USGS Part of New Federal Effort to Address Climate Change in the Chesapeake Watershed Active
Issue: The federal government will work together to implement the Chesapeake Executive Council Directive No. 21-1 Collective Action for Climate Change, recognizing that urgent attention is needed to confront the challenges that a changing climate poses to the Chesapeake Bay region. The Directive emphasizes the importance of the “…resiliency of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, including its living resources, habitats, public infrastructure and communities, to withstand adverse impacts from changing environmental and climate conditions.”
The federal agencies in the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) have identified opportunities to carry out the four major goals of the Directive:
- to address the threats of climate change in all aspects of the partnership’s work;
- prioritize communities, working lands, and most vulnerable habitats;
- apply the best scientific, modeling, monitoring and planning capabilities; and
- connect restoration outcomes with emerging opportunities.
Federal partners of the CBP include the USEPA, the Department of Interior (National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Agriculture.
USGS Role
The USGS is the lead science agency in the CBP and has committed to:
- Enhance monitoring of relative sea-level rise, through improved measurements of land subsidence and rising waters in coastal areas.
- Conduct monitoring during extreme storm events of coastal inundation and inland flooding.
- Develop and provide tools forecasting vulnerability and likelihood of change to coastal areas from sea-level rise.
- Forecast how coastal marshes may migrate in response to on sea-level rise, sediment supply, and nearshore characteristics.
- Aggregate partnership water-temperature data across nontidal portions of the watershed and analyze data to describe status and trends in water temperature.
- Assess the potential effects of climate and land change on freshwater streams and fish populations.
- Develop web-based hub of existing decision tools so climate change can be better considered for actions to improve water quality, restore habitats, and conserving lands.
- Engage stakeholders to understand and apply findings to increase resiliency of restoration and conservation actions to climate change
For more information
The commitments made by the all the federal agencies are summarized here.
A press release about the new commitments including a quote from Mike Tupper, USGS Northeast Regional Director and other federal officials can be found here.
A video on climate change issues in the Bay watershed has been prepared by the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Issue: The federal government will work together to implement the Chesapeake Executive Council Directive No. 21-1 Collective Action for Climate Change, recognizing that urgent attention is needed to confront the challenges that a changing climate poses to the Chesapeake Bay region. The Directive emphasizes the importance of the “…resiliency of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, including its living resources, habitats, public infrastructure and communities, to withstand adverse impacts from changing environmental and climate conditions.”
The federal agencies in the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) have identified opportunities to carry out the four major goals of the Directive:
- to address the threats of climate change in all aspects of the partnership’s work;
- prioritize communities, working lands, and most vulnerable habitats;
- apply the best scientific, modeling, monitoring and planning capabilities; and
- connect restoration outcomes with emerging opportunities.
Federal partners of the CBP include the USEPA, the Department of Interior (National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Agriculture.
USGS Role
The USGS is the lead science agency in the CBP and has committed to:
- Enhance monitoring of relative sea-level rise, through improved measurements of land subsidence and rising waters in coastal areas.
- Conduct monitoring during extreme storm events of coastal inundation and inland flooding.
- Develop and provide tools forecasting vulnerability and likelihood of change to coastal areas from sea-level rise.
- Forecast how coastal marshes may migrate in response to on sea-level rise, sediment supply, and nearshore characteristics.
- Aggregate partnership water-temperature data across nontidal portions of the watershed and analyze data to describe status and trends in water temperature.
- Assess the potential effects of climate and land change on freshwater streams and fish populations.
- Develop web-based hub of existing decision tools so climate change can be better considered for actions to improve water quality, restore habitats, and conserving lands.
- Engage stakeholders to understand and apply findings to increase resiliency of restoration and conservation actions to climate change
For more information
The commitments made by the all the federal agencies are summarized here.
A press release about the new commitments including a quote from Mike Tupper, USGS Northeast Regional Director and other federal officials can be found here.
A video on climate change issues in the Bay watershed has been prepared by the Chesapeake Bay Program.