Climate
Online Video Explains Rapid Sea Level Rise
Maryland Sea Grant produced a nine-minute online video documentary that describes scientific research about the causes of rising seas in the Chesapeake Bay region.
August 17, 2015
Post Archives
Category: Resilient Communities and Economies
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Extension
weTable: Data Visualization for Community Planning
With support and training from Texas Sea Grant, Maryland Sea Grant Extension employs the weTable tool to facilitate decision-making processes in a range of communities.
August 17, 2015
New York Sea Grant’s Great Lakes Coastal Processes and Erosion webpage
New York Sea Grant’s Great Lakes Coastal Processes and Erosion homepage provides information focused on the educational needs of New York’s Great Lake’s shoreline property owners, resource users and decision makers, marine contractors, and recreational boaters.
August 13, 2015
Coastal Economy
A Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit
This website contains information, data, and tools that individuals, communities, and governments at all levels can use to develop, inform, and enhance their sustainable working waterfront initiatives.
August 13, 2015
Education
Coastal Toolkits: Beach Toolkit
Part of the Florida Water Access site, the Beaches Toolkit contains an outline of common law tools for addressing public beach access, as well as resources for public and private managers of beachfront property.
August 13, 2015
Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development
Preparedness, Not Panic: Readying the Pacific Northwest for “The Big One”
Oregon Sea Grant's Coastal Natural Hazards Specialist stresses preparedness, not panic or indifference, in the wake of increased attention to the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the likelihood of an earthquake in Oregon.
July 28, 2015
Climate
Are We Ready for the Next Hurricane?
A symposium at Hofstra University was held to share a NOAA Coastal Storm Awareness Program-funded project that explored the cultural and language barriers that may have hindered evacuation efforts in Long Beach, NY.
July 10, 2015
Climate
Chelsea, MA Has New Climate Adaptation Guidance
The city of Chelsea, Massachusetts' Planning Board has new climate change adaptation guidance thanks to a group of students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and MIT Sea Grant.
June 19, 2015
Education
Be Current Smart: Are You Current Smart?
NOAA’s Coastal Storms Program is collaborating with Sea Grant and others to improve safety for Great Lakes beach-goers.
June 5, 2015
Extension
Rip Current Preparedness Week: Spotlight on Minnesota Sea Grant Coastal Storms Outreach Coordinator Brent Schleck
" I get to work with some of the most passionate, smart, and genuine people I have ever met, helping them to manage and protect some of the most beautiful and unique places in the country. "
June 5, 2015
North Carolina
Rip Current Preparedness Week: To Catch a Current
Rip currents account for 80 percent of beach rescues. North Carolina Sea Grant's data-logging drifters identify patterns in this beach hazard.
June 3, 2015
Extension
Rip Current Preparedness Week: Spotlight on IL-IN Sea Grant Aquatic Ecology Specialist Leslie Dorworth
” Everyone needs to be informed about weather and consequently wave dynamics on the lake and in the nearshore zone.”
June 1, 2015
Delaware
Making New Waves on Gripping the Rip
Federal, state, and local partners come together to discuss the forecasting and communication of rip currents and other coastal hazards on the eve of beach season.
June 1, 2015
Education
Hurricane Preparedness Week: Public Listening Sessions to Help Create First-Ever Climatology Resource for Lake Ontario
New York Sea Grant is asking people along Lake Ontario and North Sandy Pond to share stories and photos of storm events to help local communities better assess risk, build storm resiliency, and reduce future storm damage and recovery expenses.
May 20, 2015
Education
Hurricane Preparedness Week 2015: Sea Grant Highlights
As Hurricane Season begins, Sea Grant continues to prepare coastal communities for hurricanes and coastal storms. Learning from past events, Sea Grant aims to strengthen the resilience of infrastructure and empower coastal residents.
May 19, 2015
Education
Hurricane Preparedness Week: Making Yourself Hurricane-Proof 10 Years after Katrina and Rita
Making yourself hurricane-proof is a deliberate act. Residents of storm-prone areas need a plan and to be able to execute it. The Homeowners Handbook helps individuals make their families and homes more resilient.
