2025: A year in review

2025 was a special year for IAN, marked by significant milestones, global reach, and a new home. We participated in a total of 33 events spanning from local to international locations. We had a productive year with the release of over a dozen report cards assessing the socio-environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Bays regions, alongside 25 additional publications that emphasized the breadth and depth of our projects and partnerships.

Beyond our research, we proudly celebrated the UMCES Centennial and gave back to our local community by removing over 100 pieces of debris from Carr’s Beach. Finally, after eight years in Eastport, we transitioned to our new office at 115 West Street. We were delighted to welcome colleagues and friends to our year-end open house at the new space. We are grateful to all who made this year a success and look forward to the opportunities that 2026 will bring.

Notable publications in 2025

• The annual Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card and a special 1925 edition (both available in English and Spanish)
• The first-ever Antietam Creek Watershed Report Card
• The first-ever county- and community-level climate adaptation report cards
  • Charles County Climate Adaptation Report Card
  • Pine Street’s Preparedness for Extreme Weather and Heat
  • Eastport’s Preparedness for Extreme Weather
• The third Patapsco River Report Card
• The annual Severn River Report Card
• The first-ever Loudoun Streams Report Card (available in English and Spanish)
• The annual Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card
• The annual IAN Report Card
• The report to the Maryland General Assembly in response to the Senate Bill 830 on Evaluating Methods to Enhance Oyster Production with Alternative Substrates, Retrofits, and Hatchery Holding Times

Peer-Reviewed Publications

We published 22 papers in 2025. Here are a few highlights:

• A novel threshold-based indicator for assessing dissolved oxygen criteria attainment deficits, buffers, and trends in Estuarine waters (Environmental Research: Water, Qian Zhang, Richard Tian, Zhaoying Wei, Rebecca Murphy)
• Closing the parachute and opening the umbrella: Strategies for inclusivity and representation in producing impactful coastal ecosystem research (Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures, Katie May Laumann, Lili Badri, Annie Carew, Jonathan Lefcheck)
• Geography, trajectories, and controls of coastal water quality: More rapid improvement in the shallow zone of the Chesapeake Bay (Environmental Science & Technology, Qian Zhang, Rebecca Murphy, Richard Tian)
• Coastal wetland resilience through local, regional and global conservation (Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Jonathan Lefcheck)

Teaching Science Communication in 2025

• June: IMET Summer Interns
• August: UMCES Graduate Students and Monsoon School
• November: 20th Annual Chesapeake Watershed Forum and 28th Biennial CERF Conference

Projects completed supporting EPA Chesapeake Bay Program

Web Team highlights:

• Improved user experience and content for ChesapeakeBay.net FAQ, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement pages
• Completed user research to inform future enhancements to ChesapeakeBehaviorChange.org
• Updated the program's reports of progress toward 17 outcomes

Data Analysis Team highlights:

• Continued work on tributary summaries, including completion of Potomac Tributary Summary
• Release of 2024 Chesapeake Bay Tidal Water Quality Trends
• STAC Workshop Review: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning to Advance Chesapeake Bay Research and Management: A Review of Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

Chesapeake Center for Collaborative Computing (C4) Team highlights:

• Completed a twelfth year of cloud infrastructure support, extended the second six-year C4 cooperative agreement into a seventh year, and chosen to continue that support under a third C4 cooperative agreement. CBPO Data Center developments in supported C4 cloud infrastructure over the last year included Web Team improvements to sites, increased use of generative AI, and further refinement of high-performance computing clusters. C4 provides the Chesapeake Bay Program with cloud and IT resources to meet scientific and business computing needs.

2024 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card Release Event

The 2024 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card was released on December 11, 2025 in Ocean City, Maryland. The Coastal Bays received their highest-ever grade this year, a B! There were large increases in seagrass coverage in Newport Bay and Sinepuxent Bay, which is exciting news. The event was well-attended by Maryland Coastal Bays Program volunteers, staff scientists, and collaborators. Heath Kelsey and Annie Carew represented IAN and celebrated with our partners at the Maryland Coastal Bays Program and Department of Natural Resources.

Loudoun Streams Report Card Release Event

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy released the 2025 Loudoun Streams Report Card on November 17, 2025. Alexandra Fries was able to attend a celebratory event they held at their office in Leesburg, VA on December 13, 2025. This is their first report card and was created in conjunction with the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative and UMCES. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy (LWC) has over 150 volunteers who conduct chemical, biological, SaltWatch, and NitrateWatch data. The report card includes scores for biological monitoring, conductivity, nitrate, phosphate, chloride, and water clarity. Amy Ulland, the President and Stream Monitoring Coordinator for LWC, presented on the report card and results at the event. The overall grade was C+ (58%), showing a mix of strengths and concerns.

Advancing Maryland’s Oyster Future

In response to Maryland Senate Bill 830 (2022), the UMCES Horn Point Laboratory evaluated methods to enhance oyster production using alternative substrates and retrofits. As part of this effort, two virtual symposiums were held in 2024 and 2025 in collaboration with IAN. A variety of experts from all over the country and the world discussed their methods, challenges, and opportunities regarding oyster production in their region. Along with the symposium reports, a 271-page document was produced for the Maryland state legislature to highlight major findings from this research and help guide oyster management in the Chesapeake Bay. The final report can be found here.