Fish, Streams, and Water Quality

Issue: Effects of exposure to estrogenic-chemical contaminants have been observed in many fish species worldwide. One effect is described as “intersex” because fish will take on characteristics of the other sex, such as immature eggs forming in male fish. Studies in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have also identified the exposure of fish to endocrine-disrupting compounds. The estrogenic-endocrine...

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is pursuing restoration efforts to improve habitats and associated water quality for fisheries, both in the watershed and estuary. Excess sediment decreases light in tidal waters for submerged aquatic vegetation, harms oysters, carries contaminants, and impairs stream health throughout the watershed. The CBP is implementing management actions and policies...

Issue: Native brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis) are of great ecological, cultural, and economic importance in eastern North America, and their restoration is a focus of the Chesapeake Bay Program. Introduced, non-native species can jeopardize native brook trout, and more information on these effects are needed.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed the nontidal network mapper to share the short-term (2009-2018) water-year nutrient and suspended-sediment load and trend results for the Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) non-tidal network (NTN). The network is a cooperative effort by USGS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and agencies in the states of the Chesapeake watershed and the...

Issue: Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in Chesapeake Bay since the 1950s have contributed to low dissolved oxygen leading to fish kills, and poor water clarity and associated loss of submerged aquatic vegetation. The Chesapeake Bay Program partnership has been working to improve aquatic conditions in the Bay and its tidal tributaries, and streams in the watershed, by reducing inputs of nutrients...

Issue: Improving stream health is an important outcome of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership. Stream conditions are important for recreational fisheries, and mitigating the amount of nutrients, sediment, and contaminants delivered to the Bay.

Issue: The need for stream mapping The physical shape of streams and floodplains can provide information about how water, sediment, and other matter moves through the landscape. Streams can have deep channels (tall streambanks) disconnected from the floodplain or wide shallow channels that easily spill over the banks into the floodplain during high flows. Mapping where streams fall along this...

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program has a goal to reduce the impacts of toxic contaminants on living resources in the Bay and its watershed. USGS leads the toxic contaminant outcome on research to increase our understanding of the impacts and mitigation options for toxic contaminants.

Issue: Millions of people rely on the Potomac River for drinking water and recreational opportunities. The Potomac is Maryland’s most popular freshwater fishing destination, and the second largest river that enters the Chesapeake Bay. Restoring fisheries is also an important goal for the Chesapeake Bay Partnership restoration efforts.

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) nontidal network (NTN) consists of more than 100 stations throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Monitoring of nutrients, sediment, and flow is conducted to provide estimates of loads and trends in the watershed. The CBP uses the results to focus restoration strategies and track progress towards meeting nutrients and suspended-sediment reduction goals.

Issue: Global change, particularly changes in land use and climate, is dramatically altering stream conditions throughout the world. Healthy streams are important for freshwater fisheries, wildlife, and public recreation. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) has a goal of improving the health of streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes an outcome of improving the condition of 10...

Water clarity is widely recognized as an important indicator of the health and trophic state of aquatic ecosystems and is a key management target given the limit it imposes on the growth of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV).