Building Resilience in the Maryland Coastal Bays

2022 State of the Bays

Reporting on the State of the Maryland Coastal Bays is an opportunity to step back and reflect on the status and trends of key environmental features in this iconic region.

The theme of this State of the Coastal Bays is building ecological resilience in the region. This focus on resilience is due to the convergence of several factors: 1) the realization that accelerating climate change impacts are being manifested throughout the Coastal Bays, 2) the increased human footprint in the region, and 3) the slow progress on reducing nutrient over-enrichment compared to nearby Chesapeake Bay. The structure of the State of the Coastal Bays is to 1) establish the challenge of climate change, 2) discuss various aspects of ecosystem health, 3) conceptualize key features and major threats and highlight features that increase health and resilience, and 4) discuss various aspects of resilience.

Keywords: Coastal Bays, Maryland, Report, Resilience, Climate change