Chesapeake Assessment Scenario Tool

CAST Newsletter: April 2025

Tips and information to facilitate environmental restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Did You Know?

Did you know about the Ecosystem Benefits Browser? The Ecosystem Benefits Browser is an interactive tool that highlights the many ways BMPs support ecosystem health and the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. From improving climate resiliency to enhancing wildlife habitat and increasing recreational opportunities, this tool lets you explore the broader benefits of CAST practices. Dive in by selecting a BMP or ecosystem benefit to see how your restoration efforts can deliver multiple wins for the environment and communities.

CAST Webinars and Training

Upcoming Webinars

This month's webinar will focus on agricultural BMPs and the many ways they support ecosystem health. We'll talk about recent trends in nutrient applications and the role of a healthy ecosystem in supporting both water quality and agricultural production. We'll then highlight common CAST practices that promote healthy soils, such as cover crops, conservation tillage, and pasture management. Throughout the session, we'll explore how these practices vary across different agricultural land uses and demonstrate how to use CAST tools and data to better understand their impact.

• Topic: Agricultural BMPs for a Healthy Ecosystem
• Time: April 17, 2025 at noon EDT
• Join Zoom Meeting
• Meeting ID: 857 7750 1936
• One tap mobile +13017158592,,85777501936#

In-person trainings are available upon request.

Available Training Videos

March's CAST webinar focused on oyster BMPs and their role in improving water quality and supporting marine ecosystems. Chris Moore from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation joined us to discuss oyster aquaculture and reef restoration, their environmental benefits, and ways to get involved in restoration efforts. Following his presentation, we demonstrated how to use CAST to estimate nitrogen and phosphorus reductions from these practices.

This, and other past training videos on topics ranging from buffers to targeting nutrient reductions, are available in the Learning section of CAST under 'Free Training Videos'. Amongst the variety of training content available, there are also short videos on topics like 'Where do I start,' under CAST 101 - Getting Started.

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Success Story

$4.3 Million Upgrade: New Grippen Park in Endicott to Open in May: A major makeover project at a Broome County park, located along the Susquehanna River in New York, is nearing completion. Read more about this success story on the WNBF News Radio's website.

Does your organization have a Chesapeake Bay Watershed success story you'd like to share? If you have a story you would like to see in the next CAST Newsletter, submit an article using the 'Contact Us' feature from any page of the CAST website.

Chesapeake Bay Program Deadlines

2024 Progress toward the Bay TMDL

The Chesapeake Bay Deadlines refer to the major jurisdictions' annual reporting of new BMPs implemented, and existing BMPs verified as functioning in the watershed. BMP implementation information is used to create annual progress scenarios using CAST and to make assessments and report out the estimated impacts of restoration efforts.

• Early May 2025: 2024 Progress finalized and released on CAST. Progress may be delayed due to unresolved issues surrounding the verification assessments.

Updates to CAST

New features:

Update to the NEIEN/CAST Validation reports, accessible to select users through the NEIEN Portal.

This update resulted in a slight reduction (<1%) in stormwater sector loads for 2019 to 2023. If you have used prior years' data in any analyses between 12/6/24 - 3/13/25, we encourage you to redownload the latest versions to ensure these updates are reflected.

A full list of changes is available on CAST's Upgrade History. The new CAST version is Phase 6 - 7.14.2.

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