Climate change will affect Maryland in a variety of ways. More obvious impacts could include an increased risk for extreme events such as drought, storms, flooding, and forest fires; more heat-related stress; the spread of existing or new vector-born disease; and increased erosion and inundation of low-lying areas along the State’s shoreline and coast. Adaptation, together with mitigation, is necessary to address climate change.

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Maryland citizens are blessed with an abundant supply of water. However, many water systems are already stressed during droughts, and infrastructure damage and water contamination occurs during floods. Future population growth will combine with increasingly variable weather patterns to place more communities at risk of property damage, regulatory liabilities and uncertain access to drinking water.

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Risk management is critical in any restoration project. Risks include those associated with climate patterns, such as more intense storms, as well as those associated with land use change, site selection, and design. Addressing these risks in conjunction with ongoing restoration efforts will prepare communities for greater variability and may result in cost savings and reduced risk. Best Management Practices (BMPs) should be sited and designed with climate change impacts in mind.

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Maryland’s extensive aquatic ecosystems range from freshwater swamps and bogs to freshwater rivers and marshes to coastal bays and salt marshes. These ecosystems are influenced by precipitation, temperature, tropical storms, and human activity. Human development and pollution have degraded their natural resilience, leaving them more vulnerable to climate change and extreme events.

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The Chesapeake Bay Trust, West/Rhode Riverkeeper, and OpinionWorks have conducted an audience evaluation of tributary report cards, conducted through focus groups. This report provides the findings and recommendations that arise from this research. The report also serves as a best management guide for creating report cards that not only report on water quality, but also engage the public in the work of protecting the Bay and its tributaries.

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This newsletter introduces the first Severn River ecosystem health report card. The report card summarizes 2008 water quality results, which are based on data collected by the Severn Riverkeeper Program. This report card helps to clarify the Severn's health, and provides instructions on what individuals can do to improve its condition.

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A paleo-ecological reconstruction of long-term changes in the distribution of submersed aquatic Vegetation (SAV) in a Chesapeake sub-estuary was made using dated sediment cores on transects going from shallow (< 0.5 m) to deep (> 2 m) waters. Maynedier and Saltworks Creeks, branches of the Severn River, have had substantial losses of SAV, similar to many parts of the upper Chesapeake Bay.

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