Chesapeake Bay restoration depends on understanding how human behavior, institutions, and environmental change influence one another. Coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) approaches examine these interactions, including how trust, economic incentives, policy decisions, and environmental conditions shape restoration outcomes. While the Chesapeake Bay Program has developed extensive scientific and modeling capabilities, social and institutional dynamics remain less fully represented in its tools and decision-making processes. Incorporating these dynamics can help partners identify barriers to implementation and strengthen their ability to respond to changing conditions.
This report summarizes the STAC workshop held March 26–27, 2026, in Annapolis, Maryland, which brought together researchers, government agencies, and partner organizations to explore how CHANS approaches can support Chesapeake Bay restoration. Through facilitated systems mapping, scenario exercises, and breakout discussions, participants examined feedbacks between people and the environment and identified gaps in research, modeling, and management. Recommendations focus on building trust and local capacity, strengthening social and behavioral monitoring, and establishing recurring, structured CHANS discussions as part of partnership planning and decision-making. The report also provides a repeatable workshop approach to broaden practitioner participation, connect findings to management tools, and ensure recommendations are received, considered, and tracked.
Workshop webpage with related materials.
Image: System Maps and Gap Matrix Exercise – Group 1’s contribution. Additional group maps available in Appendix F.
Suggested Citation:
Bitterman, P., V. Coles, R. Hood, C. Kirchhoff, T. Lim, D. Wardrop, D.G. Webster, E. Yang, and X. Zhang. 2026. Challenges and Opportunities in Operationalizing Coupled Human and Natural Systems Research in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. STAC Publication Number 26-006, Edgewater, MD. 115 pp.