Chester River Watershed Landscape Analysis

 

Thanks to a generous contribution from the Digital Energy and Sustainability Solutions Campaign (DESSC), the Conservancy is conducting a watershed wide landscape analysis of the Chester River watershed using the innovative technologies identified in the DESSC Phase 1 report. Using high resolution imagery analysis and LIDAR elevation data, we will be able to understand which areas in the Chester river watershed are doing a good job of protecting water quality and habitat and which areas are likely underperforming and would be good candidates for restoration efforts. Through a partnership with Washington College, we will be pairing in-river water quality assessments with our landscape analysis to quantify the impact of land use decisions on water quality, which can be used to help identify these naturally high functioning landscapes throughout the Chester River watershed. This analysis could be replicated throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to provide conservation organizations and managers with unprecedented access to landscape data that can be used to inform conservation and restoration actions.