2007 Patuxent River Report Card

This newsletter introduces the first Patuxent River ecosystem health report card. This report card provides grades for three regions within the Patuxent River estuary (i.e., the tidal portion of the river). The report card grades are based on the progress of six indicators towards ecological targets. The report card shows that the Patuxent River estuary is mostly in poor condition and that substantially more effort is needed to see measurable improvements. This report card was produced in collaboration with the Patuxent Riverkeeper who recently started a citizen water quality monitoring program with the aim of using this information to assess the health of the region's creeks and estuary. Next year this data will be used to provide a more comprehensive report card.

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