May 18, 2015
Climate
Champions of Climate Adaptation
Leaders who are helping their coastal communities adapt to sea level rise, increases in heavy precipitation and flooding need additional technical, human and financial assistance to do so, according to a report by a 2014 New Hampshire Sea Grant Doyle Fellow.
May 1, 2015
Aquaculture
Bringing Together the Seafood Industry and Tourism in Maine
Tourists are increasingly interested in experiences that allow them to support and connect with the people and places that they visit. Maine Sea Grant is facilitating such experiences by assisting with the creation of oyster farm tours, combining the tourism and fisheries industries that already exist in Maine.
April 24, 2015
Gulf of Mexico
Historic New Orleans Bayou St. John: A NOAA Hydraulic Restoration Poster Child
Once an important waterway to reach the French Quarter, then forgotten, Bayou St. John has been restored and become a destination for many New Orleanians.
April 16, 2015
Education
South Carolina Community Resource Inventory
Community leaders, decision-makers, and staff need detailed knowledge of the resources their community possesses in order to make informed planning decisions that enhance the community while protecting the quality of the environment. Developed in partnership with Clemson University’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, the S.C. NEMO Program, Carolina Clear, and the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Community Resource Inventory provides an atlas of natural and cultural resources available in South Carolina coastal communities.
April 15, 2015
Climate
Climate and Salinity Intrusion Decision Support Tools Developed for the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin
Reduced river flows during drought threaten fresh water supplies in coastal areas because the lower flows allow the salt water wedge to penetrate further inland from estuaries than is normal. During droughts over the past decade, some coastal drinking water systems and industries monitored threats to fresh drinking water and industrial water intakes due to this salinity intrusion; some have even had to periodically take intakes offline due to high salinities that can damage drinking water treatment systems and industrial equipment. To help decision-makers understand how the frequency of salt water intrusion events may change under future precipitation and sea level scenarios, the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments center at the University of South Carolina, and the USGS S.C. Water Science Center adapted an existing decision support system for salinity intrusion in the coastal Yadkin-Pee Dee river basin by adding climate model-based precipitation scenarios and increments of sea level rise to the Model 2 (PRISM2) decision support tool. This modification is significant in that it allows water managers to explore how often salt-water intrusion events may occur in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River basin under conditions influenced by ongoing and future climatic change.
April 15, 2015
Education
Low Impact Development in Coastal South Carolina: A Planning and Design Guide
Many coastal decision-makers lack the expertise, guidance, and resources to implement low impact development (LID) techniques for mitigating stormwater impacts. The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium assisted with the development of an LID manual specific to coastal South Carolina that provides guidance on overcoming barriers to implementing best management practices. The project team organized stakeholder workshops, research roundtables, and provided technical assistance with the development of the guide.
April 15, 2015
Climate
Southeast and Caribbean Climate Community of Practice
The Southeast and Caribbean Climate Community of Practice (CoP) brings together individuals from local, state, and federal governments, academia, non-profit organizations and the private sector in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and the Caribbean to apply climate science and assess how coastal communities and ecosystems can adapt to the impacts of climate variability and change. The CoP provides a forum for sharing lessons learned and best practices related to climate communication and adaptation. The CoP also provides education and networking opportunities to its members and their stakeholders to increase knowledge and awareness of climate science and to coordinate and perform outreach, extension, and communication related to climate change and its impacts in the Southeast and Caribbean region.
