Citizen Science and the Chesapeake Bay Program s Water Quality Monitoring Program

Transcription

1 Citizen Science and the Chesapeake Bay Program s Water Quality Monitoring Program Peter Tango CBPO Mid-Atlantic Volunteer Monitoring Conference August 7, 2015

2 Nick DiPasquale Director Chesapeake Bay Program Words from Nick Citizen Science is something that has been a priority for me since I took over as director 4 years ago. Citizen monitoring (water quality, biological, etc.) is extremely important to extend our reach into areas of the watershed that we would never get to because of limited funds. Citizen monitoring can be used to engage local communities and organizations in the watershed restoration effort as well as for educational purposes to enhance our environmental literacy and stewardship efforts. Citizen Science can be used to identify problems or determine if our management measures are having their intended effect.

3 Nick DiPasquale Director Chesapeake Bay Program Words from Nick On behalf of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership, please extend my appreciation to all our Citizen Scientists for their efforts.

4 Bay 101: Why Monitor at all? Assess and Communicate Status and Change Effectively Separate Fact from Fiction Confront models with data Support Adaptive Management Target resources effectively Gain new scientific understanding Understand return on investments Adjust monitoring

5 Chesapeake Bay Long term Water Quality Monitoring Program: present. Over 150 long term water quality monitoring stations provide coverage for the management segments

6 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Monitoring Network Approaching 120 long term monitoring stations. All provide nutrient and sediment concentration data A subset of the total are nutrient and sediment load monitoring stations

7 Stream Health Indicator Dissolved Oxygen Standards Attainment VA Water Quality Standards Support Ground truth Bay grass aerial photos Citizen Science is an established and important part of the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership monitoring efforts

8 Growing support to expand Citizen Science and Nontraditional Partnerships Key Management Event for Evolving and Growing Citizen Science in the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership was the Chesapeake Bay Program Monitoring Realignment Process

9 Watershed Partners Senior Managers Said: The (Clean Water Act Section 303(d)) delisting of the Bay, and determining the success of our management actions, are the responsibilities of the partnership, and should be the priorities of the monitoring program.

10 2009 Monitoring Realignment and Synthesis Process Asked How we can obtain more data? Workshops and Meetings Weekly Conference Calls Focused Reports

11 2009 Monitoring Realignment and Synthesis Process Asked How we can obtain more data? Workshops and Meetings Weekly Conference Calls Citizen Science Opportunities Grow Focused Reports

12 Monitoring Realignment 2009 Partnering Workgroup findings: AIR QUALITY BACTERIOLOGICAL BENTHIC BIRDS CLIMATOLOGICAL FISHERIES GROUND WATER METEOROLOGY OBSERVING SYSTEM PHYTOPLANKTON POINT SOURCE RADIOLOGICAL SAV SHELLFISH TOXICS-SEDIMENT TOXICS-TISSUE TOXICS-WATER WATER QUALITY WILDLIFE ZOOPLANKTON J. Johnson & K. Foreman CBP NUMBER OF MONITORING PROGRAMS BY SUBJECT AREA Number of Programs 295 monitoring programs identified in the watershed and counting! EBFMP Fisheries OYSTERS BLUE CRAB STRIPED BASS Monitoring Programs By Chesapeake Action Plan Goal Area ALOSIDS MENHADEN Habitats FISH PASSAGE SAV WETLANDS STREAM RESTRATION POINT SOURCE AG &CAFOs STORMWATER Water Quality SEPTIC SHORELINE SEDIMENT AIR ACID MINE TOXICS Watersheds LAND PRESERVATION LAND CONVERSION PRE-HYDROLOGY

13 Over 600 Watershed Organizations and counting!

14 Building Environmental Intelligence: Leading the future of water-quality monitoring Report 2015

15 Thank You

16 Break Out Session Let s talk What to monitor?

17 Present discussions on directions for CBP Citizen Science monitoring support include 3 themes: Further document the status of tidal waters in nearshore areas Identify nutrient and sediment conditions in local watersheds Verification of selected BMPs

18 Conceptual Model of Chesapeake Bay and watershed recovery Poor Health Good Health

19 Issue #1. Status of the Bay The Dead zone is in the Deep channel of the bay and lower tributaries. However, the history of fish kills shows the kills, often attributed to low dissolved oxygen, are in the shallow water and smaller tributaries. We have a dead zone, we need to monitor the killing zone. Maryland waters fish kills MDE Offshore, deep water dead zone The real action, The nearshore, kill zone

20 Nearshore waters and tributaries have little monitoring Baby Dead Zones Mortality Moments

21 Actions: Enhancing Monitoring to Support Management Effectiveness Through Citizen Science Photo D. Muller. SRF South River Federation Increasing resolution Reducing uncertainty A Muller. USN

22 Issue #2. Status of the Watershed. Targeting resources at the source.

23 Report Recommendation: To quantify effects on nitrogen discharge, use low-frequency (e.g., quarterly) sampling of baseflow nitrate from many study watersheds selected to represent a wide range of levels of conservation practices. Compare neighboring watersheds within each physiographic province.?

