The Chesapeake Bay watershed includes sections of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia – waters from parts of these states (and the District of Columbia) flow into the Bay. The Chesapeake Bay is home to more than 3,000 species of migrating and resident wildlife. However, in recent decades, nutrients, sediment, and toxic substances draining into the Bay have damaged its ability to support wildlife.

What happens in local streams affects the health of the Bay. More than 100,000 creeks, streams, and rivers drain into the Chesapeake Bay.

The Izaak Walton League is part of a cooperative working to increase the number of streams monitored for water quality across the Chesapeake Bay region to help inform conservation and restoration efforts. And we need your help!

Step 1: Stand Up and Be Counted

We are working to identify which streams are being monitored today. If you are currently monitoring any streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, get your stream site on the map!

Visit http://bit.do/ChesapeakeMonitoringCensus to enter the GPS coordinates of your monitoring site(s) and provide details on the type(s) of monitoring you’re doing. We know many Ikes in this region are doing great work. Stand up and be counted!

Step 2: Get a Helping Hand

If you are new to stream monitoring, we can connect you with monitoring groups already working in your area or help you create a monitoring program to match your local needs. We can also help current stream monitors meet quality control requirements based on how you’d like your data to be used by government agencies.

We have tools to help new and experienced stream monitors get critical data to the appropriate state and federal agencies. And we can help you communicate your results to the public, media, and decision-makers locally.

E-mail Lea Rubin, IWLA Chesapeake Monitoring Outreach Coordinator, at lrubin@iwla.org for more details.