April 15, 2015
Using participatory modeling and citizen science to help blue crab fishermen in South Carolina identify ways to adapt to a changing climate
South Carolina Sea Grant The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, in partnership with the Social and Environmental Research Institute, is working with blue crab fishermen in
April 14, 2015
Climate
Assessing vulnerability to sea level rise in Beaufort County, S.C., using facilitated dialogue and visualization tools
The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, in partnership with the Beaufort County Planning Department, Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments program, Social and Environmental Research Institute, and North Carolina Sea Grant, provided a participatory opportunity for Beaufort County to begin preparing for flooding associated with sea level rise. The project team utilized several available tools to engage local stakeholders in the process. A focus group participated in the Vulnerability and Consequences Adaptation Planning Scenarios process to identify local consequences of sea level rise and explore potential adaptation strategies. Sea level rise visualizations developed with data from NOAA’s Digital Coast Sea Level Rise Viewer tool helped stakeholders understand the risks of future coastal flooding due to rising seas. Public workshops were held to get broader input on adaptation strategies. A final report has been compiled for consideration by Beaufort County Council. This project has initiated a process of community learning that will increase the capacity of Beaufort County to adapt to sea level rise.
April 14, 2015
Planning and Coastal Intelligence
South Carolina Coastal Communities Initiative Mini-Grants Program
With the vast majority of land-use decisions made at the local level, community officials are instrumental in influencing and directing development and conservation efforts. The S.C. Coastal Communities Initiative is a collaborative land-use planning and water quality small grants program for local decision-makers. The purpose of the Initiative is to assist coastal communities with the development and implementation of land management policies and practices to reduce polluted stormwater runoff, protect local natural resources, and encourage sustainable development. Coastal communities participating in the Initiative are eligible to receive grants ranging from $2500 to $5000 to address a variety of issues related to open space preservation, natural resource-based planning, water quality management, alternative transportation, sustainable community planning and design, and zoning ordinances and regulations.
April 14, 2015
Climate
Building Climate Change Planning Capacity in Lake Champlain Basin Towns
Lake Champlain Sea Grant is partnering with organizations across Vermont to help towns plan and prepare for climate change and flood resiliency.
April 9, 2015
Extension
Great Lakes Social Science Network brings the audience into the equation
By incorporating social science into the equation, Great Lakes Sea Grant programs are helping to meet societal needs.
April 3, 2015
Extension
Tsunami Preparedness Week 2015
Washington Sea Grant’s hazard specialists expose the dangers on a coast where even the Coast Guard is vulnerable.
March 27, 2015
Connecticut
CT Residents Need Better Preparation and Response for Coastal Storms
A new Coastal Storm Awareness Program study finds that many residents of coastal Connecticut need to be better prepared for the significant safety and economic threats posed by severe coastal storms.
March 26, 2015
Delaware
Tsunami Preparedness Week 2015
Tsunamis have been a reality for coastal communities for as long as humans have lived near the shore. NOAA Sea Grant has been working with coastal communities for many years to help residents understand tsunami risks, reduce their vulnerability and respond quickly.
March 23, 2015
Climate
New York Sea Grant is Tracking ‘Great Lakes Nor’easters’
New York Sea Grant received funding from NOAA's Coastal Storms Program through a Sea Grant competition to study historic storm events along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. The project will create a climatological event database to better assist risk projection to help communities increase their storm event resiliency.
March 20, 2015
Guam Sea Grant Fellowships Support Sustainable Coastal Development Research
Master’s students at the University of Guam receive funding to work on thesis research in areas of sustainable coastal community development.
March 20, 2015
Extension
Flood Awareness Week: Spotlight on Texas Sea Grant Extension Agent John Jacob, PhD
Dr. John Jacob takes a holistic approach to educating citizens and local officials, noting that the watershed is affected by a wide range of activities from landscaping and other things people do around their homes to large urban planning and habitat protection activities.
March 11, 2015
Extension
Flood Awareness Week: Spotlight on Wisconsin Sea Grant Extension Agent David Hart
David Hart is Assistant Director for Extension with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute and a Senior Scientist with the UW Aquatic Sciences Center. His research and outreach spans geographic information science, urban planning, and coastal management.
March 10, 2015
Education
The Science Behind Sandy, Two Years Later
Experts at New York Sea Grant discuss issues, and potential solutions between communication and the decision process as they relate to extreme weather events.
