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 June Quarterly Meeting
STAC hosted its second meeting of 2021 virtually on June 15-16, 2021. Presentations, the agenda, and materials can be found on the STAC June Meeting Page.
STAC Chair, Andy Miller (UMBC) introduced background information on the development of the Conowingo WIP and Exelon agreement to prepare for a series of more detailed presentations and discussion at the September STAC meeting. Members received an overview of the STAC COVID-impact sessions, which were focused on impacts to local government, fisheries, and nutrients in the Bay. Jeremy Testa (UMCES) presented an update on the STAC-sponsored Climate Synthesis entitled Quantifying the impacts of past and future climate and eutrophication on the dynamics of dissolved oxygen in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
The CBP Local Action Cohort presented their science needs and surveyed STAC members on the best ways to engage during the CBP Strategic Science and Research Framework process. STAC Staff outlined updates to the STAC membership recruitment process, which aims to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion of the membership and their activities. The second day of the meeting opened with EPA Acting Regional Director of Region 3, Diana Esher introducing herself and answering STAC’s questions. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to continuing the STAC Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response (CESR).
STAC September Quarterly Meeting: September 13-14, 2021
In-person STAC meetings are back! For the September STAC Quarterly Meeting, STAC members will gather in Havre de Grace for a meeting focused on the impacts of the Conowingo Dam on water quality. This will include a tour of Dam and a kayak trip on the Susquehanna. Materials and further details will be made available on the STAC September Meeting Webpage.
STAC Mini-Workshop Series: COVID Impacts on Bay Restoration Efforts
The impacts of COVID-19 have played out in many ways across the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. To better understand these impacts, STAC has brainstormed potential impacts during its meeting, then reached out to Bay Program committee and partners for additional observations and areas of interest.
Based on the feedback from these discussions, STAC developed 3 “mini workshops” to examine individual topics more closely. The sessions were focused on the following:
- Local Government and Funding Impacts: Co-hosted with LGAC and the Local Leadership Workgroup
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Impacts
- Nutrient Dynamic Impacts
STAC is now collating major themes and recommendations from each session and will produce a report intended to inform the management community on the impacts that COVID has had on multiple pieces of Chesapeake Bay restoration.
Recently Released Report: Linking In-Field and Edge-of-Field Water Management to Soil and Watershed Health
Improving soil health has gained traction within the farming community because of its importance to long-term crop production and watershed health. To date, management focuses on in-field crop management practices such as reducing tillage, following 4R nutrient stewardship guidelines, and maximizing vegetative cover throughout the year. Guidelines do not address agricultural water management, despite that soil moisture primarily drives underlying soil health processes. In January 2020, STAC partnered with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, West Virginia University’s Institute of Water Security and Science, The Nature Conservancy, and the Transforming Drainage partnership and convened experts to explore the importance of agricultural water management to achieving soil and watershed restoration goals. The report can be found on the STAC website here.