Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding Program - Scope #1 Data Review and Development of Multi-Metric Stream Health Indicators (Phase 3B: Physiochemical Metric Analysis)

Overview

Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding Program

The Chesapeake Bay Trust has been designated to receive federal funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team Funding Program. The work funded by this initiative advances outcomes identified in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Each year, certain outcomes are chosen by the Chesapeake Bay Program as top priorities to address, and these stretch across all Goal Implementation Teams (GIT) and workgroups.

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement contains five themes consisting of 10 goals that will advance the restoration and protection of the Bay watershed. These goals are interrelated: improvements in water quality can mean healthier fish and shellfish; the conservation of land can mean more habitat for wildlife; and a boost in environmental literacy can mean a rise in stewards of the Bay’s resources. Our environment is a system, and these goals will support the health of the public and of the watershed as a whole. Each goal is linked to a set of outcomes, or time-bound and measurable targets that will directly contribute to its achievement. Each outcome has a Management Strategy and Logic & Action Plan which offer insight into how the partnership will achieve each outcome, as well as how we will monitor, assess, and report progress toward abundant life, clean water, engaged communities, conserved lands, and climate change resilience.

GIT 2 – Habitat – Scopes # 1, 2, and 3

The goal of the Habitat GIT is to restore, enhance, and protect the network of land and water habitats to support fish and wildlife and to afford other public benefits, including water quality, recreational uses, and scenic value across the watershed. To learn more about the Habitat GIT visit their website at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/who/group/habitat-goal-implementation-team.

Scope #1 - Data Review and Development of Multi-Metric Stream Health Indicators (Phase 3B: Physicochemical Metric Analysis)

Purpose and Outcome of Scope #1: The Data Review and Development of Multi-Metric Stream Health Indicators is part two (B) of the final phase (Phase 3) of the three-phase Action Item targets in the Stream Health Workgroup’s (SHWG) 2019 Work Plan (see page 7 of 13 in this Plan). The SHWG’s Work Plan includes action items to identify additional parameters or metrics to describe and quantify stream health to complement existing biological indicators. This Scope #1 will continue to address the question: Following the implementation of management efforts, how is stream health changing, and how can we better characterize the response through non-biological measures? Phase 3A, which was completed in August 2023, resulted in the creation of a matrix of stream health metrics that may be used as additional indicators for the Stream Health Workgroup outcome. Phase 3A focused on metrics within two of the lower levels of the stream function pyramid: geomorphology and hydraulics. The overall outcome of Phase 3B (this Scope #1) is to extend analyses to include physiochemical parameters that complement the Chesapeake Basin-wide Indicator of Biological Integrity, also referred to as “Chessie BIBI,” to further narrow down the recommended metrics for use as indicators of stream health.

Focusing Scope #1 on the physiochemical tier will allow the contractor to explore the associated metrics in more detail. Information for each identified metric will include but is not limited to, availability of data, collection timeframe, regional coverage, and type of data (measured versus modeled).

Stakeholder/Participants of Scope #1: Stream Health Workgroup; Healthy Watershed GIT; Habitat GIT; Toxic Contaminants Workgroup; Urban Stormwater Workgroup

Audience/End User of Scope #1: This Scope #1 should reflect the same level of information that has been created in previous phases and should appeal to the broadest audience possible. The audience should include other Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) workgroups, Bay jurisdictions, BMP implementation practitioners, and interested parties.

Key Tasks of Scope #1:

* Creation and approval of a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP).
* Identify potential stream health metrics and data sources available to be included in the analysis for physicochemical metrics of streams. The contractor should identify practical, measurable, and repeatable data that may be developed into additional indicator metrics for stream health.
* Perform data mining based on the identified sources for the purpose of identifying a preliminary suite of physicochemical variables that could be used as metrics to measure stream health. The contractor will utilize the format of the data inventory matrix created in the previous project, Phase 3A, and this data will be provided. Additionally, the contractor will perform exploratory analyses to narrow down the list of variables/indicators and rank as high, medium, or low potential as an indicator based on data quality, availability, and scale (local or watershed-wide), and other factors as deemed relevant.
* Provide a report, including written recommendations on the indicators that best meet the identified criteria and recommendations for further evaluation and their development Baywide. The report will include an executive summary, purpose of the analysis and selection of indicators, description of methods and information sources, data inventory matrix, summary of data analyses, key findings and recommendations for potential indicators, and next steps for further analysis and refinement. The contractor will present findings to the SHWG via a virtual meeting.

Eligibility

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