The Chesapeake Bay ecosystem is a national treasure that provides almost $100 billion annually of goods and services. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), is one of the largest federal-state restoration partnerships in the United States and is underpinned by rigorous science. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a pivotal role as a science provider for assessing ecosystem condition and response in the Chesapeake watershed.

This newsletter summarizes the findings of a MEES course entitled “Developing an Environmental Justice Index for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Report Card,” conducted in spring 2021. A video was also produced and can be found here: https://youtu.be/28siz8Eok4g

This newsletter highlights synthesis outcomes from the Fall 2020 Economic Indicators workshop. Five new economic indicators were generated that will eventually be incorporated into future iterations of the Chesapeake Bay Report Card.

The Chesapeake Bay Program maintains an extensive nontidal monitoring network, measuring nitrogen and phosphorus (nutrients) at more than 100 locations on rivers and streams in the watershed. Data from these locations are used by USGS to assess the ecosystem’s response to nutrient-reduction efforts.

Susan Lynn Williams (1951–2018) was an exceptional marine ecologist whose research focused broadly on the ecology of benthic nearshore environments dominated by seagrasses, seaweeds, and coral reefs. She took an empirical approach founded in techniques of physiological ecology. Susan was committed to applying her research results to ocean management through outreach to decision-makers and resource managers.

The Evaluating Transdisciplinary Approaches Workshop was convened by the Belmont Forum at the National Science Foundation and facilitated by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Alexandria, VA, USA on 26–28 June 2019. Participants of the workshop are part of a growing community of transdisciplinary research supporters and practitioners. Their efforts contribute to our fundamental and applied understanding of complex systems.

This assessment of the Office of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia established five institutional goals: cohesive staff, credible science, resilient organization, relevance to stakeholders, and effective outreach. Each goal had its own set of indicators.

This newsletter summarizes outputs from the initial stakeholder workshop to develop an integrated assessment for Darwin Harbour. The workshop took place on the week of 16 March 2020 in Darwin, Australia. Stakeholders from government, industry, academia, indigenous communities, and NGO’s gathered in Darwin to identify values. The workshop included meeting with members of the indigenous community, held outdoors at Wagait Beach.

The process of developing a socioenvironmental report card through transdisciplinary collaboration can be used in any system and can provide the foundation for collaborative solutions for sustainable resource management by creating a holistic assessment that balances environmental, economic, and social concerns that incorporates multiple perspectives from multisectoral actors.

Early ecosystem health report cards focused on assessing the health of natural ecosystems, producing a “snapshot” of ecosystem health at one point in time. Ecosystem health report cards are used to guide efforts that improve ecosystem health through natural resources manage- ment and stakeholder engagement. Common themes among Report Cards include water quality and quantity and habitat. These indicators are not strictly environmental concerns, though.