Alaska Sea Grant helps coastal Alaska village develop and implement a climate change adaptation strategy

January 17, 2015

Alaska Sea Grant

Shaktoolik, an Inupiaq Eskimo village 125 miles southeast of Nome, is one of 31 Alaska Native villages identified by the US Government Accountability Office as facing imminent flooding and erosion due to climate change. In Shaktoolik, fall storms have resulted in damage to utilities, including several septic drainage fields. Wave run-up has pushed potentially destructive driftwood to within a few feet of some buildings on the seaward side of the village. Previously, sea ice buffered the wave build-up due to fall storms. However, in recent years a warming climate has prevented the sea ice from forming during the November severe storm season. Future storms are predicted to produce wave and storm surge heights even greater than those that have caused damage in recent years.
With assistance from Terry Johnson, Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent, and Glenn Gray of Glenn Gray and Associates, Shaktoolik developed an adaptation plan for “defending in place.”
Shaktoolik’s plan includes nine initiatives designed to help protect life and property. With the help of grants, the first of these measures—a vegetated berm to protect property from storms—was built during fall 2014.
A presentation is available here: Climate Change Adaptation for an at Risk Community: Shaktoolik, Alaska by Terry Johnson
A PDF of the final adaptation strategy is here: Shaktoolik, Alaska: Climate Change Adaptation for an At-Risk Community

Group of people removing ghost nets from a beach.

Alabama

Biden-Harris administration invests $27 million to support community-driven marine debris solutions through Investing in America agenda

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced $27 million in funding for projects to prevent and remove marine debris in coastal and Great Lakes communities as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This funding will support innovative research and foster local coalitions to address urgent marine debris issues by using NOAA Sea Grant’s partnered approach to bring science together with communities for solutions that work.

Shoring up the future, together: Collaborative efforts in coastal resilience across the Mid-Atlantic

Community members and city leaders gathered during a listening session to identify key climate readiness needs in Erie, Pennsylvania during June of 2023. (Photo by

Biden-Harris Administration invests $60 million to build a climate-ready workforce through Investing in America agenda

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced $60 million in funding to help train and place people in jobs that advance a climate-ready workforce for coastal and Great Lakes states, Tribes and Territories as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda under the Inflation Reduction Act. To date, awards like these from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda have created more than 270,000 jobs across the country.

The funding will support nine projects around the nation, with $50 million going directly to the projects and $10 million for technical assistance to support the grantees.