This newsletter describes the collaborative project between the University of South Carolina, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association to assess levels of bacteria in recreational waterways in Charleston Harbor. The goal of this project is to better inform the public on safety risks in various recreational waterways due to bacteria levels.

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This newsletter describes the collaborative project between the University of South Carolina, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association to assess levels of bacteria in recreational waterways in Charleston Harbor. The goal of this project is to better inform the public on safety risks in various recreational waterways due to bacteria levels.

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Chesapeake Bay has undergone profound changes since European settlement. Increases in human and livestock populations, associated changes in land use, increases in nutrient loadings, shoreline armoring, and depletion of fish stocks have altered the important habitats within the Bay. Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) is a critical foundational habitat and provides numerous benefits and services to society.

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This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of Chesapeake Bay. In 2016, the report card includes five water quality indicators and two biotic indicators. In 2016, the overall grade for Chesapeake Bay is a 54%, a C. This means the Bay is in moderate health. Long term trends of each reporting region health and a fisheries index are also presented. For further details, visit the Report Card Website.

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This newsletter describes the results from the first workshop to develop the Everglades Report Card and provides a roadmap for the future of this project. Members of the RECOVER (REstoration COordination VERification) team met with the Integration and Application Network to begin work on the Everglades Report Card and 2019 System Status Report. This workshop, held in West Palm Beach, Florida, took a system-wide view and is the first of four workshops to create these two documents.

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The Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC), as part of the Indicator Effectiveness Matrix objective, produced 12 factsheets describing 14 tidal water quality indicators. These indicators are part of the CMC's tidal water quality Quality Assurance Project Plan and Method Manuals. The factsheets are intended for nontraditional and volunteer monitoring groups to include as part of their water quality monitoring programs as education materials for their volunteers.

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The Belmont Forum is a consortium of research funders that have targeted funds toward research that actively integrates stakeholders into a co-design/co-development process with researchers. It is committed to fostering solutions to global sustainability challenges through innovative transdisciplinary research.

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The coastal communities of Louisiana are highly vulnerable to coastal change, and the potential benefits of protecting, restoring, and enhancing intact ecosystems are particularly important. However, there is a current lack of synthesized information on potential benefits of ecosystem-based restoration options at a parish, basin, or coastwide scale.

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The aim of this report card was to complete IAN's first annual report. IAN staff reflected back on accomplishments from 2015 and developed indicators in 3 categories: social impacts, ecological outcomes, and partnership satisfaction. IAN received an overall grade of a B+.

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This newsletter summarizes the outcomes of a workshop exploring the linkages and potential benefits of combining river basin health report cards and system dynamics modelling. These two approaches have traditionally been utilized separate from each other, however merging the two will lead to better management of the world's river basins.

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