The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office established a presence at the Cooperative Oxford Laboratory in 2002 that has expanded to a shared leadership role for the Office at the Lab. The Oxford Cooperative Lab's mission is to respond to policy and management needs by providing scientific information and tools that help better balance ecological, social, and economic goals for the Chesapeake Bay.

The scientific research and information generated by the Cooperative Oxford Lab partners is critical to the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office as it represents NOAA in the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership. It is equally important for the Oxford Lab to be aware of research needs identified by the Chesapeake Bay Program. In addition to assisting to identify emerging research priorities, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office staff provide their scientific expertise on a variety of topics, including habitat and living resource management, marine diseases and invasive species, ecosystem modeling and land use and coastal conditions.

NOAA also enhances the partnership through its focus on using scientific information to increase environmental literacy. In spring 2010, the Office opened the NOAA Environmental Science Training Center on the grounds of the Lab to provide training on current marine and atmospheric research to education professionals. NOAA also has a long standing partnership with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science to design effective science communication tools through EcoCheck.

Other Partners at the Cooperative Oxford Lab

• NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

• Maryland Department of Natural Resources
• U.S. Coast Guard (Fifth Coast Guard District, USCG Station Oxford)