMDL for water clarity and SAV (December 2021), water clarity and Chlorophyll a (April 2022), and water clarity and dissolved oxygen (May 2022)
Blueprint for Building Partnerships and Recommendations for Scaling Brook Trout Restoration in Stronghold and Persistent Patches
Publication date:STAC Workshop Report
The STAC Workshop, "Blueprint for Building Partnerships and Recommendations for Scaling Brook Trout Restoration in Stronghold and Persistent Patches," convened May 2025 and June 2025 to strategize implementation of priority best management practices to successfully recolonize, recover or repatriate brook trout populations.
Striped Bass Survey Assessment and Habitat Connections
Publication date:STAC Workshop Report
The STAC Workshop, "Striped Bass Survey Assessment and Habitat Connections," convened February 2025 to investigate the environmental and ecological factors contributing to the low recruitment of Striped bass. The workshop aimed to review current survey approaches and identify priority science needs, supporting the management of this marquee sportfish, which is vital to both the recreational fishing industry and commercial harvest along the Atlantic Coast. The workshop focused on exploring research needs, sharing insights, and fostering collaboration among participants to support effective management strategies.
View document [PDF, 1.3 MB] Striped Bass Survey Assessment and Habitat Connections
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Advance Chesapeake Bay Research and Management: A Review of Status, Challenges, and Opportunities
Publication date:STAC Workshop Report
The STAC Workshop, "Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Advance Chesapeake Bay Research and Management: A Review of Status, Challenges, and Opportunities," convened February 2025 to delve into the opportunities artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) offer for analyzing large-scale environmental data, identifying research needs, and improving coordination within the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership. The aim of this collaborative workshop was to enhance data-driven approaches to support Chesapeake Bay restoration goals, ensuring more effective and informed management practices.
A Path Forward in Considering Future Environmental Scenarios in Chesapeake Bay Restoration Efforts
Publication date:STAC Workshop Report
The STAC Workshop, "CBP Climate Change Modeling III: Post-2025 decisions," convened May 2024 to refine and expand existing climate modeling efforts for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. This workshop, the third in a series over the past eight years, aimed to advance modeling frameworks to better assess climate change impacts, in preparation for the reconsideration of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Planning Targets in 2027
Understanding Genetics for Successful Conservation and Restoration of Resilient Chesapeake Bay Brook Trout Populations
Publication date:STAC Workshop Report
The STAC Workshop, "Understanding Genetics for Successful Conservation and Restoration of Resilient Chesapeake Bay Brook Trout Populations," convened September 2021 to bring together experts in the field of fish and Brook Trout genetics with fishery managers and practitioners to share general knowledge of fish genetics and recent scientific advances. The main objectives were to: 1. communicate the importance of genetic information for Brook Trout management and review key conservation genetics concepts, and 2. explore available genetics datasets and explain how they can be used to support management.
Nutrient Reductions as Co-Benefit of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Treatment: Quantifying Nutrient Load Reductions for Restored Stream Segments in AMD-impacted Watersheds
Publication date:STAC Technical Review Report
The State of the Science and Practice of Stream Restoration in the Chesapeake: Lessons Learned to Inform Better Implementation, Assessment, and Outcomes
Publication date:This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop that reviewed and distilled lessons learned from past stream corridor restoration projects to improve future restoration outcomes.
Using Carbon to Achieve Chesapeake Bay (and Watershed) Water Quality Goals and Climate Resiliency: The Science, Gaps, Implementation Activities and Opportunities
Publication date:This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop to evaluate and translate biochar research for integration into Chesapeake Bay protocols.
Achieving Water Quality Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: A Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR)
Publication date:This report evaluates why progress toward the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load and water quality standards has been slower than expected and offers options for how progress can be accelerated.
Evaluating an Improved Systems Approach to Wetland Crediting: Consideration of Wetland Ecosystem Services
Publication date:This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop to explore the wetland accounting system and provide insight on improved approaches to promote wetland projects.
Using Ecosystem Services to Increase Progress Toward, and Quantify the Benefits of Multiple CBP Outcomes
Publication date:This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop to shape a framework for identifying impactful and durable ways to embed ecosystem services considerations in decision-making.
Using Local Monitoring Results to Inform the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Watershed Model
Publication date:The workshop, “Using Local Monitoring Results to Inform the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Watershed Model”, was held in March 2023 to provide insight on the scope of local water quality monitoring efforts within and outside of the Bay watershed that could be used to inform the CBWM. Scientists and managers developed recommendations that could be used by modelers for either calibration or knowledge generation to inform the Phase 7 version of the CBWM currently under development for a 2028 decision by the CBP, recommendations for how local monitoring efforts could be designed or altered to better inform the CBWM, and recommendations for how monitored trends could be used in management. The preliminary presentations for the workshop provided essential background information on the CBWM and data used to parameterize it. This information was the foundation for discussions on existing data gaps, the importance of current local monitoring networks, and best practices for developing future monitoring networks.
