CompletedCompleted
Gum Point Road Living Shoreline
Rip rap removed and replaced with a sill and restored marsh, enhancing habitat while reducing nutrient impact.
A National Estuary Program partnership · Est. 1996
Five bays. One watershed. Thirty years of science-led protection.
From Assawoman to Chincoteague, we monitor the water, restore the habitat and bring the community into the work — so Maryland's coastal bays are healthier for the people and wildlife that depend on them.
- Coastal bays
- 5Coastal baysAssawoman to Chincoteague
- Acres of water
- 71,000Acres of waterShallow lagoons behind a barrier island
- Miles of shoreline
- 248Miles of shorelineMarshes, beaches and tidal creeks
- Wetland acres
- 35,000Wetland acresNearly 35,000 acres of wetlands
- Years of partnership
- 30Years of partnershipA National Estuary Program since 1996
- Chincoteague watershed protected
- 32%Chincoteague watershed protectedPermanent conservation easements
- Acres at Ilia Fehrer Preserve
- 437Acres at Ilia Fehrer PreserveHeadwaters of Trappe and Ayre's Creeks
Explore the bays
Each bay is a different place, with a different problem to solve
Select a bay on the map or from the list to see its watershed, health ranking and the work under way there.
Stylised map — north at the top, Atlantic Ocean to the east.
Largest of the five watersheds
Chincoteague Bay
The largest watershed, shared with Virginia
Chincoteague Bay watershed is the largest of the five watersheds. It includes land south of Langmaid Road to the Virginia border and into Virginia; half of the drainage area is in Accomack County, Virginia, including the town of Chincoteague. The watershed contains extensive marshes, farms and forest, with close to half of it forested. Ten of twelve wetlands of special state concern are here — sites of rare, threatened and endangered species — and the bay's importance to migrating waterfowl is noted internationally.
- Ecosystem health ranking
- 2 of 5 — Second healthiest
- Main tributaries
- Paw Paw Creek, Tanhouse Creek, Swans Gut Creek
Impact right now
Restoration you can point at on a map
Living shorelines, reopened fish passage, rebuilt islands and protected headwaters — active and completed projects across the watershed.
- Completed2014
Bishopville Dam Fish Passageway
Removal of a dam that blocked alewife and blueback herring from reaching their spawning areas.
Ongoing2009–presentSkimmer Island Rebuild
A severely eroded bay island rebuilt with dredged sand to hold colonial waterbird nesting habitat.
Our strategic priorities
Four priorities guide every program we run
They come straight from the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan — the shared plan behind the partnership.
Priority 1
Provide Healthy Waters
Water quality is the single critical factor in protecting the Coastal Bays — measured, tracked and improved year after year.
See the work
Priority 2
Protect Fish, Wildlife & Habitat
From horseshoe crabs to terns and terrapins, our surveys and habitat work keep the bays' species counted, understood and protected.
See the work
Priority 3
Create Resilient Communities & Ecosystems
Nature-based solutions — living shorelines, restored marsh and protected islands — that hold up as seas rise and storms intensify.
See the work
Priority 4
Develop Public Engagement & Partnerships
Students, educators, volunteers, businesses and agencies working the same plan — because no single organization can restore a watershed.
See the work
The data
We grade the bays every year, and publish the evidence
Long-term monitoring feeds the Coastal Bays Report Card and the deeper State of the Bays assessment. The 2021 report card ranks the ecosystem health of each bay against the others.
Ecosystem health ranking, 2021 report card
1 = healthiest of the five bays, 5 = most stressed.
| Bay | Rank | Watershed |
|---|---|---|
| Sinepuxent Bay | 1 | Smallest of the five subwatersheds |
| Chincoteague Bay | 2 | Largest of the five watersheds |
| Isle of Wight Bay | 3 | Second largest of the five bays |
| Assawoman Bay | 4 | Drains parts of Worcester and Sussex counties |
| Newport Bay | 5 | Most stressed ranking in the 2021 report card |
What's on
Get out on the water with us
Surveys, cleanups, paddles and public meetings across the watershed.
- Meeting
Implementation Committee Meeting
Partners review progress against the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Open to the public.
9:00 am – 11:00 am · Hybrid — Berlin and online
EducationOyster Gardener Orientation
Everything a dock owner needs to raise a cage of oysters through the season and return them for planting.
10:00 am – 12:00 pm · Ocean Pines
EducationHorseshoe Crab Survey Training
Learn the spawning survey protocol before the May and June high-tide counts on index beaches.
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm · Coastal Bays field office, Berlin
Stories & news
Field notes from the five bays
Science5 min readWhat the seagrass data is telling us about Chincoteague Bay
Coverage rose steadily from 1986 to 2001, then levelled off. The recent downward trend is the number our monitoring crews are watching most closely.
- Restoration4 min read
Why we took out the rip rap at Gum Point Road
A hardened shoreline protects one property and costs the bay a habitat. Here's what replaced it, and what came back.
- Wildlife3 min read
A season of horseshoe crab surveys, counted by volunteers
Late spring evenings, a measured transect and a clipboard. This is what the spawning survey looks like from the beach.
Get involved
There is a job here for whatever you have to give
An hour on a Saturday, a dock, a boat, a classroom or a company — every one of these makes measurable difference in the bays.
Individuals
Become an oyster gardener
Raise a cage of juvenile oysters from your dock and return them for planting on restoration reefs.
Individuals
Join a horseshoe crab survey team
Count spawning crabs on index beaches using the standard protocol, and right stranded animals.
Families
Volunteer at a cleanup or crab pot round-up
Remove debris and derelict gear from shorelines and the water — the easiest first way to help.
Individuals
Help collect water quality data
Support the monitoring network with sample collection and instrument readings on a set schedule.
Support the bays
Become a member of the Coastal Bays Foundation
Your contribution goes toward protecting the watershed, its habitat and its wildlife — monitoring crews on the water, marsh replanted at eroding shorelines, and students in the field. The Maryland Coastal Bays Program Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; all donations are tax deductible.
Stay informed
Field notes from all five bays, once a month
Get updates on upcoming events, program news and our monthly newsletter — monitoring results, restoration progress and ways to take part.