The Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) is administered by the CRC and funded through a cooperative agreement with the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Partnership – currently spanning the period 2016-2022. The CRC has had a long-standing role of administering all activities of STAC, an active committee with 38 members from academic and scientific institutions around the watershed.
For any inquiries, or to be added to STAC’s Interested Parties list, contact STAC Coordinator, Annabelle Harvey.
STAC December Quarterly Meeting: December 7, 2021
STAC will host its final meeting of the year on December 7, 2021 via Zoom. This one-day virtual meeting will include updates on STAC membership, recent STAC Workshops, and information on tidal trend modeling from ITAT. STAC Chair, Kathy Boomer will lead a STAC discussion on how STAC can best advise the partnership over the next two years and how to effectively address science needs. The Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response report (CESR) process will be reviewed as STAC moves into the final phases of developing this consensus report. Registration information, agenda, and materials will be made available on the STAC meeting webpage.
Announcement: STAC will release the FY 2022 STAC Workshop Request for Proposals on December 1, 2021. It will be made available on the STAC website, under the Applying for Assistance page.
Recent STAC Workshop
Understanding Genetics for Successful Conservation and Restoration of Resilient Chesapeake Bay Brook Trout Populations: September 28-29, 2021 (Virtual)
The two-day workshop brought together experts in the field of fish and brook trout genetics and fishery managers and practitioners to provide the latter with the both the general knowledge of fish genetics and recent scientific advances. The main objectives were to: (1) communicate the importance of genetic information for Brook Trout management and review key conservation genetics concepts and (2) explore available genetics datasets and explain how they can be used to support management. Materials from this workshop can be found on the STAC Workshop Webpage.
Upcoming STAC Workshops: Linked to webpages
November 19, 2021
Improving modeling and mitigation strategies for poultry ammonia emissions across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
A virtual workshop to explore the state of the science and develop recommendations to ensure Chesapeake Bay Program modeling approaches are accurately estimating the growing source of nitrogen from poultry operations. This workshop will explore potential mitigation strategies to protect water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and produce a report with specific recommendations for the CBP.
December 9, 2021
Session 1: Advancing Monitoring Approaches to Enhance Tidal Chesapeake Bay Habitat Assessment
The workshop objective is to develop actionable recommendations on adaptive monitoring and assessment for the next generation Chesapeake Bay Program tidal monitoring program. Adaption will need to occur with methods that 1) improve temporal resolution in water quality data collections to address the full spectrum of characterizing conditions defining living resource life cycle needs, 2) improve spatial resolution to provide information needs on spatial variability in water quality and represent diverse tidal water habitats, 3) improve efficiency and cost effectiveness associated with data collections to expand the information return on data collection investment 4) advance water quality assessment efficiency and effectiveness with adopting applications of evolving intelligent algorithms applied to interpreting alternative data collection sources (e.g., aerial imagery, e.g., satellite-derived data), and 6) updating Bay habitat assessment tools (e.g., the Bay Interpolator) for more effectively using diverse data sources to improve habitat characterization at all management-relevant temporal and spatial scales addressing cross-cutting decision-support needs of Chesapeake Bay Program Goal Implementation Teams.
January 12, 2022
Day 1: Rising Watershed and Bay Water Temperatures—Ecological Implications and Management Responses: A Proactive Programmatic CBP STAC Workshop
The goal of this workshop is to secure policy level commitments by the Chesapeake Bay Program to address and work to adapt to rising water temperatures in the Bay and watershed, across the full array of shared decision-making by the Partnership
The workshop will aim to assemble and organize (synthesize) the best available information about rising water temperatures and implications for Bay and watershed restoration, protection and conservation; Convene top scientists, program managers and policy makers to vet the available information and point out the most promising approaches for (a) CBP programmatic and policy actions, and (b) addressing recognized gaps in scientific understanding, decision-support tools and monitoring networks; Communicate the findings, implications and recommended management responses, both proactive and adaptive; Factor direct consideration of rising water temperatures into Partnership collaborative decision-making, as well as into that of individual partners
March 22 – 23, 2022
Evaluating a Systems Approach to BMP Crediting: A STAC Programmatic Workshop
A two-day workshop to explore specific management actions for improvements to the current National Environmental Information Exchange Network (NEIEN) system to better account for habitat-based data and co benefits, and for incorporation of landscape consideration and application of a systems approach to maximizing benefits from multi-habitat projects to improve restoration outcomes.
Approved STAC 2022 Quarterly Meeting Dates
March 8-7, 2022
June 14-15, 2022
September 13-14, 2022
December 6-7, 2022