Published in 2024, the 2023 Severn River Report Card summarizes data collected in the summer of 2023. Overall health of the Severn River rose to a 77% (C+), compared ot a 72% (C-) in 2022. This change is driven by the recovery of Severn River seagrasses. The report card also discusses the progress of oyster restoration in the Severn River. Higher-than-average salinity in 2023 likely contributed to the presence of baby oysters that were found growing outside of restoration areas.

From 2022-2023, the COAST Card project held a series of listening sessions to stimulate community engagement throughout the Potomac Watershed. This poster summarizes the results of the activities at those listening sessions.

The aim of this report card is to provide a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2023 Coastal Bays health. Coastal Bays health is defined as the progress of four water quality indicators (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen) and two biotic indicators (seagrass, hard clams) toward scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals.

Evaluating the real-world impacts of proposed restoration strategies is a complex process. Typically, restoration is pursued to achieve a number of primary and secondary objectives as most coastal and deltaic areas support a variety of functions and activities with substantial social and economic values. In this analysis, we demonstrate the importance of considering the broad implications of planning and implementing restoration projects.

This document describes the methods and development process for the Southeast Michigan Report Card, and the five associated watershed report cards: the Clinton River Report Card, Detroit River Report Card, Huron River Report Card, River Raisin Report Card, and Rouge River Report Card.

The partners of the Chesapeake Bay are investing billions of dollars in the restoration of critical habitats to improve conditions for people and living resources throughout the Bay and its watershed. However, the recent proliferation of invasive Ictalurus furcatus (blue catfish) in the Chesapeake Bay’s major rivers has the potential to disrupt these restoration efforts and limit the full potential improvement of the ecosystem.

For the development of the Luangwa River Basin Report Card, IAN and WWF Zambia conducted two stakeholder workshops, with one held in Katete, Zambia from May 6-8 and the other held in Mpika, Zambia from May 13-15. This newsletter summarizes the activities and main findings of the workshops and serves as the foundation for the socio-environmental analysis of the Luangwa River Basin.

This report card, produced with Patapsco Heritage Greenway as part of the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative, assesses the condition of the Patapsco River using volunteer monitoring data for the second year in a row.

Oxygen depletion in coastal waters is increasing globally due primarily to eutrophication and warming. Hypoxia responses to nutrient loading and climate change have been extensively studied in large systems like the Chesapeake Bay and the Baltic Sea, while fewer studies have investigated smaller, shallower hypoxic zones.

The Chesapeake Bay Partnership is implementing conservation practices (CPs) throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to reduce nutrient and sediment delivery to the Bay. This study intends to provide an integrated and detailed understanding of how local streams respond to these CP-driven management efforts. The publication can also be found on the USGS website here.