Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Funding Program - Scope #2 - Development of a Chesapeake Bay Shallow Water Habitat Sentinel Site Program

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 #2 - Development of a Chesapeake Bay Shallow Water Habitat Sentinel Site Program

Purpose and Outcome of Scope #2: This Scope will include developing a comprehensive Shallow Water Habitat Sentinel Site Program for the Chesapeake Bay. As part of this Scope #2, the contactors will gather multi-parameter, detailed data on a scale that is accessible and relevant to decision-making and information gathering. This effort will include creating a protocol for the monitoring of multiple living resources and water quality measures, as well as climate impacts on the functional value of shallow water habitats in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The goal of this Scope #2 is to also develop a protocol to monitor the effectiveness of measures taken by the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership beyond 2025. Developing a Shallow Water Habitat Sentinel Site Program will fill identified data gaps and provide the data necessary to track changes in response to climate change and management actions, assess environmental conditions, provide early warning signals for potential issues, and enhance modeling and forecasting capabilities in shallow water habitats.

Key Tasks of Scope #2:

* Creation and approval of a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP).
* Literature and Existing Program Review (for identification of data gaps): The first step of this project is to conduct a review of current shallow water monitoring efforts, strategies, and data gaps for shallow water habitats in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The review will build on other recent inventories and assessments already completed, including the Inventory & Evaluation of Environmental and Biological Response Data for Fish Habitat Assessment for the Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team (2020) and Recommendations for Conducting Fish Habitat Assessments in Tidal Waters of the Chesapeake Bay for the Fish Habitat Action Team (2021). The review will identify data gaps that need to be filled to accomplish a comprehensive understanding of shallow water habitat functionality and response to change to be considered in program development.
* Scoping Workshop: Following the review, a Scoping Workshop will be held. Workshop participants will assess where, when, and how a Shallow Water Habitat Sentinel Site Program can be implemented within the CBP Partnership. The workshop will include a focused, diverse, and distinguished array of participants including scientists, coordinators, and resource managers to explore the development of this Shallow Water Habitat Sentinel Site Program for both non-tidal and tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Broad workshop objectives will be to determine how many sentinel sites to define, as well as the biotic (i.e., SAV, macroalgae, phytoplankton, forage fish composition, fish and shellfish, other invertebrate use, etc.) and abiotic (i.e., sediment type, water quality measurements, toxins, etc.) parameters to measure at each site, and with what frequency. Invited workshop participants will represent both non-tidal and tidal interests and will have expertise in the biotic and abiotic parameters considered for inclusion in the program. During the workshop, participants will determine if non-tidal habitats will be included in shallow water habitat sentinel site program development, or if the program will include only tidal waters of the Bay and watershed and a non-tidal shallow water habitat sentinel site program will be developed separately, independent of this project. The workshop will require two separate two-day events (four days total), but the workshop format and length will be determined by the contractor.
* Full Shallow Water Habitat Sentinel Site Program Development: With results and recommendations from the Literature Review and Scoping Workshop, the contractor will conduct full Shallow Water Habitat Sentinel Site Program development. This will include identifying locations for sentinel site placement, developing protocols and datasheets for each parameter to be measured, identifying data portal options, and identification of potential program partners and sustainable funding sources. Further, a basic feasibility assessment for implementing this Sentinel Site Program will be conducted. Feasibility of implementation will depend on several factors, such as the targeted number of sentinel sites, the number and complexity of biotic and abiotic parameters to be surveyed, the temporal frequency of monitoring recommended, and the capacity of CBP partners to participate in the effort. All these considerations will influence programmatic costs that will influence the feasibility of implementation.

Eligibility

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