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Ken Hyer, Ph.D.

Serves as the USGS Chesapeake Bay Coordinator.

Responsible for ensuring USGS science activities are well aligned with agency and stakeholder priorities.  Assists in the translation and communication of science results to ensure that science products are used by managers to inform restoration and conservation activities throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  USGS science provides economic and ecological value to the over 18 million people who live in the area.

Professional Experience

  • USGS Chesapeake Bay Coordinator – 2024-present
       -Works in partnership with federal, state, and local entities to identify priority science needs
       -Works with scientists from across 14+ Science Centers to develop unbiased science activities that align with USGS and stakeholder priorities
       -Translates and communicates USGS science to the partnership to inform restoration and conservation efforts
     

  • USGS Chesapeake Bay Associate Coordinator – 2015-2024
       -Work with Coordinator to plan Chesapeake Bay science activities, based on agency and partner guidance
       -Work with USGS Scientists to coordinate projects and synthesis activities
       -Interacts with USGS Program Coordinators, Regions, and Science Centers to identify and coordinate resources for USGS Chesapeake Bay projects
     

  • USGS Hydrologist and Water-Quality Specialist – 2001-2015
       -Oversight of Water Science Center (WSC) water-quality program
       -Provide technical expertise to center managers, scientists, and technicians
       -Extensive program development activities
       -Lead Scientist on complex, multi-disciplinary water-resources studies
     

  • USGS Hydrologist – 2000-2001
       -Lead Scientist on several complex, multi-disciplinary water-resources studies.

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia

  • M.S. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia

  • B.S. Environmental Science, Virginia Tech

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 24
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Photo showing view from Susquehanna to the Chesapeake Bay

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2007

The restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, the Nation's largest estuary, is continually challenged by the population increase in its 64,000 square mile watershed. Since the mid-1980s, the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), a multi-agency partnership has worked to improve water quality, increase habitat, and restore living resources in the Bay. However, the lack of significant improvement in the Bay...
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities
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USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2007

The restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, the Nation's largest estuary, is continually challenged by the population increase in its 64,000 square mile watershed. Since the mid-1980s, the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), a multi-agency partnership has worked to improve water quality, increase habitat, and restore living resources in the Bay. However, the lack of significant improvement in the Bay...
Learn More
link
USGS 2016 Chesapeake Workshop Attendees

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2012

In its expanded role under the President’s Chesapeake Bay Executive Order (EO), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been given the lead responsibility, in collaboration with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to strengthen science that supports all of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) goals. The USGS Chesapeake Bay studies depend on collaboration among Priority...
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities
link

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2012

In its expanded role under the President’s Chesapeake Bay Executive Order (EO), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been given the lead responsibility, in collaboration with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to strengthen science that supports all of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) goals. The USGS Chesapeake Bay studies depend on collaboration among Priority...
Learn More
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Sediment transport, storage, and lag times in Chesapeake Bay watersheds

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for FY 2001-2006

Accomplishments
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Core Science Systems Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities
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USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for FY 2001-2006

Accomplishments
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Marshy Point, Chesapeake Bay

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2013

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been given the leadership responsibility, under the President’s Chesapeake Bay Executive Order (EO), to enhance science efforts to conserve and restore the Nation’s largest estuary. The USGS Chesapeake science activities: (1) address many aspects of the new USGS Mission Area Science Strategies; and (2) help the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), which includes...
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities
link

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2013

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been given the leadership responsibility, under the President’s Chesapeake Bay Executive Order (EO), to enhance science efforts to conserve and restore the Nation’s largest estuary. The USGS Chesapeake science activities: (1) address many aspects of the new USGS Mission Area Science Strategies; and (2) help the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), which includes...
Learn More
link
A USGS field team measures spring floodwaters at Chesapeake bay's largest tributary.

