Spatial Management in the Chesapeake Bay: Applications, Issues, and Opportunities

STAC sponsored a workshop on Spatial Management, including protected areas, that was directed primarily at identifying and defining issues, concerns, and opportunities for increased implementation of spatial management. The workshop was held on April 13 -14, 2004 and was the first of two workshops that STAC will sponsor on this topic. Workshop participants represented a diverse group of stakeholders, management agencies, and academia. The workshop report emphasizes that, while workshop participants were supportive of spatial management, many issues and concerns must be addressed. These include: 1) stakeholder involvement at the outset and throughout development of spatial management planning; 2) the need for an inventory of present spatial management in the Bay ecosystem; 3) the need for science to define how spatial management could perform better than conventional management approaches; 4) the need for evaluation and monitoring of any spatially managed areas and benefits/costs of their implementation; and 5) the need to consider access privileges and the concern over ?permanency? of implementation in the absence of sufficient evaluation of performance. The report also indicates broad opportunities for expansion of spatial management in support of Chesapeake Bay resource management and protection, especially for Habitats and Biodiversity Conservation, and potentially for Fisheries Management. Results and recommendations of the present workshop will serve as a framework and foundation for the second workshop that will address technical issues related to design and implementation of spatially managed areas.