Watershed Characterization and Protection
Watershed Characterization and Protection
Filter Total Items: 5
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...