Building Resilience in the Maryland Coastal Bays Storymap

2022 State of the Bays

Every five years, The Maryland Coastal Bays Program publishes its State of the Bays Report, accompanied by the annual Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card. The theme of the 2022 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 goal of this State of the Coastal Bays is to avoid them becoming “forgotten” again. 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.

This year's report included the publication of a Storymap, found here, to help tell the story of these bays and the work being done to restore and maintain them.

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