Habitat Goal Implementation Team (GIT 2)
The Habitat Goal Implementation Team works to restore and enhance land and water habitats—including wetlands, living shorelines, underwater grasses, islands, forests and streams—to support key species and benefit water quality, recreational use and scenic value.
Meetings
Wetlands Workgroup Meeting: Nontidal - May 2025
Brook Trout Workgroup Meeting - May 2025
Wetlands Workgroup Meeting: Tidal - June 2025
SAV Workgroup Spring Meeting - May 2025
Habitat GIT Virtual Spring 2025 Meeting
Stream Health Workgroup Meeting - April 2025
About
The Habitat Goal Implementation Team seeks to facilitate the implementation of projects that restore and enhance a network of land and water habitats to support priority species and to afford other public benefits including water quality, recreational uses, and scenic value across the watershed by coordinating the efforts of Chesapeake Bay Program partners. These habitats include tidal and non-tidal wetlands, living shorelines, submerged aquatic vegetation, islands, uplands and forests, and freshwater streams.
Objectives
- Plan: To advance habitat protection and restoration through integrated planning, targeting of funding and technical assistance, generating and testing hypothesis regarding priority species outcomes, identification of emerging issues likely to impact living resources and their habitats, and brainstorming solutions.
- Implement: To provide information and technical assistance needed to accelerate implementation of projects that are strategically placed, innovatively designed or of demonstrated successful design, outcome-oriented, and responsive.
- Evaluate: To promote and support the collection, synthesis, and trend analysis of monitoring data for Chesapeake Bay living resources to evaluate impacts of habitat management actions.
- Communicate: To provide a forum for technical information transfer on restoration techniques and consolidation of performance data across various partner agencies and organizations.
- Adapt: To provide adaptive management recommendations regarding the Bay watershed’s priority habitats to the Chesapeake Bay Program's Management Board. Implementation Strategy.

The Habitat GIT and associated workgroups will meet periodically to:
- Align annual work plan with priorities established by the Management Board;
- Collaborate on implementation of on-the-ground habitat activities;
- Track and report performance toward two-year milestones identified in the Chesapeake Action Plan annual progress report;
- Advise Management Board on barriers to progress and recommend policy and administration changes to overcome such barriers.
Projects
Habitat Goal Implementation Team Strategic Framework
CompleteThis strategic framework identifies the Habitat Goal Implementation Team's guiding principles and priorities.
Targeted Outreach for Green Infrastructure (TOGI) in Vulnerable Communities
CompleteThis project developed conceptual blueprints for developing green infrastructure projects that provide both environmental and cultural benefits.
2022 Restoring the Wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Workshop
CompleteThis workshop convened key stakeholders to develop strategies and produce an action plan to accelerate progress towards the Wetlands Outcome.
Publications
Factors Influencing the Headwaters, Nontidal, Tidal and Mainstem Fish Habitat Function
Publication date:This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop to identify the necessary information and analytical approaches needed to assess the condition and vulnerability of fish habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
2017 Technical Addendum Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Dissolved Oxygen, Water Clarity and Chlorophyll a for the Chesapeake Bay and Its Tidal Tributaries
Publication date:This 2017 addendum provides previously undocumented features of the procedures for assessing attainment of the Chesapeake Bay water quality criteria as well as refinements and clarifications to the previously published Chesapeake Bay water quality criteria assessment procedures.
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Outcome Justification
Publication date:This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Outcome and how this outcome was developed.
View document [PDF, 557.7 KB] Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Outcome Justification
Wetlands Outcome Justification
Publication date:This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Wetlands Outcome and how this outcome was developed.
View document [PDF, 463.8 KB] Wetlands Outcome Justification
Tree Canopy Outcome Justification
Publication date:This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Tree Canopy Outcome and how this outcome was developed.
View document [PDF, 563.0 KB] Tree Canopy Outcome Justification
Our Watershed Agreement Goals & Outcomes
Vital Habitats Goal
Our Workgroups & Action Teams
Our Members
- Bill Jenkins (Chair)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 3 jenkins.bill@epa.gov - Gina Hunt (Chair)
Maryland Department of Natural Resources gina.hunt@maryland.gov - Chris Guy (Coordinator)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) chris_guy@fws.gov - Hadijah (Dede) Lawal (Staffer)
Chesapeake Research Consortium lawal.dede@epa.gov - Nick Staten (Staffer)
Chesapeake Research Consortium staten.nick@epa.gov - Alicia Berlin
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) aberlin@usgs.gov - Gwen Brewer
Maryland Department of Natural Resources gbrewer@dnr.state.md.us - Katie Brownson
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Katherine.Brownson@usda.gov - Rese Cloyd
District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) rese.cloyd@dc.gov - Tess Danielson
District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) tess.danielson@dc.gov - Dave Davis
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality dave.davis@deq.virginia.gov - Patrick Devers
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) patrick_devers@fws.gov - Kevin DuBois
U.S. Department of the Navy kevin.dubois@navy.mil - Daniel Goetz
Maryland Department of Natural Resources danielb.goetz@maryland.gov - Rebecca Golden
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) rebecca.golden@noaa.gov - Mitch Hartley
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) mitch_hartley@fws.gov - Mark Hoffman
Chesapeake Bay Commission mhoffman@chesbay.us - Tom Ihde
Morgan State University Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic Research Laboratory thomas.ihde@morgan.edu - Brooke Landry
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Brooke.Landry@maryland.gov - Genevieve LaRouche
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Genevieve_LaRouche@fws.gov - Neely Law
Fairfax County (VA) Neely.Law@fairfaxcounty.gov - Benjamin Lewis
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources ben.lewis@dwr.virginia.gov - Ray Li
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) ray_li@fws.gov - Pam Mason
Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) mason@vims.edu - Callie McMunigal
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) callie_mcmunigal@fws.gov - Matt Meyers
Fairfax County (VA) matthew.meyers@fairfaxcounty.gov - Chris Moore
Chesapeake Bay Foundation cmoore@cbf.org - Clint Morgeson
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources clinton.morgeson@dgif.virginia.gov - David Norris
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources david.norris@dgif.virginia.gov - Katie Ombalski
katie@woodswaters.com - Alison Santoro
Maryland Department of Natural Resources alisona.santoro@maryland.gov - Nancy Schumm
City of Gaithersburg (MD) Nancy.Schumm@gaithersburgmd.gov - Mike Slattery
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) michael_slattery@fws.gov - Angie Sowers
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Baltimore District angela.sowers@usace.army.mil - Christopher Spaur
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Baltimore District christopher.c.spaur@usace.army.mil - Steve Strano
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) steve.strano@md.usda.gov - Jim Thompson
Maryland Department of Natural Resources jim.thompson@maryland.gov - David Thorne
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources david.w.thorne@wv.gov - Jeff Trollinger
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources jeff.trollinger@dgif.virginia.gov - Bruce Vogt
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Bruce.Vogt@noaa.gov - Alan Weaver
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources alan.weaver@dgif.virginia.gov - Sara Weglein
Maryland Department of Natural Resources sara.weglein@maryland.gov - Matt Whitbeck
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) matt_whitbeck@fws.gov