Publications by Alexandra Fries

IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

2022 Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card (Page 1)

2022 Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card

Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen, Alexandra Fries, Joe Edgerton, Bill Dennison, Sidney Anderson, Lili Badri, Veronica Lucchese, Katie May Laumann, Heath Kelsey ·
6 June 2023

This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed. Since 2016, UMCES has engaged stakeholders throughout the watershed to transform the report card into an evaluation of the Chesapeake Watershed health. Watershed health includes traditional ecological indicators, but also economic and societal indicators. This is the fourth year the watershed has been scored, and one new ecological indicator has been added.

Read more

Rogue River Basin Report Card (Page 1)

Rogue River Basin Report Card

Rogue River Watershed Council, The Carpenter Foundation ·
10 May 2023

The first-ever Rogue River Basin Report Card … More than 7,000 years ago, the volcanic explosion of Mount Mazama in what is now southwestern Oregon led to the formation of Crater Lake. In present day, Boundary Springs bubbles out from the caldera of Crater Lake National Park, and it is here we can find the origin of one of Oregon’s major rivers, the Rogue River.

Read more

A report card for the Upper Rio Grande basin (Page 1)

A report card for the Upper Rio Grande basin

Alexandra Fries, Katie May Laumann, Nathan Miller ·
17 November 2022

Watershed report cards are powerful tools to describe ecosystem status, increase public awareness, and inform and influence decision makers to improve the health of a watershed. This is the first Upper Rio Grande Report Card. It is the collective effort of dozens of stakeholders throughout the Upper Rio Grande watershed. Indicators in the report card were selected to assess the health of four different values in the watershed:

Read more

2021 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card (Page 1)

2021 Maryland Coastal Bays Report Card

Dave Brinker, Bill Dennison, Steve Farr, Steve Doctor, Roman Jesien, Katherine Munson, Judy O’Neil, Kevin Smith, Mitch Tarnowski, Catherine Wazniak, Jeff White, Craig Wheedon, and Rich Mason ·
14 November 2022

Coastal Bays health is defined as the progress of four water quality indicators (nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen) and two biotic indicators (seagrass, hard clam) toward scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals. The Coastal Bays had an overall score of C+, a slight improvement from the previous year. Improved total phosphorus scores contributed to the slightly higher overall health of the bays.

Read more

Building Resilience in the Maryland Coastal Bays (Page 1)

Building Resilience in the Maryland Coastal Bays

2022 State of the Bays

Dave Brinker, Bill Dennison, Steve Farr, Steve Doctor, Roman Jesien, Katherine Munson, Judy O’Neil, Kevin Smith, Mitch Tarnowski, Catherine Wazniak, Jeff White, Craig Wheedon, and Rich Mason ·
14 November 2022

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:

Read more

Building Resilience in the Maryland Coastal Bays Storymap

2022 State of the Bays

Dave Brinker, Bill Dennison, Steve Farr, Steve Doctor, Roman Jesien, Katherine Munson, Judy O’Neil, Kevin Smith, Mitch Tarnowski, Catherine Wazniak, Jeff White, Craig Wheedon, and Rich Mason ·
14 November 2022

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:

Read more

Selecting Indicators for Basin Health (Page 1)

Selecting Indicators for Basin Health Report Cards

Canny A, Shahbol N, Thieme M, Fries A, Kelsey H, Costanzo S ·
1 May 2022

This Guide is developed to supplement the Practitioner’s Guide to Developing River Basin Report Cards, which was developed in partner with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as part of the Healthy Rivers for All initiative. It is intended for those developing indicators that can help understand the health of a basin report card or those who are developing a basin report card.

Read more

A National Status Report on United States Coral Reefs Based on 2012–2018 Data From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (Page 1)

A National Status Report on United States Coral Reefs Based on 2012–2018 Data From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program

Towle EK, Donovan EC, Kelsey RH, Allen ME, Barkley H, Blondeau J, Brainard RE, Carew A, Couch CS, Dillard MK, Eakin CM, Edwards K, Edwards PET, Enochs IC, Fleming CS, Fries AS, Geiger EF, Grove LJ, Groves SH, Gorstein M, Heenan A, Johnson MW, Kimball J, Koss JL, Kindinger T, Levine A, Manzello DP, Miller N, Oliver T, Samson JC, Swanson D, Vargas-Ángel B, Viehman TS and Williams ID ·
2022

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Conservation Program supports the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) in the United States Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico.

Read more