March 5, 2015
Extension
Feeling the squeeze: Florida Sea Grant provides multiple tools to help coastal communities balance competing demands for water access
Is there room on the water for everybody? If coastal communities are to remain sustainable, residents, visitors, policy makers, and regulators need new methods and information sources to harmonize the growing demand for access to their beaches and waterways. Researchers and extension specialists at Florida Sea Grant are making that challenge a priority.
February 17, 2015
Alaska
Adapting to Climate Change in Alaska (video)
This video describes steps some communities are taking to maintain their lifestyles in the face of climate change.
January 27, 2015
Alaska
Climate Change Adaptation Planning Manual for Coastal Alaskans and Marine-Dependent Communities
This manual is for Alaska extension professionals, community organizers, local planning officials, and teachers, whose task is to help individuals, families, businesses, communities, and local governments think through the meaning of climate change on the local scale.
January 24, 2015
Alaska
Alaska Climate Change Adaptation Planning Tool
This adaptation tool will help Alaska community residents identify impacts from environmental changes, devise strategies for coping with the changes, and locate resources to help.
January 24, 2015
Alaska
Annotated Resources on Climate Change Adaptation for Alaska Communities
These climate change adaptation resources are useful to community residents and professionals who are planning strategies for adaptation.
January 24, 2015
Alaska
Living on Alaska’s Changing Coast: Adapting to Climate Change in Coastal Alaska
Alaska Sea Grant’s climate adaptation website has links to Alaska-specific climate change fact sheets, videos, Powerpoint presentations, other publications, and websites of other organizations and resources.
January 24, 2015
Alaska
Documenting traditional knowledge from Alaska Native hunters
Alaska Natives are witnessing climate changing the ecology around their communities. Three southwestern communities are partnering with Alaska Sea Grant researchers to share their traditional hunting knowledge in an effort to conserve their marine environment.
January 20, 2015
California
Santa Barbara Area Coastal Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment for Coastal Communities
The Santa Barbara Area Coastal Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment for Local Communities (SBA CEVALC) is aimed at assisting the Cities of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, and Goleta and the County of Santa Barbara in planning for adaptation to climate change. Three of the state's leading ecological and climatological research programs including: the UCSB Coastal Long-Term Ecological Research Project, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and USGS, are accomplishing the project in close collaboration with the three cities and County. Community input is integral to the project with staff from relevant city/county departments participating through workshops and review.
January 17, 2015
Alaska
Alaska Sea Grant helps coastal Alaska village develop and implement a climate change adaptation strategy
Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent Terry Johnson and others assisted the village of Shaktoolik with planning and implementing measures to “defend in place” against coastal storms.
January 17, 2015
Great Lakes
Tipping Points and Indicators
Tipping Points and Indicators, a research and extension program for Great Lakes coastal communities, helps local decision makers identify impacts of land-based activities that threaten the sustainability of ecosystems in their watershed. This program includes a web-based decision support syst​em (tippingpointplanner.org) and facilitated forum to explore policy and management interventions necessary to keep coastal ecosystems from reaching critical tipping points and moving to unstable conditions.
January 10, 2015
Announcements
Sea Grant Tools Help Communities Become More Resilient
This National Sea Grant Resilience Toolkit allows people to learn about tools from across the entire Sea Grant network giving users the opportunity to adapt tools for their own local needs. Each entry includes a description of the tools, a link for more information, and a point of contact.
January 8, 2015
Climate
A Community Self-Assessment to Address Climate Change Readiness
The purpose of this assessment tool is to provide community leaders, administrators, planners, engineers, public work directors, and natural resource managers with a simple method in the form of a checklist divided into nine different categories to review their community's particular vulnerabilities to climate trends and to identify priority areas to focus on through planning and projects. The goal of this tool is to help communities in the Great Lakes region identify and address vulnerabilities through education and planning to help reduce the impacts and costs of climate change-related damage through adaptation policies and procedures.
January 8, 2015
Extension
The Watershed Game
The Watershed Game is an interactive tool that helps community leaders understand the connections between land use, clean water and their community. Participants learn how a variety of land uses impact water and natural resources and learn how their choices can prevent adverse impacts.
