Mission
The mission of the Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine Research Reserve stewardship program is to protect and restore the Reserve components for long-term research and education and to promote a sense of stewardship throughout the community. To achieve this mission, the Reserve has the following goals:
- Strengthen the protection and management of the Reserve to advance estuarine conservation, research, education, and coastal training.
- Increase the use of science and Reserve sites to address management issues.
- Enhance peoples’ ability and willingness to make informed decisions and take responsible actions that affect Maryland’s coastal communities and ecosystems.
Stewardship at the Reserve involves the long-term protection of more than 6,000 acres of estuarine land and water in Maryland’s most precious resource, the Chesapeake Bay. The Reserve's stewardship program is well integrated with the research, education, and coastal training programs. Its activities focus on:
- Targeting land for acquisition and protection;
- Conducting restoration projects, including wild rice restoration and invasive species removal;
- Fostering a sense of stewardship in the local community by engaging Marylanders in volunteer programs;
- Mapping reserve habitats and the reserve watershed; and
- Coordinating with Friends groups to support mutual protection goals. Restoration activities at CBNERR-MD demonstrate best management practices that other resource professionals, local decision-makers, and the general public can apply in their own communities.
Priority Topics
Land Use and Population Growth
Urban development : The Otter Point Creek component of the Chesapeake Bay Maryland Reserve is surrounded by high development, and the area around the Jug Bay component is one of the most rapidly developing places in the state. From 1985 to 2005 the human population increased in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by over 20 percent, from 13.5 million to 16.6 million. As our population climbs, so do the challenges we face to maintain habitat and improve water quality in the reserve. Habitat destruction and fragmentation, the increase in impervious surfaces, and nutrient overload are the most challenging issues we face.
As natural lands and farms are replaced with buildings and roads, the normal water cycle is interrupted. Streams become warmer and flashy—they are dry during droughts and overly flooded during rain events. These high flows carve out stream banks and wash sediment and nutrients downstream. Excess nutrients fuel excess algae blooms and causing dead zones and fish kills. Impervious surface prevents groundwater recharge, and drinking wells can dry up or be contaminated by saltwater intrusion.
Population growth leads to more sewage, more electric needs, more fertilized lawns, and more cars on the road. Urban sprawl leads to longer commutes. All of these lead to more nutrients in the Chesapeake. Almost a third of the nitrogen in the Bay comes from airborne sources. Another quarter of the nitrogen comes from sewage treatment plants and septic tanks . Trees and wetlands can absorb some of this nutrient pollution. Unfortunately, forest and wetland destruction or degradation often accompanies development.
The Reserve's stewardship program partners with watchdog organizations, such as our friends groups and the Patuxent Riverkeeper organization, to stay apprised of development plans and activities in the immediate vicinity of the reserve. The program also works with the reserve research, education, and coastal training programs to study and work to address impacts of development on the reserve.
Habitat Alteration
- Climate change: Maryland and Delaware are the third and fourth most vulnerable states to sea level rise, after Florida and Louisiana. In the last century, relative sea level in Chesapeake increased by one foot. About half of this was due the sea level rise, and about half was due to Maryland sinking (geologic subsidence due to isostatic rebound). In 2003, Hurricane Isabel was a wake-up call when it flooded many areas in Maryland, including portions of the major cities of Baltimore and Annapolis. Flooding of low-lying areas will only get worse in the future as sea level rise accelerates and storm intensity increases. In addition, Maryland’s tidal fresh areas are threatened by increasing salinities. The Reserve’s stewardship program is working integrally with the research, education, and coastal training programs to study, plan for, and mitigate climate change impacts in the reserve.
- Wild Rice Restoration: Since 1999, the Reserve's restoration efforts have increased the wild rice area at Jug Bay five-fold—from less than 30 acres in 1999 to over 150 acres in 2007. Wild rice is a highly nutritious marsh plant that serves as a key food source for migrating birds such as the secretive sora rail. This federal (NOAA), state (Maryland Department of Natural Resources), and local (Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission) partnership project has served as a model for other managers in the Chesapeake Bay area. The techniques pioneered by Greg Lewis and Michael Haramis have been shared through a variety of forums, including a CBNERR-MD coastal training program workshop. The Stewardship Program at the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Reserve in Maryland.
