USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2012

Goal 1: Summarize science and provide tools to support ecosystem management

• The USGS coordinated with Federal, State, and academic partners to carry out science activities required under the President’s EO. A multi-agency EO action plan for 2013 was released and a summary of the past year’s accomplishments is being prepared for the 2012 EO progress report.
• The USGS prepared supporting materials (science summaries, press releases, Web feature stories) that communicated results of research to multiple CBP partners for several high profile reports. Topics included (1) increasing sediment and nutrient loads to the Bay as Lower Susquehanna River Reservoirs near sediment storage capacity due to filling of Conowingo Reservoir, (2) nutrient and sediment trends in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and (3) the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on fish.
• The USGS worked with partners to release three new decision-support tools: (1) Chesapeake Landscope (USGS, National Park Service, NatureServe); (2) a nontidal trends website (USGS and CBP monitoring partners); and (3) a forest management tool (USGS and U.S. Forest Service). The tools are described under their respective science goals.
• An initial USGS Chesapeake Bay Data Hub was implemented on the USGS ScienceBase platform for data management. The data hub currently includes key regional level USGS Chesapeake Bay datasets, publications, and links to websites. The data hub allows users to find, download, and access data via Web services. The USGS is working to improve management of its Chesapeake information through a partnership with the USGS Community for Data Integration (CDI).
• Federal agencies (NOAA, USGS, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) are focusing the initial effort for a Chesapeake Data Enterprise on enhancing management and sharing of watershed and estuary water-quality data. The USGS led efforts to prepare guidance for management of the increasing number of stations in the CBP nontidal water-quality network.  

Goal 2: Assess and explain water-quality conditions and change

• The USGS provided an analysis and released a report describing trends in the Susquehanna River. The report revealed increasing sediment and phosphorus loads to the Chesapeake Bay, (resulting from the filling of the lower Susquehanna Reservoir system). Additional collaborations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Maryland are being conducted to assess potential sediment-management strategies.
• The USEPA and the USGS worked with State partners to expand water-quality monitoring in the watershed to help assess progress toward the nutrient and sediment Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Bay. The network expanded from 85 to 120 sites during 2011 and 2012.
• The USGS updated trends and loads for sites in the nontidal monitoring network and prepared results related to Tropical Storms Irene and Lee. The USGS released information on a new website, which provided easy public access to the network information. The USGS communicated results to the Executive Council (EPA Administrator, Governors of Bay States, and the District of Columbia mayor) and other CBP partners during meetings.
• The USGS enhanced a Weighted Regression on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) technique that was first published in 2010 to assess changes in loads at the nine major rivers entering the Chesapeake Bay. WRTDS was developed to better compare a river’s response to management actions implemented for the Bay TMDL.  A report was released in January 2013, and the results were communicated to multiple CBP partners.
• The USEPA used results from the enhanced nutrient and sediment SPARROW models to update their priority watersheds, which are areas of high nutrient loading to the Bay. The results have been used by USEPA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, the, the Maryland Bay Trust Fund, and county governments to focus funding for implementing practices in these areas. 
• The USGS completed a groundwater model of the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay; the model is being used to assess the amount of nitrogen reaching the bay through groundwater, as well as to characterize the response time of nutrient management actions by considering effect of groundwater transport.
• The USGS conducted enhanced monitoring and research to assess baseline conditions in selected small watersheds (USDA Showcase watersheds and urban areas) for studies of the effect of management practices and improvements to water quality. Furthermore, the USGS provided scientific leadership and information on sediment and nitrogen sources to aid partners in the targeting and implementation of management efforts in these small watersheds.
• USGS research documented the key role that floodplains provide in reducing loads of sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the Piedmont of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Goal 3: Document the status of and changes to the health of fish, wildlife, and habitat

• USGS scientists worked with USEPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on an EO report summarizing the extent and severity of the occurrence and biological effects of toxic contaminants in the Chesapeake Bay. (The report was released in January 2013.) The findings will be used by EPA and CBP partners to consider goals and strategies for reducing the effects of toxic contaminants.
• The USGS and collaborators published journal articles that summarized (1) the extent and severity of intersex and other biological effects of exposure to estrogenic endocrine disruptors and land uses associated with intersex prevalence and severity, (2) the association of estrogenicity with agricultural land-use practices, and (3) the presence of androgenic and glucocorticoid receptor activators in water samples from Chesapeake Bay tributaries and other geographical areas. These articles, as well as ongoing research, are directed toward understanding the complex factors affecting fish health and identifying sources of contaminants contributing to reproductive and disease issues in the Chesapeake Bay.
• The USGS enhanced sampling efforts to study the effects of toxic contaminants on fish and wildlife, including (1) a food-web study of pharmaceuticals and other contaminants involving analyses of water, fish, and ospreys in the James and Elizabeth River Basins; (2) water sampling of emerging and other toxic contaminants at key sites in the Susquehanna and Potomac watersheds; (3) sampling of young of the year  smallmouth bass to determine factors affecting mortality; and (4) water sampling in urban tributaries experiencing poor recruitment of yellow perch.  
• The USGS is supporting improvements to a model of Bay habitats and black ducks. The model results will be used by FWS, State natural resource departments, the Black Duck Joint Venture, and Ducks Unlimited to develop strategies to restore habitats to increase the number of wintering black ducks in the Bay.

Goal 4: Forecast, monitor, and assess effects of land and climate change

• The USGS developed new land use and land cover data to improve information for the CBP watershed model. The new method, which will be published in 2013, will help partners make more informed decisions implementing the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. The USGS is also leading a new CBP Land Use Workgroup to vet and review land use/cover information for use in Bay TMDL-related decisions.
• The USGS contributed to the CBP effort to improve verification of management practices for the Bay TMDL. The USGS synthesized reportable information on USDA conservation practices by county and worked with States to develop guidance to apply the approach for improved reporting of conservation practices. The USGS finalized an automated data aggregation protocol for reporting NRCS and Farm Services Administration conservation practice data at the small watershed scale.
• The USGS worked with the National Park Service (NPS) and NatureServe to release the initial version of LandScope Chesapeake, a tool to help CBP partners collaboratively identify potential areas for land conservation. The USGS and NPS signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NatureServe to collaborate to modify and expand NatureServe's LandScope map viewer to create a watershed-wide land conservation priority system, as called for in the EO Strategy. LandScope Chesapeake enables conservation practitioners and policymakers from nonprofit organizations, land trusts, State and local agencies, and foundations to see quickly how and where different conservation values align and overlap, making it easier for them to prioritize places with the highest conservation value and direct resources to those places. The Landscope Chesapeake site is now live and can be accessed at http://www.landscope.org/chesapeake. The USGS also completed the 2011 update of the Chesapeake Bay Protected Lands Database, which will be used as a tracking tool toward the EO goal of conserving two million acres by 2025.
• The USGS released a report on the long-term changes in streamflow within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and surrounding area. Data (1930 to 2010) from 30 streamgages near and within the Chesapeake Bay watershed indicate more change in streamflow in the northern portion of the watershed than in the southern portion.
• The USGS developed a Web summary of sea-level rise and the Chesapeake Bay that will be released in 2013. The summary includes components on the geologic record of sea-level rise in the area, modern sea-level rise in the Chesapeake Bay, and future sea-level rise estimates.

« Return to Chesapeake Bay Activities and Accomplishments
« Return to Chesapeake Bay Activities — About