This booklet provides an overview of the current science and management issues in the Maryland Coastal Bays in 2016. The full report (which can be found here) includes two ‘booklets’ in one publication—one intended for those interested in the bay perspective, and the other for those interested in the land perspective. The two documents culminate in a summary centerfold which focuses on both watershed and bay issues.

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This booklet provides an overview of the current science and management issues in the Maryland Coastal Bays in 2016. The full report (which can be found here) includes two ‘booklets’ in one publication—one intended for those interested in the bay perspective, and the other for those interested in the land perspective. The two documents culminate in a summary centerfold which focuses on both watershed and bay issues.

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Assessment of natural resource condition within Shenandoah National Park was carried out using the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program Vital Signs ecological monitoring framework. The park was categorized into six reporting areas based on two altitudes and three major geology types underlying Shenandoah National Park. Thirty-one metrics were analyzed for 14 indicators grouped into four categories:

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This companion document to the report card contains information about the report card development process including workshops, data sources for all indicators, summary of analysis methods, and scoring details and results.

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The National Capital Parks–East (NACE) provides a natural haven for the urbanized Washington, D.C., area. NACE includes 14 major park areas that comprise more than 8,000 acres of the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Anne Arundel County, Maryland, through the eastern part of Washington, D.C., to Prince George’s and Charles counties, Maryland.

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George Washington Memorial Parkway was developed as a scenic parkway to help preserve the Potomac River Gorge and shoreline while serving as a memorial to the first President of the United States, George Washington. The Potomac Gorge is one of the most significant natural areas in the United States, and is home to more than 400 occurrences of over 200 rare species and communities.

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Located approximately 35 miles south of Washington, D.C., Prince William Forest Park occupies 15,000 acres in Prince William County, Virginia. The park is the largest protected area in the region and is the third largest national park in the state of Virginia. It is also the largest example of a Piedmont forest in the national park system, and serves as a sanctuary for a diversity of plants and animals which are threatened by increasing development in northern Virginia.

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Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is a 117-acre park located approximately 18 miles west of Washington, D.C. in Vienna, Virginia. Established in 1966, the park was designated as the first national park for the performing arts. The park provides a natural sanctuary for native bird, plants, and animal species in a developing region. The natural resources of Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts were assessed using the Vital Signs Framework.

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This companion document to the report card contains information about data sources for all indicators, summary of analysis methods, and scoring details for each of the six America’s Watershed Initiative goals, and for two watershed wide indicators. Additional information regarding the goals is included to provide greater detail and discussion than is possible in the report card document.

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n 2014, the Meyer Memorial Trust brought together more than 20 university, agency, and technical experts to help create the first Willamette River report card. With support from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the team of experts identified key indicators to capture a current picture of river health against which to measure future changes. Overall, the Willamette River scored a B-.

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