January 7, 2015
Climate
The land also rises (and falls)
Vertical land movement, caused by sediment settling, groundwater extraction, and tectonic forces, can boost or reduce the local effects of global sea level rise. Conventional wisdom says that the offshore collision of two continental plates is pushing up Washington’s and Oregon’s coastlines. This assumption may make coastal communities complacent about climate change and sea level rise. Using tidal-gauge and GPS readings, Washington Sea Grant’s Ian Miller and colleagues have found that vertical land movement actually varies dramatically along Washington’s shores. While the Olympic Coast’s northwest corner is rising, the land is actually subsiding as little as 30 miles down the coast – and along densely populated Puget Sound. Communities need local data to prepare for rising seas.
December 22, 2014
Delaware
Homeowners Handbooks
In 2007 Dennis Hwang and Darren K. Okimoto of the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant co-authored a community specific Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards. The handbook targets the average homeowner and essentially does as much homework for the homeowner as possible in order for a homeowner to prepare for natural disasters. Since 2007, the Hawai'i Homeowners Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards has gone through 8 print runs with over 65,000 copies. The handbook has been adapted by 7 other Sea Grant programs.
December 12, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
Landslide Response Support
After the March 2014 Oso landslide, Washington Sea Grant communications staff volunteered at the site to provide communications support during disaster response. After the 2013 Whidbey Island landslide, a Washington Sea Grant-installed camera monitored continuing land movement.
December 9, 2014
Education
Assessment of Sociocultural Dimensions of Coastal Change
Washington Sea Grant is synthesizing information on the resilience and vulnerability of communities to coastal hazards such as ocean acidification and leading the design of a participatory, community-based rapid appraisal in several Washington and Oregon communities facing such hazards. This appraisal will assess culturally significant ecosystem variables, such as important food species and communities’ sense of place, and identify anticipated and cumulative threats posed to them.
December 9, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
Vertical Land Movement Estimates
Washington Sea Grant is leading an effort to improve estimates of vertical land movement in Washington State, that will be used to improve sea level rise and coastal flooding assessments.
December 9, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
Port Asset Matrix
The Port Asset Matrix helps communities appraise the current value of their navigational and port infrastructure, allowing them to project the potential costs of maintaining or replacing these resources in the face of changing water levels and storm conditions caused by climate variation.
December 9, 2014
Climate
Great Lakes Coastal Community Climate Adaptation Checklist
This checklist of climate-related decision points can help coastal communities smoothly integrate climate change data into their ongoing planning processes.
December 9, 2014
Great Lakes
Great Lakes Coastal Hazards Planning, Mitigation and Resilience Survey
Wisconsin Sea Grant, in conjunction with the NOAA Great Lakes Coastal Storms Program, conducted a survey to learn the planning and implementation needs of Great Lakes coastal planners and managers to mitigate and adapt to coastal storm hazards.
December 9, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
Visualizing Bluff Erosion
This project integrates animation, aerial photography, pictures, charts, and text to help the public better understand: (1) the natural process of coastal erosion; (2) how local land development decisions impact coastal erosion; and (3) the case for scientifically-based coastal development setbacks
December 9, 2014
Climate
Climate Change Implications and Adaptation Strategies for Great Lakes Ports, Harbors and Marinas
This Wisconsin Sea Grant fact sheet offers some adaptation strategies for adapting to the impacts of climate change on shipping and boating infrastructure.
December 9, 2014
Natural Infrastructure
Green Shores for Homes
With funding from the EPA, Sea Grant partners with the City of Seattle among others to offer an incentive and certification credit system developed for single family homes. The goal of this voluntary program is to develop shoreline sustainably, using green vs. grey infrastructure whenever possible
December 9, 2014
Climate
Community-based Sea Level-Rise Projections
Washington Sea Grant partnered with the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and Adaptation International to develop a set of local sea level rise projections, and sea level scenario maps for the Jamestown S'Klallam community. The assessments are being used to identify priority adaptation actions, tribal areas or resources that are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, and have also been integrated into community long-term planning. Additionally, Washington Sea Grant is partnering with North Olympic Peninsula Resource Conservation District and Adaptation International on a multi-sector climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan, including sea level rise and coastal flooding projections for coastal communities in Clallam and Jefferson Counties.
