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CMC Hosts Workshop for Head of the Bay Alliance

Posted on June 28, 2019

The Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative team hosted a study design workshop for the Head of the Bay Alliance on June 13th in Havre de Grace, Maryland. The Head of the Bay Alliance is an alliance of independent watershed and environmental organizations fostering collaboration and mutual support to protect the natural resources of the Upper Chesapeake Bay […]

CMC Presents at Inaugural Chesapeake Studies Conference

Posted on June 28, 2019

The CMC was excited to participate in the inaugural gathering of the Chesapeake Studies Conference, the first of what planners hope becomes an annual opportunity for institutions and researchers to discuss the unique ecology, history, and environmental challenges of the Chesapeake watershed. Nathan Miller, an IAN-UMCES Science Communicator and CMC team member, presented during a […]

IWLA Certifies New Monitors in Fredericksburg, VA

Posted on June 28, 2019

Last month IWLA staff got to work with volunteers from around the Fredericksburg area in Virginia eager to become certified biological monitors. Volunteers from the IWLA Fredericksburg-Rappahannock chapter, Green Aquia, and local Virginia Master Naturalists all came out on a beautiful day to learn about water quality issues, the importance of monitoring benthic macroinvertebrates, and […]

York Stream Team QC Check In and Database Training

Posted on June 28, 2019

ALLARM checked in with its Stream Team volunteers in York County on Monday, June 17th and trained everyone to upload their monitoring data into the Chesapeake Data Explorer. All the stream sites were represented, and everyone brought their second quality control samples and shared updates from the past five months of monitoring. Then the teams […]

Virginia Citizens for Water Quality Summit is Coming this October!

Posted on June 28, 2019

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay will be hosting the Virginia Citizens for Water Quality Summit on October 19th, 2019 in Ashland, VA. The theme this year is more money, more monitoring, with a goal of providing monitoring groups and individual monitors with diverse resources and partnership opportunities to increase or sustain monitoring programs. Registration […]

#OneChesapeake: This Week is Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week!

Posted on June 3, 2019

The Chesapeake Bay Program’s 4th Annual Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week (June 1 – 9) is upon us! Visit the CBP’s events page to find an event near you! Per the CBP press release: “The fourth annual Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week will take place June 1-9, 2019. While this week has been officially designated in Maryland, […]

ALLARM is launching Stream Team in Cumberland County, PA!

Posted on June 3, 2019

ALLARM teamed up with the Middle and Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Associations in 2018 to launch a new monitoring initiative called Susquehanna Stream Team, funded by the Campbell Foundation. This program engages water quality monitoring efforts among volunteers in Pennsylvania and New York. Volunteers will specifically be monitoring the Susquehanna tributaries to address local inquiries and […]

Data Explorer nominated for RVA Tech Gala Award

Posted on May 31, 2019

The CMC is proud to announce that the Chesapeake Data Explorer was nominated for the Innovation in Community award at the RVA Tech Gala this year! The Gala was held in Richmond, VA and celebrates the breakthroughs, advancements, and outstanding technologists who are driving Richmond’s technology-based economy. Though the Data Explorer did not win, we […]

D.C. Bacteria Monitoring

Posted on May 4, 2019

The Anacostia Riverkeeper has partnered with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (CMC), Audubon Naturalists Society, Potomac Riverkeeper Network, and Rock Creek Conservancy through a grant from the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) to start a bacteria monitoring program in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this project is to to make E.coli data […]

CMC teams up with DataKind volunteers to make data tools

Posted on May 4, 2019

On Saturday April 27th, the CMC held a training for volunteers eager to provide their time and skills…on dry land! CMC staff, Peter Tango and Emily Bialowas, participated in a weekend long Data Dive with DataKind volunteers, who help non-profit citizen science initiatives with their data needs. The CMC spent the day with DataKind volunteers […]

C-M-C u at the Chesapeake Watershed Forum in November!

Posted on May 4, 2019

The CMC is excited to see that the request for proposals for presentations at the 14th Chesapeake Watershed Forum is open and water quality monitoring is a priority topic! This year’s theme Better Together: Diverse and Innovative Collaborations for the Chesapeake Watershed, encourages presenters to share not only monitoring tools and techniques, but also community […]

CMC Discusses Bay Restoration and Citizen Science at Planning Association Workshop

Posted on May 4, 2019

During a lightning round of talks at a recent workshop for the Maryland chapter of the American Planning Association, Nathan Miller, an IAN-UMCES Science Communicator and CMC Team member, spoke with attendees and stakeholders about CMC’s mission to monitor water quality and benthic biodiversity throughout the Chesapeake Bay. Despite its brevity, the five-minute talk emphasized […]

CMC highlights Chesapeake health to Virginia’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts

Posted on April 8, 2019

Last week, we got to share the work we do with Soil and Water Conservation Districts and their staff from across northern and central Virginia. Emily Bialowas, our CMC coordinator at the Izaak Walton League, was asked to speak along with staff from Virginia’s Dept. of Conservation and Recreation and Dept. of Game and Inland […]

