Integrating Monitoring Networks to Support the Assessment of Outcomes in the New Bay Agreement

Improving the integration and leveraging of exiting monitoring networks is one approach to help address outcomes in the new Bay Agreement. The workshop will focus on the Choptank River, as a microcosm for the Bay system, and will focus on the barriers and opportunities for integrating monitoring efforts for several inter-related outcomes (fisheries, SAV, water quality, stream health, and toxic contaminants). Some of major items to explore include: 

• Supporting adaptive management (including use of models and indicators)
• Aligning monitoring program objectives
• Modifying network designs
• Assessing compatibility of sampling and analytical techniques

After the barriers to these items are identified, the workshop will focus on opportunities to better integrate monitoring with discussion including 1) adding measures to existing stations, 2) bringing in other monitoring partners or citizen scientists, and/or 3) more efficiency monitoring.