December 9, 2014
Climate
Olympic National Marine Sanctuary Climate Change Assessment
Washington Sea Grant led the development of the Olympic National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) Climate Change Assessment, which examined the vulnerability of sanctuary resources to climate change. The report, intended for OCNMS staff, the OCNMS advisory committee, and the Intergovernmental Policy Council, is being used as a springboard for climate change adaptation activities in the sanctuary, and adjacent (mostly tribal) communities.
December 9, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
King Tides
King Tides, or extreme high tides, offer the chance to view what the future might look like with higher sea levels. The King Tides Project directs citizens to capture images of King Tide events and upload them onto the website. The Washington King Tides project is part of an international collaboration.
December 9, 2014
Climate
Sea Level Rise Adaptation Course
Washington Sea Grant, in collaboration with the Climate Impacts Group and the Department of Ecology offered a course through the Padilla Bay NERR’s Coastal Training Program on sea level rise adaptation. Building on the 2008 basic climate change course, this sea level rise course offered up to date scientific projections on sea level rise rates in the Padilla Bay NERR, in addition to methods to effectively communicate climate change, various planning opportunities in Washington, and examples of what others around the US have done. This course is the second in a series of climate adaptation courses.
December 9, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
Coastal Hazards Resilience Network
Washington Sea Grant, in collaboration with the Department of Ecology and with funding from NOAA, has developed a Coastal Hazards Resilience Network. The primary function of the network is to increase coordination and collaboration among state, federal and academic experts responsible for managing coastal hazards along the Washington Coast. The network is then applied at the local level to increase the resilience and capacity of local communities to plan for a respond to natural hazard events.
December 9, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
Coastal Flood Risk Reduction Course
Washington Sea Grant staff members are certified to teach the FEMA-certified Coastal Flood Risk Reduction Course. This performance level course is designed to provide an introduction to flood-risk reduction opportunities within coastal communities.
December 9, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
Great Lakes Coastal Storms Program Website
Wisconsin Sea Grant hosts the Great Lakes Coastal Storms Program website which provides resources, program updates and information related to the four primary goals of the program.
December 8, 2014
Great Lakes
Social Science and Severe Weather: Evaluating a New Tornado Risk Communication Tool
Wisconsin Sea Grant worked with the National Weather Service to evaluate a new tornado risk communication tool.
December 8, 2014
Extension
Washington Coast Marine Spatial Planning
As a member of the State Ocean Caucus, Washington Sea Grant is a member of the State planning team charged by the State legislature to develop a marine spatial plan off Washington’s outer coast. The plan will provide better baseline information, ecosystem indicators, analyses to support coastal management decision-making, recommendations for siting new uses, implementation framework across agencies and sectors, integration of other existing policies and management and an adaptive management strategy. Washington Sea Grant plays a central role in this process by leading outreach, coordinating scientific review of data and projects, developing indicators of human well-being and economic health of the coast.
December 8, 2014
Coastal Economy
NOAA Lake Level Viewer
Wisconsin Sea Grant helped with design and development recommendations for the Lake Level Viewer.
December 8, 2014
North Carolina
Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS)
Through the Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS) process, North Carolina Sea Grant provides a variety of research and capacity-building initiatives to assist communities in assessing risks and providing support for developing approaches to manage that risk as appropriate.
December 8, 2014
Coastal Economy
Helping Coastal Communities Prepare for Flood Insurance Changes
Officials at the state and local level, as well as property owners, seek North Carolina Sea Grant for technical expertise and to work with federal partners to find solutions for new and existing building adaptations that result in increased community resilience.
December 8, 2014
Extension
Fortifying Existing Coastal Buildings
North Carolina Sea Grant extension partners with the N.C. Department of Insurance and the Institute for Businesses and Home Safety Fortified training program to increase building and design standards, including workshops to train builders, as well as training for building code inspectors and other professionals.
