The USGS study is intended to determine if excluding nutria from emergent marsh habitats can stabilize or recover marsh vegetation. Aerial photography and ground-plot measurements are being used to detect changes. Research results have already demonstrated the need for animal-control activities to preserve the marsh. Future results are intended to enable natural-resource management agencies to determine if more intensive marsh recovery efforts are needed to restore the more heavily damaged areas. Other organizations, such as the Smith-sonian Institution and the Bureau of the Census, have entered into this partnership to enhance the scope of the data base.
Urban areas have a strong impact on local land use and land cover.
Modern urban settlements are characterized by the proliferation of asphalt and concrete surfaces. Land-cover changes associated with an urban area can be immense. The effect of urban land on economic and environmental systems is significant compared to its areal extent. The Chesapeake Bay's delicate ecosystem has been affected negatively by increasing urban growth. A data base has been developed by combining information from a variety of sources into an integrated, multi-scale, multiresolution data set.