“NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science along with the U.S. Geological Survey published a Joint Pilot Technical Memorandum and StoryMap highlighting a seamless spatial framework to integrate fish habitat assessments throughout the Chesapeake Bay from inland rivers and streams all the way to the mouth of the bay.

This effort began when Chesapeake Bay Program Fish Habitat Action Team expressed interest in a finer-scale, seamless, baywide fish habitat assessment spanning tidal salt, tidal fresh, warm non-tidal, and cold non-tidal waters. This information could be valuable to fisheries managers as many fish species – including invasive species and those under federal jurisdiction – inhabit both estuarine and riverine waters. It could also be useful for land planners, as they consider the potential influence of their land use decisions. Due to the vast geographic span and complex habitats and diversity within the 64,000 square mile watershed, previous fish habitat assessments were conducted separately for inland waters and the estuary. This piece-meal approach was often not useful or efficient when comparing across boundaries, and the larger scale assessments didn’t provide the details managers need to make informed decisions. . .”