Connecting conservation practices to local stream health in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

The Chesapeake Bay Partnership is implementing conservation practices (CPs) throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to reduce nutrient and sediment delivery to the Bay. This study intends to provide an integrated and detailed understanding of how local streams respond to these CP-driven management efforts.

Key issue: To what extent do CPs positively affect the health of local streams in the nontidal watershed (cobenefits)?

Critical unknown: How do CPs change water quality and the stressors that affect stream aquatic life? Which CPs improve stream health more effectively?

Critical knowledge to be delivered to stakeholders includes—

• the effects of CPs on local water-quality conditions,
• the degree to which these same CPs also provide local stream-ecosystem benefits, and
• a deeper understanding of local stream-ecosystems, including stressors and CPs, to guide the selection of management efforts that enhance both water quality and overall stream-ecosystem health.