www.eco-check.org

Tributary report cards: Tributary report cards: Collaborating with Collaborating with

watershed organizationswatershed organizations

EcoCheck (NOAA CBO-UMCES Partnership)

OverviewOverview• History of our interactions

– Chesapeake Bay report card promoted local interest– Motivation: engage community, policy makers, influence

change– Timeline: theory, practice, expansion– Current and future groups

• Data collection efforts– Non-uniform: spatial, temporal, parameters

• Future directions– Uniformity and validity– Training– New information

Watershed organizationsWatershed organizations

• Waterkeepers Alliance– International– Fishable, drinkable, and swimmable water– Advocacy, science, legal rights– 16 Chesapeake Bay Riverkeepers

www.waterkeeper.org

Watershed organizationsWatershed organizations

Tributary report cardsTributary report cards

• Promote synergies and uniformity among efforts– Indicators– Monitoring protocol

• Aim to make report cards widely used and comparable

• Collaborative effort between citizens and government agencies– Promotes adaptive management– Connects with citizens in unique way– Leverages funding, data, and knowledge

Collaborating with organizations Collaborating with organizations in the areain the area

• Chesapeake Bay Trust– Interested in river report cards– Funds small - medium projects– Funded by Chesapeake Bay license plates

• EcoCheck– Interested in regionally specific report cards

• Expansion of systems involved– Annual expansion of groups involved

Strategy for producing Strategy for producing tributary report cardstributary report cards

• First year– Initial planning meetings– Determine citizen monitoring capabilities, data,

analysis, etc.– EcoCheck fully involved in all analysis, layout and

design, production of report card– Watershed organization members take Science

Communication Course• Second year

– Watershed organization members perform analysis, layout and design, and produce report card

– EcoCheck oversees and advises project

Examples of tributary report cardsExamples of tributary report cards

• Patuxent River– Riverkeeper, Fred

Tutman– Tidal monitoring data

from CBP/DNR,etc.– Some citizen

monitoring data

• Chester River– Chester River

Association/Chester Riverkeeper

– Some tidal monitoring data from CBP/DNR, etc.

– Good citizen monitoring data, both tidal and non-tidal

Moving beyond report card production: Moving beyond report card production: Data collectionData collection

• After first year, expanded into new areas• To collaborate and facilitate report cards, started

meeting once a month -Tributary report card group– Approx. 15 people– Meeting once a month– First year was about producing tributary report card– Providing science communication course once a year

Indicators used for tributary report cardsIndicators used for tributary report cards

• Variety of agencies/groups collect data using different protocols• Tidal and non-tidal• Collect additional indicators that aren’t in report cards

Type Indicators Chester Patuxent Severn Magothy South West/Rhode

Water Quality Ammonium

Nitrate

Phosphorus

Turbidity

Dissolved oxygen

Water clarity

Chlorophyll a

Total nitrogen

Total phosphorus

Biotic SAV

PIBI

BIBI

Oysters

Invasive species

Stream health (benthic macro)

Yellow Perch

Stream health ?

Other Enforcement

Human health Bacteria

Current directions and goalsCurrent directions and goals

• Establish core indicators – DO, SAV, Clarity, ChlA, TN, TP– Flows into monitoring protocol workgroup

• Establish consistent monitoring techniques– For core indicators– Sampling regime

• Training sessions– Monitoring and data analysis

(two days)– Science Communication

Course (two days)