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2011

In its expanded role under the President's Chesapeake Bay Executive Order, the U.S. Geological Survey has been given the lead responsibility, in collaboration with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to strengthen science that supports all of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) goals.
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities
link

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2011

In its expanded role under the President's Chesapeake Bay Executive Order, the U.S. Geological Survey has been given the lead responsibility, in collaboration with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to strengthen science that supports all of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) goals.
Learn More
link
View of the Chesapeake Bay

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2010

Accomplishments
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities
link

USGS Chesapeake Bay Accomplishments for 2010

Accomplishments
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Filter Total Items: 29

Spatial and temporal variation of stream chemistry associated with contrasting geology and land-use patterns in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—Summary of results from Smith Creek, Virginia; Upper Chester River, Maryland; Conewago Creek, Pennsylvania; and Di

Despite widespread and ongoing implementation of conservation practices throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed, water quality continues to be degraded by excess sediment and nutrient inputs. While the Chesapeake Bay Program has developed and maintains a large-scale and long-term monitoring network to detect improvements in water quality throughout the watershed, fewer resources have...
Authors
Kenneth Hyer, Judith M. Denver, Michael J. Langland, James S. Webber, J.K. Böhlke, Wells Hively, John W. Clune
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Contaminants in urban waters—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey

Streams and estuaries with urban watersheds commonly exhibit increased streamflow and decreased base flow; diminished stream-channel stability; excessive amounts of contaminants such as pesticides, metals, industrial and municipal waste, and combustion products; and alterations to biotic community structure. Collectively, these detrimental effects have been termed the “urban-stream...
Authors
John D. Jastram, Kenneth Hyer
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Application of a Weighted Regression Model for Reporting Nutrient and Sediment Concentrations, Fluxes, and Trends in Concentration and Flux for the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Water-Quality Monitoring Network, Results Through Water Year 2012

In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, estimated fluxes of nutrients and sediment from the bay’s nontidal tributaries into the estuary are the foundation of decision making to meet reductions prescribed by the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and are often the basis for refining scientific understanding of the watershed-scale processes that influence the delivery of these...
Authors
Jeffrey G. Chanat, Doug L. Moyer, Joel D. Blomquist, Kenneth Hyer, Michael J. Langland
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Quantifying watershed-scale groundwater loading and in-stream fate of nitrate using high-frequency water quality data

We describe a new approach that couples hydrograph separation with high-frequency nitrate data to quantify time-variable groundwater and runoff loading of nitrate to streams, and the net in-stream fate of nitrate at the watershed-scale. The approach was applied at three sites spanning gradients in watershed size and land use in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Results indicate that 58-73%...
Authors
Matthew Miller, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Paul Capel, Brian Pellerin, Kenneth Hyer, Douglas A. Burns
By
Water Resources Mission Area, National Water Quality Program, California Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, New York Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

U.S. Geological Survey Chesapeake science strategy, 2015-2025—Informing ecosystem management of America’s largest estuary

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has the critical role of providing scientific information to improve the understanding and management of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The USGS works with Federal, State, and academic science partners to provide research and monitoring, and communicate results of these activities to enhance ecosystem management for both the Chesapeake...
Authors
Scott W. Phillips, Joel D. Blomquist, Mark Bennett, Alicia Berlin, Vicki S. Blazer, Peter R. Claggett, Stephen Faulkner, Kenneth Hyer, Cassandra Ladino, Doug L. Moyer, Rachel Muir, Gregory Noe, Patrick J. Phillips
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Water Resources Mission Area, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities

Fluvial geomorphology and suspended-sediment transport during construction of the Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project in Roanoke, Virginia, 2005–2012

Beginning in 2005, after decades of planning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) undertook a major construction effort to reduce the effects of flooding on the city of Roanoke, Virginia—the Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project (RRFRP). Prompted by concerns about the potential for RRFRP construction-induced geomorphological instability and sediment liberation and the detrimental...
Authors
John D. Jastram, Jennifer L. Krstolic, Doug L. Moyer, Kenneth Hyer
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Phillips, S.W., Hyer, Kenneth, and Goldbaum, Elizabeth, 2017, U.S. Geological Survey Science—Improving the value of the Chesapeake Bay watershed: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2017–3031, 2 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20173031.

