New Jersey Sea Grant

 
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. The objective of these projects was to provide the participating communities with an assessment of their vulnerabilities to help local decision-makers identify opportunities to improve their resiliency to coastal hazards and sea level rise. In order to accomplish this goal, virtual mapping was used to illustrate the potential scenarios for coastal inundation along with facilitated questionnaires that evaluated the communities’ existing planning strategies. The findings from these tools were presented to the communities and are summarized in this report.