Best Management Practices to Minimize Impacts of Solar Farms on Landscape Hydrology and Water Quality
Publication date:As solar energy becomes a lower cost and more efficient source of renewable energy, major utility-scale solar panel installations, or solar farms, are being proposed and installed around the Mid-Atlantic region. These solar farms constitute a major land transformation. This transformation is particularly of interest because there can be substantial alteration of land characteristics in the development process, and solar farms also create a unique land cover with impervious surface over pervious surface, generating potential changes in hydrologic and water quality processes. There is currently wide variability in guidance and understanding of best practices relating to the land development and management of solar farms in the Chesapeake Bay region. Thus, a STAC-led workshop gathered speakers and participants from universities, industry, non-governmental organizations, and multiple levels of government across the Chesapeake Bay watershed to address the following questions in April 2023:
Improving Understanding and Coordination of Science Activities for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Publication date:Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries in the United States since the 1940s. PFAS are ubiquitous and persistent in the environment and have the potential to have adverse human and ecological health effects. There are more than 12,000 unique compounds, making analysis and reporting difficult. A STAC workshop gathered speakers from Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions, federal agencies, and academic institutions, including representatives from across the Nation, to better understand the state of the science, improve science coordination, and propose approaches to improve our knowledge of PFAS. The workshop was designed to (1) summarize current understanding of sources, occurrence, and fate of PFAS, (2) identify current efforts and approaches to inform the potential effects on fish and wildlife, and their consumption by humans, (3) consider study designs, and comparable sampling and analysis methods, for a more coordinated PFAS science effort, (4) determine and prioritize knowledge gaps, and (5) provide actionable scientific recommendations for monitoring and research.
Rising Watershed and Bay Water Temperatures - Ecological Implications and Management Responses
Publication date:This workshop examined the drivers and effects of rising water temperatures and sought to determine what the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership might do to prevent, mitigate or adapt to adverse consequences.
Overcoming the Hurdle: Addressing Implementation of Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) Through a Social Science Lens
Publication date:The agricultural sector is a key part of the solution for achieving long-term water quality goals established by the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership. Current levels of best management practice (BMP) adoption on agricultural lands are not sufficient to meet pollutant reduction goals across the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW). In this workshop, agricultural service providers across public and private sectors were invited to propose and discuss ideas on BMP adoption and implementation garnered from their own experiences.
Assessing the Water Quality, Habitat, and Social Benefits of Green Riprap
Publication date:Shoreline alterations in the Chesapeake Bay have led to a loss of native tidal and shallow water habitats throughout the waterways of the Bay. Efforts to reduce the proliferation of shoreline hardening through the use of Living Shorelines and similar restoration practices have slowed the loss of native habitats, but do not address areas that have already been hardened. Green Riprap is a low cost, simple restoration technique to improve the water quality, habitat, and aesthetics of shorelines previously hardened with rock revetments by planting marsh vegetation in the voids between riprap rocks. However, Green Riprap techniques are new to the Chesapeake Bay and before widespread use is encouraged, a synthesis of the science and identification of research gaps are needed. This workshop was developed to provide the foundation to evaluate the state of the science on Green Riprap and its potential for providing enhanced water quality, increased near shore biodiversity, and improved aesthetic functions of previously hardened tidal shorelines.
Incorporating Freshwater Mussels into the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Efforts
Publication date:Freshwater mussels were chosen as a focus for this workshop to consider ecosystem services, document biodiversity, outline intersections with Chesapeake Bay issues and to explore their potential to engage partners. The workshop brought diverse expertise together from across the watershed including mussel biologists, nutrient dynamics experts and water quality managers to provide recommendations which are summarized in this report.
Chesapeake Bay Program Climate Change Modeling 2.0
Publication date:The Chesapeake Bay Program Climate Change Modeling 2.0 workshop was held in late 2018 to give guidance and expert advice on the models and the assessment framework used to assess the effect of climate change on the TMDL. Scientists and managers developed recommendations that could be implemented to support assignment of any additional load reductions in 2021 and made recommendations on longer-term modeling goals for the partnership. Although a full workshop report is only now being published, several recommendations on near-term model revisions have already been implemented and have supported policy decisions made by the CBP Principals Staff Committee. The longer-term model revisions recommended here will be useful in guiding the partnership regarding future projections of climate change impacts on the attainment of the Bay TMDL and water quality standards.
View document [PDF, 932.7 KB] Chesapeake Bay Program Climate Change Modeling 2.0