ISSN: 2327-6932 (online)
ISSN: 2327-6916 (print)
U.S. Geological Survey, 2016, Contaminants in urban waters—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2016–3024, 2 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20163024.

ISSN: 2327-6932 (online)
Contaminants in urban waters—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2016-3024
Hyer, K.E., Denver, J.M., Langland, M.J., Webber, J.S., Böhlke, J.K., Hively, W.D., and Clune, J.W., 2016, Spatial
and temporal variation of stream chemistry associated with contrasting geology and land-use patterns in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed—Summary of results from Smith Creek, Virginia; Upper Chester River, Maryland;
Conewago Creek, Pennsylvania; and Difficult Run, Virginia, 2010–2013: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations
Report 2016–5093, 211 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20165093.
ISSN 2328-031X (print)
ISSN 2328-0328 (online)
ISBN 978-1-4113-4085-5
Chanat, J.G., Moyer, D.L., Blomquist, J.D., Hyer, K.E., and Langland, M.J., 2016, Application of a weighted
regression model for reporting nutrient and sediment concentrations, fluxes, and trends in concentration
and flux for the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Water-Quality Monitoring Network, results through water year 2012:
U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5133, 76 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20155133.

ISSN 2328-031X (print)
ISSN 2328-0328 (online)
ISBN 978-1-4113-4005-3
Jastram, J.D., Krstolic, J.L., Moyer, D.L., and Hyer, K.E., 2015, Fluvial geomorphology and suspended-sediment transport
during construction of the Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project in Roanoke, Virginia, 2005–2012:
U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5111, 53 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20155111.
ISSN 2328-031X (print)
ISSN 2328-0328 (online)
ISBN 978-1-4113-3967-5
Langland, M.J., Blomquist, J.D., Moyer, D.L., Hyer, K.E., and Chanat, J.G., 2013, Total nutrient and sediment loads, trends, yields, and nontidal water-quality indicators for selected nontidal stations, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 1985–2011: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013–1052, 51 p., available only at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1052/.
Moyer, D.L., Hirsch, R.M., and Hyer, K.E., 2012, Comparison of two regression-based approaches for determining nutrient and sediment fluxes and trends in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5244, 118 p. (Available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5244/.)

Langland, Michael, Blomquist, Joel, Moyer, Douglas, and Hyer, Kenneth, 2012, Nutrient and suspended-sediment trends, loads, and yields and development of an indicator of streamwater quality at nontidal sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1985–2010: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5093, 26 p.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Filter Total Items: 18
Slightly smaller-than-average dead zone predicted for Chesapeake Bay

Slightly smaller-than-average dead zone predicted for Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay Program — Press Release — June 16, 2020

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Report finds poultry farming sends more pollution to Chesapeake Bay than previously thought

Report finds poultry farming sends more pollution to Chesapeake Bay than previously thought

StateImpact Pennsylvania — by Rachel McDevitt — May 1, 2020

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The Pocomoke: Exploring the Twisting Beauty of this Eastern Shore River

The Pocomoke: Exploring the Twisting Beauty of this Eastern Shore River

Chesapeake Bay Magazine — by John Page Williams — April 30, 2020

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Advocates press for more federal funding to help reach Bay goals

Advocates press for more federal funding to help reach Bay goals

Bay Journal — by Karl Blankenship — April 13, 2020

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This year’s Bay Barometer sets a different type of foundation for Bay restoration

This year’s Bay Barometer sets a different type of foundation for Bay restoration

Chesapeake Bay Program — by Rachel Felver — March 25, 2020

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Freshwater flows to Bay highest in 82 years of monitoring

Freshwater flows to Bay highest in 82 years of monitoring

Bay Journal — by Karl Blankenship — December 02, 2019

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