Chris Hilke

Climate Adaptation Program National Wildlife Federation

Community Resiliency Planning in the Great Marsh

NWF & Coastal Adaptation Planning

• Chesapeake Bay • Puget Sound • Great Lakes • Gulf Coast States

Where What

• Vulnerability Assessments • Adaptation Strategy Identification • Ecosystem Adaptation • Community Planning

September 2014

Best Practices for Climate Change Adaptation:

Spotlight on Michigan Coastal Wetlands

Engaging in the Great Marsh

NWF initiated screening-level habitat vulnerability assessment at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge (2012)

Workshop Outcomes

• Long history of restoration and conservation activity

• Significant current climate-driven impacts

• Off-refuge engagement key component to sustainable management

Community Engagement – Essex, MA

NWF – Town of Essex MOU (2013)

Deliverables • Inventory of vulnerable

community assets • Comprehensive public

engagement process • Adaptation strategy

implementation roadmap

Products • Town adaptation Task Force • Vulnerability workshop • Vulnerability discussion document • Adaptation strategy identification

workshop • Adaptation “Action” Report • Planning to Implementation workshop

Ecological Restoration and Enhancement 1. Saltmarsh & sub-aquatic vegetation restoration

2. Dune nourishment & revegetation

Assessment and Modeling 3. Hydrologic barriers assessment & prioritization

4. Hydrodynamic sediment transport & salinity modeling

5. Community Resiliency Planning

DOI Hurricane Sandy Resiliency Grants Program “Community Risk Reduction through Comprehensive Community Resiliency

Enhancement for the Great Marsh Ecosystem”

Goal: Projects that work together to comprehensively reduce risk to coastal communities and enhance the resiliency and adaptive capacity of the ecological systems those communities depend upon.

Community Resiliency Planning

Great Marsh Target Communities • Essex • Salisbury • Rowley • Ipswich • Newbury • Newburyport

NWF approach to community planning developed over time & experience

• Bottom up • Community-specific • Facilitated • Comprehensive (gray/green

infrastructure)

Community Resiliency Planning Approach

Community Resiliency Planning

Model Process 1. Community Planning Task Force 2. Identify target assets 3. Assess target vulnerabilities 4. Develop adaptation strategies 5. Categorize & prioritize 6. Initiate implementation

Coastal Community Adaptation Plan • Outlines projected change across

time/emission scenarios • Summarizes vulnerabilities of community

assets • Identifies ecosystem-oriented adaptation

strategies that reduce risk and increase resiliency

• Categorizes/prioritizes strategies based on feasibility, cost, implementation time

• Provides an implementation “roadmap” that identifies specific delivery mechanisms

Community Resiliency Planning

Outcome:

Community Resiliency Planning Coordinating Efforts – Expanding Analysis

1. Leveraging expertise - Horsley Witten Group Coastal Resource Management, Community Planning

2. COAST (Coastal Adaptation to Sea Level Rise Tool) - Catalysis & EPA Strategy cost-benefit analysis

3. MAST (Marsh Adaptation Strategy Tool) - Catalysis & EPA Allocating ecosystem service values

4. Socioeconomic climate vulnerability assessment - USGS

Thank You!

Great Marsh Restoration Partnership