Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) scientists and managers rely on data collected by volunteers to study SAV and assess conservation and restoration needs. Although various citizen science initiatives currently survey SAV in the Chesapeake Bay, no standardized data collection protocol exists to ensure that all of these initiatives use the same methodology or collect the same data.

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IAN has teamed up with oceanographers at our home campus of Horn Point Laboratory and at the Department of Natural Resources in order to revisit a growing concern of algal blooms off Assateague Island National Seashore on the Southern Eastern Shore. IAN's role in this project involves synthesizing data collected offshore and helping to establish relevant thresholds for offshore nutrient data, as well as aiding in communication of the studies data and findings.

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This project is a continuation of the partnership between The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences to develop a standardized methodology for designing and implementing report cards that assess the health some of the world’s most prominent freshwater basins. UMCES and the WWF are currently collaborating with Zambian stakeholders to create a report card for the Lower Kafue River Basin.

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Incorporating novel indicators into the Chesapeake Bay Report Card. Make key improvements to the Chesapeake Bay Report Card, which has served since 2006 as the definitive source for ecosystem health status in the Bay and tidal tributaries.

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The Chesapeake Bay Program and the U.S. Geologic Survey are compiling tributary basin summaries for 12 major tributaries or tributary groups in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. These summaries summarize the following information: (1) How tidal water quality changes over time; (2) How factors that drive those changes change over time; and (3) Current state of the science on connecting change in aquatic conditions to its drivers.

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IAN has maintained a robust relationship with Future Earths Coasts (FEC) since its inception in 2015. This group aims to support a network of coastal scientists and stakeholders who are working in the area of sustainable coastal futures. IAN has had the unique opportunity of helping the group at FEC to refine these goals and realize a vision to accomplish them.

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The National Park Service is carrying out assessments of the natural resource condition (NRCA) for nearly 300 of the National Parks throughout the country deemed to have significant natural resources. This project, to assess condition of Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park in Maryland, is a synthesis project aimed at collating and synthesizing all available data to assess current status and trend for each metric, combining these into an overall framework.

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This project is aimed toward better understanding nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. Leveraging novel statistical approaches and long-term monitoring data sets from the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership, this project helps understand whether nutrient limitation patterns have changed in response to decades of nutrient reduction efforts.

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Chesapeake Behavior Change helps organizations use Stewardship Index Survey data to create campaigns that will increase the number of residents taking on-the-ground actions to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. It also serves as a repository for behavior change campaigns. It was developed and is maintained in coordination with the Chesapeake Bay Program's Stewardship Workgroup.

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OARS, a watershed organization working on the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord Rivers in Massachusetts, has been interested in preparing a report card summarizing the health of the three rivers for some time. The Sudbury-Assabet-Concord (SuAsCo) is a small watershed in eastern Massachusetts, with both developed and natural areas. UMCES will facilitate an initial project workshop to work through elements of the 5-step report card process.

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