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Land-Use Monitoring and Forecasting

Efforts are underway to protect the rich array of lands and habitat across the Bay watershed for fish, wildlife, and people. However, new high-resolution data show an alarming loss of forests and other vital lands because of development. The USGS is leading analyses of the enhanced land-change data, and forecasting scenarios of future use, to inform land-protection and local-planning decisions.

Filter Total Items: 17

Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover data is now published in additional formats

The Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) database was developed by the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory in cooperation with Chesapeake Conservancy (CC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The high-resolution land data were developed as part of a 6-year Cooperative Agreement between Chesapeake Conservancy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and a separate...
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Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover data is now published in additional formats

The Chesapeake Bay Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) database was developed by the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory in cooperation with Chesapeake Conservancy (CC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The high-resolution land data were developed as part of a 6-year Cooperative Agreement between Chesapeake Conservancy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and a separate...
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USGS Collaborates on Maryland Healthy Watersheds Assessment

Issue: The Maryland Healthy Watersheds Assessment (MDHWA) establishes a framework to assess watershed health and vulnerability for Maryland waters and watersheds. The assessment is intended to inform watershed management decision-making to sustain the health of State-identified healthy watersheds, which have been defined in Maryland as the watersheds associated with its designated high-quality...
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USGS Collaborates on Maryland Healthy Watersheds Assessment

Issue: The Maryland Healthy Watersheds Assessment (MDHWA) establishes a framework to assess watershed health and vulnerability for Maryland waters and watersheds. The assessment is intended to inform watershed management decision-making to sustain the health of State-identified healthy watersheds, which have been defined in Maryland as the watersheds associated with its designated high-quality...
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USGS and CBP produce report to enhance Chesapeake Bay and watershed monitoring networks

Issue: In March 2021, the Principals’ Staff Committee (PSC) requested a study and recommendations on how to enhance the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) monitoring networks to improve decision-making for the goals of the Chesapeake Watershed Agreement. The monitoring networks include (1) CBP core networks supported primarily by EPA CBP funding (i.e., Tidal Water Quality, Nontidal Water Quality...
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USGS and CBP produce report to enhance Chesapeake Bay and watershed monitoring networks

Issue: In March 2021, the Principals’ Staff Committee (PSC) requested a study and recommendations on how to enhance the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) monitoring networks to improve decision-making for the goals of the Chesapeake Watershed Agreement. The monitoring networks include (1) CBP core networks supported primarily by EPA CBP funding (i.e., Tidal Water Quality, Nontidal Water Quality...
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New high-resolution, land-use and change data improves decision-making in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Issue Informing restoration across the nearly 64,000 square miles of the Chesapeake Bay watershed is an enormous challenge that requires detailed and accessible landscape data. Among the most pressing challenges being addressed by the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership are: → Water pollution from agriculture and animal waste, → Conversion of critical habitat like forest and marshes for new...
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New high-resolution, land-use and change data improves decision-making in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Issue Informing restoration across the nearly 64,000 square miles of the Chesapeake Bay watershed is an enormous challenge that requires detailed and accessible landscape data. Among the most pressing challenges being addressed by the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership are: → Water pollution from agriculture and animal waste, → Conversion of critical habitat like forest and marshes for new...
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A Science-Based Approach for Targeting Resources to Achieve Multiple Chesapeake Outcomes

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) needs to accelerate progress on multiple outcomes to meet deadlines in the Chesapeake Watershed Agreement. The CBP partnership spends about $1.2B annually on activities toward achieving the Watershed Agreement, with a focus on water-quality improvement. Recent funding increases, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provide additional opportunities to...
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A Science-Based Approach for Targeting Resources to Achieve Multiple Chesapeake Outcomes

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) needs to accelerate progress on multiple outcomes to meet deadlines in the Chesapeake Watershed Agreement. The CBP partnership spends about $1.2B annually on activities toward achieving the Watershed Agreement, with a focus on water-quality improvement. Recent funding increases, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provide additional opportunities to...
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Altered flow affects the biological health of streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Issue: The natural cycle of water flow, known as the flow regime, is one of the primary habitat conditions needed for healthy biological communities in streams. However, human activities have drastically altered the natural flow regime of most of the world’s rivers and streams, including those in the Chesapeake watershed, which has resulted in changes not only to the natural habitat but also...
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Altered flow affects the biological health of streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Issue: The natural cycle of water flow, known as the flow regime, is one of the primary habitat conditions needed for healthy biological communities in streams. However, human activities have drastically altered the natural flow regime of most of the world’s rivers and streams, including those in the Chesapeake watershed, which has resulted in changes not only to the natural habitat but also...
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New dataset available on stream and floodplain geometry to inform restoration decisions

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...
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New dataset available on stream and floodplain geometry to inform restoration decisions

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...
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Projecting stream conditions under future land-use and climate scenarios

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...
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Projecting stream conditions under future land-use and climate scenarios

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...
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Tripod-palooza—USGS Collaborates with Federal, State, and Academic Partners to Support Coastal Resiliency in the Wider Chesapeake Bay Area

In the Chesapeake Bay area, the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center is partnering with over a dozen organizations in a pilot project this fall, resulting in the establishment of a baseline reference for an ongoing effort in monitoring coastal subsidence.
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Tripod-palooza—USGS Collaborates with Federal, State, and Academic Partners to Support Coastal Resiliency in the Wider Chesapeake Bay Area

In the Chesapeake Bay area, the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center is partnering with over a dozen organizations in a pilot project this fall, resulting in the establishment of a baseline reference for an ongoing effort in monitoring coastal subsidence.
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Population Growth

Chesapeake Bay Program video on Population Growth
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Population Growth

Chesapeake Bay Program video on Population Growth
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Videos Highlighting USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities

A list of Chesapeake Bay Program videos highlighting USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities.
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Videos Highlighting USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities

A list of Chesapeake Bay Program videos highlighting USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities.
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USGS 3D Elevation Program Supports Science Activities in the Chesapeake Watershed

Increased acquisition of lidar in the Chesapeake Watershed The Chesapeake Bay Program has a critical need for enhanced land cover and land-use information to better inform restoration and conservation efforts throughout the watershed. An important component of land information is more detailed land elevation data, which are collected using lidar ( l ight d etection a nd r anging), a remote sensing...
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USGS 3D Elevation Program Supports Science Activities in the Chesapeake Watershed

Increased acquisition of lidar in the Chesapeake Watershed The Chesapeake Bay Program has a critical need for enhanced land cover and land-use information to better inform restoration and conservation efforts throughout the watershed. An important component of land information is more detailed land elevation data, which are collected using lidar ( l ight d etection a nd r anging), a remote sensing...
Learn More