Climate change: A game changer for the Bay Program
After decades of research and, more recently, advocacy, it
probably isn’t news to learn that the earth’s climate is changing. Legions of scientists have documented a wide
range of changes that can be directly and indirectly attributed to human
activities, particularly the emission of greenhouse gases. These gases are heat trapping by-products of
the combustion of fossil fuels. The
question is, what does this global problem have to do with the Chesapeake Bay?
A new report from the Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory
Committee (STAC) examines this question. (Download the full
report in PDF.) The report reflects the combined efforts of two
coordinating editors and 11 contributing authors that represent more than a
dozen organizations. The team concluded
that climate change is more than a future threat to the Bay – it is an issue
with immediate consequences for today’s restoration and protection decisions. Climate change is likely to bring warmer air
and warmer temperatures to the region, accelerate sea level rise, and potentially
change seasonal precipitation patterns. These
changes have the potential to exacerbate current stresses on the Bay ecosystem
and complicate or potentially undermine restoration efforts.
For example, a changing climate may:
- Alter
the flow of pollutants into the Bay and their impact on water quality and
living resources.
- Challenge
the performance of environmental monitoring programs intended to measure
success and guide regulatory processes.
- Compromise
the effectiveness of restoration strategies, such as those described in
the Tributary
Strategies.
- Require
changes in the design of regulatory programs, such as TMDLs.
These changes mean that the Bay Program will need to
anticipate and adapt to changing conditions to achieve its goals of protecting
and restoring water quality and living resources. It is essential to recognize that the need to
respond effectively to changing conditions is not a new requirement – it is an existing
responsibility based on the Bay Program’s mandates and authorities. This means that Bay Program partners can and
should take immediate action to include consideration for climate change in
important management and policy decisions.
The STAC team concluded the report with a number of specific
recommendations for next steps for the Bay Program, including:
- Creating
a high-level climate change champion charged with identifying
opportunities to address climate change within existing authorities and
existing resources.
- Developing
and deploying new strategies to accelerate consideration of climate change
in public and private sector decision making.
- Prioritizing
and aggressively pursuing targeted research and development to address
specific implementation issues and strengthen the foundation of knowledge
about the impact of climate change on the Bay.
In other words, the Bay Program needs to make climate change
someone’s job and empower that individual to use existing authorities and
resources to anticipate and prepare for changing climatic conditions. With this person in place, the Bay Program
can begin to work with the STAC and other advisors and stakeholders to develop
strategies to help protect and restore the Bay under changing conditions. At times, this will require focused research
and development, and the Bay Program should help ensure that needs are clearly
communicated and that resources are made available to support the work that
needs to be done.
The bottom line of the report is clear: the Bay’s climate is
changing and this will have significant implications for the mission of the Bay
Program and the future of the Chesapeake Bay. It is incumbent on the Bay Program to take
action to anticipate and adapt to changing conditions to ensure that efforts to
protect and restore the Bay will be successful under future conditions.
Ferrying plants for a cleaner Potomac River
Krissy Hopkins is the Communications and Education Subcommittee staffer with the Chesapeake Research Consortium at the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Last week, I volunteered with the National Aquarium in Baltimore for a day of
shoreline buffer planting at the Naval
Support Facility at Indian Head, located along the banks of the Potomac
River in Maryland. Over
the course of five days, Aquarium staff, the Maryland Conservation Corps, Charles County
Master Gardeners and local residents planted over 5,000 native grass plants
and 1,500 native trees along 4,830 feet of Potomac shoreline.
I’m pretty sure the trees I planted that day are among the
most protected in the state of Maryland. After
successfully passing through several security checks to enter the Naval
facility, I met up with Aquarium staff at the marina. We then piled into
vans and passed through yet another security checkpoint before entering what I
was told was a highly restricted area of the base (think ‘explosive
deliveries’ signs and mysterious steam hanging in the air). We soon arrived at
the drop-off and scampered down a steep hill to our planting site along the Potomac River.
When I arrived at the site, I was given the job of ferrying
plants from the center of the site to their new and permanent home along the
shoreline. There were low, medium and high marsh plant species that had to
be placed accordingly. After ferrying the plants to their new home, the
planting brigade -- mostly Maryland Conservation Corps folks -- dug holes and
planted the trees.
After a short lunch break, I informed those in charge that I
wanted to participate in the planting so I could have a more well-rounded day
of volunteering (and because ferrying the plants was a lot of walking!). Soon
after I began planting, I truly realized how difficult it is to successfully plant
a tree. For some holes I had to use a pick ax to get through the tough
soil! After about three hours of planting, we had completed our section
for the day and all the trees were securely in the ground.
I climbed back up to the top of the hill where I had been
dropped off in the morning and looked down upon the section we had planted. It
was amazing to see the sea of plants below me and the hard work of everyone
volunteering that day. I’m curious to see what the site will look like in
five, 10 and 20 years when the plants have established.
I especially enjoy these days of my job when I’m able to
leave the office and experience watershed restoration first-hand. I
walked away from that day with muddy boots, sore arms and a greater
appreciation for ferrying plants.
Thanks to the National Aquarium in Baltimore for both of these photos!
Symposium helps spur carbon trading programs for Chesapeake’s forests
Sally Claggett is the Chesapeake Bay Program coordinator with the USDA Forest Service at the Chesapeake Bay Program.
