Publications

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The Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) hosted a 2-day workshop to bring together leading experts to elevate the use of biochar in practice Bay-wide by evaluating and translating current research for integration into current Chesapeake Bay protocols. Concurrent with rapid global research and biochar-focused publications, US research grew with demonstration projects in the Chesapeake Bay region conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, state and federal partners, and non-profits. These projects show significant environmental benefits including water quality improvement (reduction of nutrients/toxics), improved agricultural and urban soil health, and significant increases in soil infiltration capacity and hydrology. They have greatly advanced the empirical evidence supporting biochar protocols, standards, specifications, and crediting which are lacking in the Bay region. The purpose of this workshop was to accelerate the water quality efforts via the benefits biochar provides to more closely meet 2025 requirements and plan forward for water quality policies and carbon negative opportunities considered in the forthcoming 2025-2035 Climate TMDL.

Over-arching questions asked:

• What are the specific and efficient ways to integrate biochar into current protocols and strategies?
• How will biochar enhancement crediting be developed? What is needed to improve the integration?
• Who are specific programmatic partners that will benefit from this integration?

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The Chesapeake Bay Agreement (CBA) has numerous direct goals for improving habitat, living resources, and water quality, conserving lands, engaging communities and addressing a changing climate. To date, the progress toward the wetlands outcome (creation/ restoration of 85,000 acres and enhancement of 150,000 acres) has been very slow and the outcome is projected to be off course for 2025. Two specific confounding issues arise in efforts to achieve the Bay wetlands goal: 1) the idea that restoration is driven, and incentivized and accounted for, in order to meet the TMDL’s water quality (WQ) benefits, leaving habitat benefits undervalued; and 2) there is often tension between competing restoration priorities and financial resources among different Best Management Practice (BMP) types that include wetlands, such as wetland restoration/creation/rehabilitation, stream restoration, and the creation or restoration of forest buffers.

The collaborative workshop “Evaluating an Improved Systems Approach to Wetland Crediting: Consideration of Wetland Ecosystem Services” was held March 22-23, 2022 to explore the wetland accounting system and provide insight on improved approaches to promote wetland projects toward the wetlands outcome. Four sessions were organized around topics of 1) Accounting, 2) Landscape Systems Approach, 3) Wetlands Projects and Co-Benefits, and 4) Management Implications and Recommendation Development with 21 presentations, Q and A and facilitated discussions.

Acknowledgement of the limitations of the current management framework to achieve significant gains in wetland area supports the conclusion that absent significant adaptive management of wetlands efforts, any outcome for net wetlands gains beyond 2025 will be similarly confounded. Workshop findings included suggestions for how to approach restoration projects at a systems level (e.g., creek, shoreline reach, watershed) in order to maximize synergies for multiple ecological outcomes and ecosystem services. Recommendations for improvement on existing efforts, as well as new processes, tools and partnerships are suggested from the workshop’s analysis of the state of the science as considerations to increase implementation of wetlands projects.

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At its 2022 annual meeting, the Chesapeake Executive Council charged its Principals' Staff Committee to review progress toward achieving the 10 goals and 31 outcomes of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and make recommendations for the future of the partnership. The Chesapeake Bay Program partnership formed a Steering Committee to review, discuss and determine recommendations for Management Board and Principals’ Staff Committee consideration. These recommendations are included in the draft Beyond 2025 Report, which is open for public comment.

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This document answers Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Beyond 2025 Report and its public comment period.

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The Stream Health Outcome Review Summary provides a description of the current state of the outcome, a reflection of the accomplishments and challenges over the past two years, and recommendations for future work.

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The progress summary outlines financing and pilot project development and illustrates the efforts and commitments to strengthen partnerships and foster innovation. The report also explores technical developments through links to the BMP Opportunity Analysis and its training video and instructions.

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