24 Using Monitoring Data To Measure Progress and Explain Change Foundation: Monitoring networks Tidal Network 24

25 Point Source Mgt late 1970s Watershed to Estuary Recovery: Telling the Story, Explaining Change Response to Management Actions in Gunston Cove, Potomac River TP load declines Estuary Nutrients Declining over 30 yrs CHLA declines last 20 yrs R. Chris Jones George Mason Univ. Water Clarity shows improving trend last 15 yrs Bay recovery model: SAV resurgence and continues

26 Present discussions on directions for CBP Citizen Science monitoring support include 3 themes: Further document the status of tidal waters in nearshore areas Identify nutrient and sediment conditions in local watersheds Verification of selected BMPs

27 Thank You

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29 What to Monitor? It depends on your priorities and interests. Theme: Status. Water quality (nutrients, sediments, toxics, temperature, algae, dissolved oxygen), bugs, fish, birds, herps, bacteria, ph, conductivity, trash, etc. Regulatory, Bay Agreement outcomes, model calibration and verification support, conservation planning, education and stewardship. Theme: Restoration tracking. Document and monitor the BMP itself riparian zone: plantings-growth-success, stream fencing dam removals rain gardens Reason: Support for planning efforts and targeting resources Reason: Explaining change and understanding your return on investment.

30 Bay Watershed Health Indicators Buchanan et al Acknowledgements An adhoc CBP workgroup created to guide development of the Chessie B-IBI consisted of benthic macroinvertebrate experts from the six states in the watershed (New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware) as well as federal, academic, and River Basin Commission partners. The authors wish to give special thanks to the members of the adhoc workgroup for their diligence in providing technical guidance and feedback: A.J. Smith (NYDEC), Aimee Budd (VADEQ), Bill Richardson (US EPA Region 3), Brian Chalfant (PADEP), Charlie Poukish (MDE), Dan Boward (MD DNR), Ed Reilly (NYDEC), Ellen Dickey (DNREC), Greg Garman (VCU), Greg Pond (US EPA Region 3),Hassan Mirsajadi (DNREC), Jeff Bailey (WVDEP), Jen Hoffman (SRBC), John Wirts (WVDEP), Kevin McGonigal (SRBC), Maggie Passmore (US EPA Region 3), Mike Fritz (EPA-CBPO), Nita Sylvester (EPA-CBPO), Peter Tango (USGS-CBPO),Rick Hoffman (VADEQ), Rod Kime (PADEP), Ron Klauda (MD DNR), Scott Stranko (MD DNR), Tony Prochaska (MD DNR), and Wayne Davis (EPA). Other members of the Chesapeake Bay Program s Non-Tidal Water Quality Workgroup as well as the Indicator Workgroup provided input on final presentation of the results. Furthering communication product development: Watershed-wide status and targeting maps

31 Illustrating and Communicating Results at Different Scales

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33 Pittman Robertson Fund investments : >$2 billion since Return on investments: Habitat acquisition, habitat improvement and species saved from threatened or extinct status

34 Water Quality History: A Century of Dissolved Oxygen Resource Degradation and Recovery Around the Globe: Thames River, England Rhine River, Germany New York Harbor, NY USA Potomac River, MD USA

35 Status and Trends: Recovery takes time Peregrine Falcon Extinct in the eastern U.S. 1997: 174 nesting pairs in eastern U.S.; 27 pairs in the Ches apeake Bay watershed 40 year recovery 30 year recovery

36 There are models about how we think that the Bay works Illustration: IAN Ecocheck Conceptual Model: Rain> Runoff> (Nutrients + Sun + Temperature + Wind) > Algae Blooms > Algae die and sink>poor Dissolved Oxygen Conditions

37 And there are models about how we think that the Bay works All models are wrong, but some are useful. George E.P. Box - Statistician

38 Why Monitor? Restoring watersheds project by project: Trends in Chesapeake Bay tributary restoration. Palmer et al study: 4700 Tributary restoration projects. Estimated $400 million invested in Bay and watershed restoration