"USGS's science is just as critical now, as the federal-state restoration partnership updates the Chesapeake Bay Agreement to confront the challenges of the 21^st century. USGS science will be indispensable for determining which conservation strategies to pursue, whether those strategies are working, and what changes are needed if they aren't.

"They're the sentinel scientists in terms of looking at things nobody else is looking at and trying to understand why and then getting more information," said Harry Campbell, Pennsylvania director of science policy and advocacy at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and a USGS alum."