December 8, 2014
Education
Strengthening Networks and Sharing Knowledge on Virginia’s Coasts
Virginia Sea Grant helps fellows connect their research with end-users giving them the opportunity to experience the importance of considering stakeholder engagement from start to finish.
December 8, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
Resiliency Design Project in Hampton Roads
The lead coordinating organization is Wetlands Watch, working with architects at Hampton University, builders from the Hampton Roads Green Building Council, Urban Land Institute, and a suite of engineers. They are focused on Chesterfield Heights neighborhood in Norfolk, and will be creating specific designs for a more resilient Chesterfield Heights.
December 6, 2014
Climate
FutureCoast Sea Level Rise Web-Based Tool
This was developed through a mid-Atlantic Sea Level Rise project we secured from Coastal Services Center (CSC). It was applied in Annapolis, and they explored its application in Hampton Roads, but it was too early in the evolution of the issues in Hampton Roads to use here. That is, this tool shows climate impacts at the individual lot level and the Hampton Roads citizenry and local elected officials were not ready to see, hear, realize that then (~2011). We are ready now and because we took an incremental approach with our community, we have been able to leap frog some of the challenges that other states faced and Fall 2014 we held a workshop with the real estate community.
December 6, 2014
Climate
Maine Climate News Website
Recognizing the need for a centralized, neutral source of climate information specific to Maine, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant created Maine Climate News in partnership with George Jacobson, Maine State Climatologist, in 2009. The site is intended to be a portal to climate change science and research at the University of Maine and beyond, as well as a resource for news and climate-related activities throughout the state. The site is updated quarterly.
December 6, 2014
Climate
Northeast Coastal Acidification Network
Maine Sea Grant is a member of the steering committee for the Northeast Coastal Acidification Network planning a series of 10 Ocean Acidification Webinars, a synthesis of the State of the Science, culminating in a State of the Science workshop followed by Stakeholders workshops to develop an Ocean Acidification plan for the region (Long Island Sound to Nova Scotia).
December 6, 2014
Maine
Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities
This project developed a participatory, place-based approach for assessing the vulnerability and resilience of Maine fishing communities, documenting threats and resources available to respond to those threats. To understand the forces driving vulnerability, Johnson and graduate students Cameron Thompson and Anna Henry worked with community stakeholders to identify opportunities and strategies for improving resilience of fishing communities. They produced a summary report, entitled, “In Their Own Words: Fishermen’s Perspectives of Community Resilience.”
December 6, 2014
New Jersey
New Jersey’s Coastal Community Vulnerability Assessment and Mapping Protocol
This document is intended as a guide for entities interested in assessing their vulnerability to coastal hazards. Coastal vulnerability is a complex topic that requires an understanding of some basic terms, concepts, and historical context to be effectively assessed.
December 6, 2014
Coastal Economy
Getting to Resilience
A survey instrument that helps a community characterize its resilience through the connectivity of the community's various planning documents.
December 6, 2014
Extension
New Jersey Coastal Community Resilience Demonstration Project: Pilot Communities: Cape May Point, Little Silver, Oceanport
Coastal communities across the nation are faced with the challenge of how to adapt to coastal inundation associated with climate change and sea level rise. As part of the National Sea Grant Coastal Communities Climate Adaptation Initiative (CCCAI), the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSGC) and its partners, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Office of Coastal Management (NJOCM), Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute (UCI) and Stevens Institute of Technology, conducted community-based, climate adaptation demonstration projects in Cape May Point, Little Silver and Oceanport, New Jersey.
December 5, 2014
Climate
Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model Maps
Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model maps (SLAMM), will be available on the web in October for all 21 coastal communities. This is being adopted for “planning purposes” by the State Coastal Resources Management Council.
December 5, 2014
Climate
December 5, 2014
Climate and Hazard Adaptation
North Kingstown Coastal Resilience Pilot
A model document for incorporating coastal hazards and climate change into state mandated Local Comprehensive Planning, together with maps that assess vulnerability, and recommendations based on lessons learned from other places for the community to adapt to rising seas.