I get a
thrill whenever I see forests on equal billing with farm lands in the Chesapeake region. Especially
when it comes to something BIG like carbon sequestration. Of course, one acre
of forest land can sequester much more carbon than one acre of agricultural
land -- 1-2 tons of carbon per acre per year for forest, compared to roughly
0.3-0.5 ton per acre per year for farmland. But when it comes to best
management practices for water quality, and well, eating, agriculture is king.
Kudos to Delaware, which is now only 30% forested (the smallest
percentage of forest for any of the six Bay states), to take on carbon for its champion
role in the Chesapeake
clean-up. When it comes to carbon, it’s all about taking advantage of existing
volunteer markets, such as the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the Chicago Climate Exchange, and
potential regulatory markets in the United States’ future
From a
global perspective, the U.S.
is playing catch-up with carbon. Our nation did not ratify Kyoto in 1997 when 84 other countries signed
on. These countries are legally bound to reduce carbon emissions, with the
average target being to reduce emissions by 5% below 1990 levels. Here in the U.S., the
states have largely taken the leadership on reducing greenhouse gases, with
some big regional programs such as RGGI, the Western Climate Initiative
and the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Accord taking off. Last year, Congress got serious with the Lieberman-Warner
Climate Security Act, but it didn’t pass. Both of the prospective new
administrations have promised to enact climate legislation. Most likely only
after the economy settles down -- I mean up. It’s an exciting time for many who
have talked for nearly two decades about the need.
Back to
the symposium …
How will
the markets actually reduce greenhouse gases? It’s not shuffling money around. It
has to do with being cost-effective, promoting innovation and, indirectly,
better land use decisions. Big questions abound, however; like: will it work?
The top six issues are certainty, baseline, leakage, permanence,
additionality
and double
counting.
Once some
of the issues start being resolved, there’s great potential for forestry, since
80% of the forest land in this region is privately owned. The Bay Bank has moved
from concept to design and will be up and running in fall 2009. The Bay
Bank will facilitate both farm and forest landowner access to multiple
ecosystem markets (not just carbon) and conservation programs through an
easy-to-use online marketplace. Supporting aspects of the Bay Bank, such as the Spatial
Lands Registry, will be up sooner. The Spatial Lands Registry is one of
those tools that will help reduce issues such as certainty, baseline and
permanence. When a tool does this, it also reduces the make-it or break-it
transaction costs.
The
all-important new regulations will determine the direction of these burgeoning
markets. There need to be more drivers
to direct more businesses and people to invest in carbon sequestering
practices. The target reductions and rules need to be reasonable so a variety
of private landowners can take part in the market and get a worthwhile return
on their investment. The Delaware symposium is
helping with the outreach and understanding that will be needed for any market
to succeed.
What’s
good for carbon is good for water quality. Less cars, more forests and farms,
better-managed farms and forests, and hopefully, hopefully, a postponement of
sea level rise. That would be very good for the Chesapeake. For that matter, good for the
world.
Estuary conference in Providence, R.I., worth the long ride
Liana Vitali is a Living Resources Subcommittee staffer with the Chesapeake Research Consortium at the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Some
people might say that riding a train for 12 hours from Annapolis,
Maryland, to Providence, Rhode Island,
and back to attend a conference about our nation’s valuable estuaries
demonstrates real environmental dedication. Others might say, “Take the plane!”
I, of course, traveled the route using the former method. Who needs to deal
with extraneous baggage charges and cramped seating when you can pay the same
amount to travel via train through the New England
countryside and view the fantastic fall foliage, while also having ample time
to catch up on that long-forgotten summer read? OK, in retrospect, I wish I
took the plane. But no matter what mode of transportation, hundreds of
participants from around the country gathered in Providence, Rhode Island,
last week for the 4th biannual Restore
America’s Estuaries (RAE) Conference.
The four
days of the conference were jam-packed with over 50 different sessions, workshops
and plenary discussions pertaining to all things estuarine. Most of the
sessions I attended were facilitated by organizations and speakers from outside
the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Working here at
the Bay Program, I often have a front-row view of how our
partners are working to restore and protect our Bay. However, I felt by
attending sessions led by, say, the Puget
Sound Partnership or Save
the Bay - Narragansett Bay, I might gain a different perspective on how to
approach our efforts here in the Chesapeake Bay
region.
This
strategy worked! For example, while attending a session called “Creating Public
and Political Will to Restore Our Coasts and Estuaries,” I learned that the
folks at People for Puget Sound
developed a fun, comprehensive social marketing campaign called MudUp. Almost since its inception, MudUp has
been a huge hit with the local community through convincing poster ads and an
endearing Mud Monster mascot that attends all MudUp events. Hmm, if the Chesapeake
Bay Program had a mascot, what would it be?
As a side
note, Providence
and nearby areas are real delights to visit. A few co-workers and I had some
free time to visit Newport,
which is just a must-see. The mansions and Cliff Walk are truly spectacular.
Oh, and you can’t leave Newport
without a visit to Flo’s Clam Shack; you would regret it if you didn’t go and try
their fish and chips -- so good!
All in
all, my trip to Providence was extremely
insightful (no matter how long the commute!), and I’m looking forward to the
5th biannual RAE Conference in Galveston,
Texas, in 2010!
Liana gets soaked by a wave as she enjoys Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at sunset in Newport, Rhode Island.