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Explore Climate Ready Estuaries
Background
The Climate Ready Estuaries program is a partnership between EPA and the National Estuary Programs (NEPs) to address climate change in coastal areas. This effort brings together EPA’s Oceans and Coastal Protection Division and Climate Change Division to build additional capacity in the NEPs and other coastal communities as they prepare to adapt to the effects of climate change.
Information Resources
Program Brochure (PDF) (2 pp, 456 K)
Program Newsletter Issue 3: Summer 2009 (PDF) (4 pp, 1.5MB)
Program Newsletter Issue 2: Fall 2008 (PDF) (4 pp, 279K)
Program Newsletter Issue 1: Summer 2008 (PDF) (4 pp, 772K)
Other EPA offices, such as the Global Change Research Program, are supporting this effort as well. The purpose of Climate Ready Estuaries is to assist NEPs and coastal communities in becoming "climate ready" by providing tools and assistance to assess climate change vulnerability and plan for adaptation.
A number of other federal programs work on coastal adaptation to climate change. As part of the Climate Ready Estuaries program, EPA will coordinate and communicate with other federal agencies and external partners to share information, identify opportunities for collaboration, and minimize duplication of effort.
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What type of assistance is EPA providing?
The national program includes two levels of assistance focusing on climate change adaptation in coastal areas:
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A Coastal Toolkit of information products, data, tools, webinars, workshops, and technical assistance is available to all NEPs and other coastal managers. This Toolkit can help local resource managers build public support, develop partnerships among stakeholders, and identify vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning needs.
- Targeted assistance to a small group of NEPs to identify climate change vulnerabilities, develop adaptation plans, and begin to implement selected actions within these plans. Each year to 18 months, EPA will work with a separate group of NEPs. NEPs and other coastal communities will be recognized as "climate ready" upon completion of these adaptation plans. The results and lessons learned from working with each pilot will help inform future efforts.
What have CRE Partners accomplished to date?
In 2008, six NEPs were selected to receive assistance for a range of activities. Please visit the 2008 CRE Partners page to see profiles for each of these efforts.
Which NEPs are receiving in-depth assistance in 2009 and what are the plans for this work?
For 2009, EPA has selected eight NEPs to receive targeted support. Below are brief descriptions of the work that each NEP plans to complete. The EPA news brief provides additional details.
Partner Startup Grants
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Barnegat Bay NEP
(New Jersey)
Barnegat Bay NEP will continue its climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning efforts by forming a climate change workgroup and holding a series of listening sessions to gain stakeholder support and identify opportunities for improving resilience through adaptation actions.
- Indian River Lagoon NEP (Florida)
Indian River Lagoon NEP plans to work with the City of Satellite Beach, Florida, on a sea level rise vulnerability assessment, which will be used to identify options for reducing risk, plan for adaptation, and educate local decision makers. Indian River Lagoon NEP hopes that initial success with the City of Satellite Beach will attract the interest of other municipalities within the estuary.
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Long Island Sound Study (Connecticut and New York)
In collaboration with the ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and the City of Groton, Connecticut, the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) intends to develop an adaptation plan for Groton by first holding a series of workshops to discuss local climate change vulnerability and options for improving resilience. The outcomes of these workshops will inform the development of an adaptation planning report for the city. LISS hopes that this project will serve as a model for other local governments in the estuary that are seeking to develop adaptation plans.
Direct Technical Assistance Awards
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Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (Maine)
Casco Bay Estuary Partnership will work with EPA in developing a climate change stakeholder outreach plan that targets local decision makers and integrates consideration of ecosystem resilience into broader messages about climate change. These outreach and stakeholder engagement efforts will help inform the development of a climate change adaptation plan for the estuary.
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Charlotte Harbor NEP(Florida)
Charlotte Harbor NEP will work with EPA in developing climate change indicators for the estuarine systems and a monitoring plan. This work will contribute to the NEP's existing adaptation planning efforts. EPA will also provide assistance in creating model ordinances and other policy tools for climate change adaptation.
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Long Island Sound Study (Connecticut and New York)
EPA will assist the Long Island Sound Study in the development of a climate change vulnerability assessment, a preliminary set of climate change indicators, and recommendations for improving existing monitoring efforts. This project will help inform adaptation planning efforts within the NEP, including the planned work under the startup grant described above.
- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey)
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) will work with EPA in further quantifying and valuing the effects of climate change on the provisioning of ecosystem services in the Delaware Estuary. This work will aid PDE in developing an adaptation plan by providing information related to the vulnerability of various habitat types and ecosystem services, options for improving resilience, and additional considerations for estuarine restoration.
- Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (Florida and Texas)
EPA will work with these two NEPs in organizing a workshop to initiate the development of a manual for Gulf Coast communities to assist in incorporating climate change effects into habitat restoration and protection. This project will identify actions for improving resiliency in estuarine restoration and protection plans in all coastal communities along the Gulf Coast.
For descriptions of NEPs that received support in 2008, please visit the 2008 Climate Ready Estuaries Partners page.