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 FY2022 Request for Proposals: Proposals due February 16, 2022

The Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) is accepting proposals for STAC-sponsored workshops for the STAC fiscal year 2022 budget cycle (beginning June 1, 2022). Workshops are convened to gather critically needed scientific or technical information related to protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.  Workshops funded through this RFP must be convened by May 31, 2023. The total amount allocated by STAC will not exceed $10,000 for each workshop activity.

As an independent advisory committee to the entire Chesapeake Bay Partnership, STAC reserves funds for two categories of workshops:

  1. Programmatic Workshop: Workshop outcomes will provide the CBP and the Partnership with actionable recommendations. Workshop participants will assess where, when, who, and how science can be implemented within the Partnership and prioritize these recommendations. Recommendations should follow the ‘SPURR’ format. This will provide the CBP Partnership with a clear next-step to take action on the recommendations.
  2. State of the Science Workshop: A STAC Workshop with the focus on gathering various stakeholders to examine a topic from an interdisciplinary perspective with an aim to assess the state of the science, gaps in knowledge, and science needs. Recommendations should include research recommendations and strategies to address gaps in the science.

The current STAC membership list can be found here.

Proposals are due to STAC Coordinator, Annabelle Harvey (harveya@chesapeake.org) by COB February 16, 2022. 

Materials linked on STAC Website:

STAC December Quarterly Meeting: December 7, 2021

STAC met virtually on December 7, 2021. The membership furthered work on the CESR effort, were updated on recent STAC workshops and membership processes, and strategically planned for the next two years of STAC activities and priorities. STAC also heard from the new EPA Region 3 Director, Adam Ortiz. More information, agenda, and materials can be found on the STAC December Meeting Page.

Approved STAC 2022 Quarterly Meeting Dates

            March 8-7, 2022

            June 14-15, 2022

            September 13-14, 2022

            December 6-7, 2022

Recent STAC Workshops

Understanding Genetics for Successful Conservation and Restoration of Resilient Chesapeake Bay Brook Trout Populations (FY2020)

September 28-29, 2021 (Virtual)

Traditionally, fisheries management has focused on the abundance, distribution, and size structure of populations. Although these factors remain key aspects of management, a large and growing body of evidence highlights the importance of genetics in conserving wild populations, especially when populations are small and isolated. Local adaptations are very common among fishes and help populations cope with specific conditions in their local environment. The field of conservation genetics and genomics is highly technical and has advanced rapidly in recent years, offering a wealth of information to support brook trout conservation and restoration. A major impediment to successfully incorporating these advances into conservation outcomes is that most fisheries managers have only a basic understanding of fish genetics and its relevance to their management decisions.

The two-day workshop gathered experts in the field of fish and brook trout genetics together with fishery managers and practitioners to provide the latter with the both the general knowledge of fish genetics and recent scientific advances. The main objectives included: (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.

Improving modeling and mitigation strategies for poultry ammonia emissions across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Session 1 (FY2021)

November 19, 2021 (Virtual)

This one-day virtual session explored the state of the science This session included presentations on potential mitigation strategies to protect water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. In early 2022, there will be multi-session discussions on specific issues to develop recommendations to ensure Chesapeake Bay Program modeling approaches are accurately estimating the growing source of nitrogen from poultry operations.

Advancing Monitoring Approaches to Enhance Tidal Chesapeake Bay Habitat Assessment including Water Quality Standards for Chesapeake Bay Dissolved Oxygen, Water Clarity/SAV and Chlorophyll a Criteria (Programmatic)

December 9, 2021 (virtual)

Session 1 of the workshop explored the state of the science and develop recommendations on adaptive monitoring and assessment for the next generation Chesapeake Bay Program tidal monitoring program. This workshop will explore new monitoring and analysis approaches and alternative data sources in order to fill gaps limiting habitat assessments for water clarity and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Future workshop sessions will focus on dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a.

Upcoming FY2021 STAC Workshops: FY21 runs from June 1, 2021- May 31, 2022

  1. Improve the Understanding and Coordination of Science Activities for PFAS in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (State of the Science Workshop): Multi-session
  2. Evaluating a Systems Approach to BMP Crediting (Programmatic Workshop): March 2022
  3. Improving modeling and mitigation strategies for poultry ammonia emissions across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (Programmatic and State of the Science Workshop): First workshop session—Multi-session
  4. Rising Watershed and Bay Water Temperatures—Ecological Implications and Management Responses (Programmatic Workshop): January 12th and March 15th, 2022