December 5, 2014
Coastal Economy
Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan
To address challenges from a changing shoreline, the Rhode Island Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP) is focused on improving our understanding of how fast erosion is occurring and what areas and infrastructure are at risk of flooding during storms or from future sea level rise.
December 5, 2014
Climate
Cost-Efficient Climate Change Adaptation in the North Atlantic Report
This report from a year-long study from Sea Grant and the NOAA North Atlantic Regional Team (NART) identifies some best practices that communities can use locally for adapting to climate change. “Cost-Efficient Climate Change Adaptation in the North Atlantic” is a compilation of best practices shared by 34 towns and cities (ME to VA) willing to share the steps that they have taken towards successful adaptation. The report also contains an interactive map.
December 5, 2014
Climate
Building Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change through Local Conservation Efforts
Using South Kingstown Land Trust as a pilot, tools have been identified for use by local conservation organizations in Rhode Island and beyond to assess vulnerability and identify strategies to begin to implement adaptation actions through conservation, management, and investment.
December 5, 2014
Maine
Maine Beaches Conference
The Maine Beaches Conference provides continuing opportunities for communication and exchange of the most current information among beach stakeholders with diverse interests, and presents the findings from the state’s beach monitoring programs.
December 5, 2014
Coastal Economy
Coastal Property Guide
The coastal property guide is a publication and web-based tool for property owners, navigating them through 10 key questions related to issues from coastal erosion and sea level rise, to buffers and septic systems.
December 5, 2014
Climate
Chester Climate Adaptation Team
The Chester Climate Adaptation Team, including Pennsylvania Sea Grant, has the capacity to assist with community engagement to assess climate vulnerabilities, consider solutions, and to plan steps for a more resilient community.
December 5, 2014
Climate
Maine’s Climate Future Report
This report considers past change over geologic time, recent evidence of accelerated rates of change, and the implications of continued climate change in Maine during the 21st century as a result of greenhouse gas emissions and their associated pollutants. Maine Sea Grant’s Communication Coordinator, Catherine Schmitt worked with a multidisciplinary team to compile and edit the 2009 Report and several follow-up features on specific topics, and she is currently working on an update to the original report.
December 5, 2014
Maine
The Sandy Dialogues workshop Series
This workshop series featured municipal officials who survived Superstorm Sandy and Maine municipal officials and residents from Wells, Saco and Old Orchard Beach who traveled to New Jersey to see the aftermath of the storm first hand. During “The Sandy Dialogues” workshops in Wells and Saco presenters shared personal experiences about the storm, its aftermath and recovery.
December 5, 2014
Extension
Coastal Property Owner Tours
Maine Sea Grant has organized a number of tours, during which Southern Maine coastal property owners, local officials, and community members visit coastal properties in Saco, Wells, and Ogunquit where action has been or could be taken to make them more resilient to flooding, erosion, and extreme storm events.
December 5, 2014
Climate
Online Decision Support Tool about Climate Change and Whitefish
Decision-support tools to help make decisions on managing a key fishery by incorporating information, accounting for uncertainties, or evaluating trade-offs between alternative choices.
December 5, 2014
Climate
Climate Fact Sheet Series
Four fact sheets addressing distinction between weather and climate, preparing for extreme conditions, variable lake levels, and climate variability
December 5, 2014
Climate
Climate Ready Great Lakes Modules
Climate Ready Great Lakes consists of three modules designed to help create a Great Lakes region that is “climate ready”.
December 5, 2014
Education
Coastal Hazards Guide
This online Guide was created by Maine Sea Grant to help coastal property owners and municipal officials identify features and different types of hazards on the Maine coast, and evaluate potential responses and actions. This guide is an outcome of the project, Coastal Community Resilience: Developing and Testing a Model of State-based Outreach.
December 5, 2014
Climate
Climate and Water Quality Diagram
The Climate and Water Quality diagram is used for public outreach to show interaction of climate, water quality, land use and invasive species.
December 5, 2014