COAST Card USA Hosts Chesapeake Meeting
From October 7-11, the COAST Card Chesapeake team hosted their international collaborators for the last field site visit of the COAST Card project. While here, they visited Poplar Island, an island off the coast of Maryland being reconstructed using dredge material, toured the HPL Oyster Hatchery, and took a boat tour of Baltimore Harbor, on which the captain took the boat a little farther to get a view of the Key Bridge. They also held their 5th Annual Meeting, which focused on wrapping up the COAST Card project and future proposals, and participated in the day-long Baltimore Harbor Summit at the Institute for Marine and Environmental Technology.
Group Model Building for a Healthier Chesapeake Bay
On October 9th, COAST Card’s partners from Norway, Dr. Pål Davidsen and Dr. Aklilu Tadesse, facilitated a system dynamics modeling (SDM) workshop with key stakeholders involved in Chesapeake Bay research and restoration. The workshop began with presentations about the COAST Card project, the Chesapeake Assessment Scenario Tool (CAST), and the process of SDM. This was then followed by an engagement activity where stakeholders identified important ecosystem services, and their responses were grouped into categories such as climate resilience and food production. These categories were assigned to groups of participants tasked with creating causal loop diagrams in a group model-building activity by specifying supporting ecosystem services and underlying threats. The workshop concluded with presentations about key findings from the project’s Potomac listening sessions and the social network analysis of the Potomac watershed. It was a very productive and informative meeting overall, and the results from the group modeling activity will be used to help progress the Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card.
Chesapeake Global Collaboratory: Baltimore in Context
On October 10th, the Chesapeake Global Collaboratory (CGC) hosted Baltimore Harbor in Context to explore CGC's role in restoring Baltimore Harbor. Eric Shott opened with a presentation on the harbor’s history as a key U.S. port, its industrial pollution, and recent remediation efforts that have improved water quality. This was followed by a panel with members of Blue Water Baltimore, the Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative, Council Fire, and Waterfront Partnership who shared their community-focused efforts to enhance the harbor. Linwood Pendleton from the Ocean Knowledge Action Network then delivered a presentation highlighting the importance of inclusive ocean sustainability strategies prioritizing initiatives led by Indigenous communities and local stakeholders. This inclusive approach was further reflected in a global panel featuring members from Ocean KAN, the COAST Card project, and the World Harbor Project. These experts from France, Japan, Norway, the Philippines, and the USA shared valuable insights on engagement strategies and practices that could help inform restoration efforts in the Baltimore Harbor. Additionally, two breakout discussions facilitated conversations on how the CGC can enhance partnerships for ongoing harbor restoration efforts, setting the stage for a broader Baltimore Harbor summit in 2025.
Treasuring our Bay at the HPL Open House
On October 12th, IAN participated in the Horn Point Lab (HPL) Open House, the annual event where HPL invites the public to learn about the exciting research taking place on campus. The IAN booth consisted of two sections. In the first section, IAN staff engaged attendees to understand their vision of a sustainable Chesapeake Bay and the actions needed to achieve that vision. In the second section, attendees got to play with symbols and diagrams from the IAN symbol library through sticker, coloring, and magnet activities. With a gorgeous, clear-sky day, over 450 people came to the Open House to learn and explore what IAN and Horn Point at large have to offer.
Continuing Natural Resource Assessments with NPS
IAN travelled to Maine the week of October 14th to facilitate a scoping meeting for the Katahdin Woods and Waters (KAWW) project. IAN is working with the National Park Service (NPS) to assess the condition of natural resources in KAWW to help guide management of the Monument. Thirty-five stakeholders representing various state and federal agencies and the Penobscot Nation shared their time and expertise to identify priority resources and stressors that will guide the Natural Resource Condition Assessment. The IAN team was also able to get out into the Monument and see some of its incredible natural resources during a site visit with their NPS collaborators. Maine was as amazing as advertised and it was inspiring that so many people generously donated their time to support this project. The IAN team is looking forward to visiting again and working with such a dedicated group of people to protect this wild and beautiful place.
Waterfront Partnership Report Card Release
The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore released their Healthy Harbor Report Card on October 17th, 2024 at Brown Advisory in Fells Point. Heath Kelsey and Alexandra Fries attended and UMCES President Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm was one of the speakers at the event. The event was a huge success and Fernando pledged to swim in the harbor in 2025! IAN started the report card process with Waterfront Partnership in 2010 and was honored to be involved this year in helping with the data analysis for some water quality indicators. Following the speakers, everyone went outside for the ribbon cutting of the new Fells Point kayak launch.
19th Annual Chesapeake Watershed Forum
Every year, we attend the Chesapeake Watershed Forum in West Virginia. Our presence at this meeting solidifies our partnership with the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. This year, Annie Carew, Ann Foo, and Alex Fries presented two workshops: one on stakeholder engagement, and one on science communication. Both workshops were well-attended, and attendees were enthusiastic and engaged about the material. We enjoyed getting to speak to people from across the Chesapeake watershed about our work and theirs.
2023 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card Release
The 2023 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card is now available! The release event was held in Ocean City, attended by scientists and managers as well as citizens and volunteers. Heath Kelsey and Annie Carew represented IAN at the event. The report card score is a B-, which is the highest score that the Coastal Bays have ever received. This increase was driven by improvements in the seagrass and hard clam scores, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Congratulations to the Maryland Coastal Bays Program for another successful year!
Fall 2024 MEES Colloquium
The Fall 2024 MEES Colloquium at the Horn Point Laboratory provided an excellent opportunity for research exchange and community-building within the MEES program. Attended by IAN graduate students Veronica Malabanan Lucchese and Anikka Fife, along with IAN UMCES faculty members, Director Heath Kelsey and Dr. Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen, the event featured a panel discussion, lightning talks, poster presentations, workshops, and various social activities, including a bonfire and field trips. Veronica delivered a lightning talk on her social network analysis of Chesapeake Bay Management and a poster highlighting her work with invasive species through EJJI’s Reel Rewards Program. This year’s colloquium allowed students and faculty to share their work, build networks, and engage in meaningful discussions.