Chesapeake Bay Activities Newsletter May 2020
Climate change linked to decline of smallmouth bass in Potomac
Bay Journal — by Karl Blankenship — May 4, 2020
Record amount of freshwater impacts Bay water quality
Chesapeake Bay Program — Press Release — May 13, 2020
New information on chemical and physical characteristics of streams and floodplains across the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds
Issue: Improving stream health is an important outcome of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership. Stream conditions are important for recreational fisheries, and mitigating the amount of nutrients, sediment, and contaminants delivered to the Bay.
USGS Responds to Spring Flooding
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 gradient can improve our understanding of the processes that shape rivers, as well as help resource managers target management actions on the landscape.
The Pocomoke: Exploring the Twisting Beauty of this Eastern Shore River
Chesapeake Bay Magazine — by John Page Williams — April 30, 2020