CMC data makes a splash at the 2019 National Water Quality Monitoring Conference

Posted on April 8, 2019

The Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative was well represented at the National Water Quality Monitoring Conference in Denver at the end of March. Several members of the team attended the conference and shared CMC progress and resources through a variety of presentations. Peter Tango, Emily Bialowas, Helen Schlimm, and Caroline Donovan presented a champion session which covered […]

CMC attends the Citizen Science Association’s Conference in Raleigh

Posted on April 8, 2019

The CMC was well represented at the biennial Citizen Science Association conference in Raleigh, NC in March. Emily Bialowas and Peter Tango presented on various aspects of the CMC in sessions about Monitoring Data and Data Quality Management. Caroline Donovan presented a lunchtime roundtable discussion that highlighted the CMC as an example of a successful regional partnership. […]

CALL FOR DATA: Maryland 2020 Integrated Report of Surface Water Quality

Posted on April 8, 2019

The CMC is excited to announce that the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) will be using the Chesapeake Data Explorer for their 2019 data solicitation! This data will be used in the 2020 Integrated Report of Surface Water Quality, which provides information on both impaired and non-impaired waters within the State of Maryland. If […]

April 13th is Citizen Science Day!

Posted on April 8, 2019

The Citizen Science Association’s 4th annual Citizen Science Day kicks off on April 13th with events planned around the country to highlight the remarkable contributions communities and individual citizens make to scientific exploration everyday. Visit SciStarter.org/events to see if there’s an event near you. There’s also still time to set up your own Citizen Science Day event. Visit the […]

MDE Shellfish is our newest Tier 3 group!

Posted on February 27, 2019

The CMC is excited to announce the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Shellfish monitoring program has been approved as Tier 3 for their 2019 monitoring season! Maryland’s bacteriological monitoring of shellfish growing waters started in the early 1970’s and it has grown to over 700 stations throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. All stations […]

Data Interpretation Workshops

Posted on February 25, 2019

The CMC trained approximately 20 people in Data Interpretation and Science Communication in February. The free 2-day workshop is part of the CMC’s training services and include hands-on, immersive training in data interpretation, conceptualization, storytelling, and design and layout. One workshop was hosted at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality‘s office in Richmond, VA and the other was […]

The CMC has a new website!

Posted on January 14, 2019

The Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC) is starting 2019 off fresh with a brand new website (chesapeakemonitoringcoop.org)! This website provides a platform to share CMC services and resources that have been developed over the past three years and are freely available. The CMC brings together a diverse group of people who monitor water quality to provide […]

Check out the newly available Chesapeake Data Explorer!

Posted on December 12, 2018

The CMC is pleased to announce the Chesapeake Data Explorer is now publicly available to view and download monitoring data! This portal allows anyone to view, access, and download published monitoring data in the Data Explorer. We are continuing to add water quality data, monitoring groups, and site locations into the system. Continue to check the website to keep […]

Memorandum of Understanding is passed to advance citizen water monitoring effectiveness!

Posted on November 1, 2018

Over the last year, the CMC has been working with the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership on an unprecedented Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This MOU aims to forge a deeper understanding of and commitment to using non-traditional water quality and benthic data in various ways. We are pleased to announce that the MOU was formally accepted by […]

ALLARM teams up with partners to launch stream volunteer monitoring program

Posted on November 1, 2018

On October 25th, ALLARM teamed up with students and faculty at York College of Pennsylvania and the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper to launch ALLARM’s Susquehanna Stream Team volunteer monitoring program. This new initiative of ALLARM aims to engage volunteers to collect scientific data of known quality that can inform local approaches to achieving improved watershed health […]

New CMC Sessions at the Watershed Forum!

Posted on November 1, 2018

There are several sessions where you can connect with the CMC. Each session includes fun, hands-on activities related to monitoring local streams. We hope you can make it to at least one of our sessions! The CMC sessions are: 1:30 Friday afternoon – Taste of the CMC (Session A) 3:30 Friday afternoon – Data Interpretation […]

Upcoming Events

Jul 28

James River Master Naturalists RiverTrends Recertification Training

Powhatan, VA

Recertification trainings for monitorings working under the James River Master Naturalists group

Aug 8

Northern Neck Master Naturalist RiverTrends Recertification Training

Irvington, VA

Recertification and new monitor training for monitors with the Northern Neck Master Naturalists group

Aug 17

James City County RiverTrends Recertification Training

Williamsburg, VA

RiverTrends recertification event for the James City County/Historic Rivers Master Naturalists monitors

Sep 14

Riverine Master Naturalists RiverTrends Recertification Training

Richmond, VA

Recertification training for volunteers monitoring under the Riverine Master Naturalists group

Oct 19

Virginia Citizens for Water Quality Summit

9:30 am - 4:00 pm

Ashland, VA

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay will be hosting the Virginia Citizens for Water Quality Summit, geared toward individual monitors and monitoring program coordinators throughout Virginia.

Nov 15

Chesapeake Watershed Forum

Shephardstown, WV

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s 14th Annual Chesapeake Watershed Forum (held November 15 – 17, 2019 in Shepherdstown, WV) is a watershed-wide event reaching over 400 restoration and protection practitioners annually to inspire and empower local action towards clean water. Registration will open in late August.

Forum Information >>