NFWF Announces a New Regional Coastal Resilience Assessment for the U.S. Great Lakes
Assessment identifies areas where resilience-building projects have maximum potential to protect coastal communities from flooding threats while at the same time improving habitat for fish and wildlife
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 8, 2023) – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced a new Coastal Resilience Assessment for the U.S. Great Lakes to help identify areas with the greatest potential to improve wildlife habitat and community resilience to flooding threats. With this Great Lakes Assessment, NFWF has now completed Regional Coastal Resilience Assessments for all U.S. coastlines.
The assessment was developed in partnership with NOAA and the University of North Carolina-Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC), with help from a local technical committee and stakeholders.
The U.S. Great Lakes Coastal Resilience Assessment combines information about local flooding threats, human community assets, and fish and wildlife species to identify “Resilience Hubs” — areas of open space near communities and critical infrastructure where valuable natural resources and habitats can provide protection to human populations and critical infrastructure facing the greatest risk of flooding from coastal storms, changing lake levels, and other threats.
Assessment results are intended to complement ongoing coastal resilience planning efforts, and can be used by community planners, conservation organizations, and others to help make informed decisions about the potential for restoration, conservation, or other resilience-related projects to achieve dual benefits for people and wildlife.
Results of the U.S. Great Lakes Assessment are available online through the Coastal Resilience Evaluation and Siting Tool (CREST), an easy-to-use, interactive web tool to explore key data layers and results to find potential restoration opportunities. In addition, users can analyze specific project sites to understand potential benefits to fish and wildlife habitat and to community resilience. Completed results, including input datasets, are also available for download.
In support of the National Coastal Resilience Fund, NFWF has completed Regional Coastal Resilience Assessments for all continental U.S. coastlines, Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. territories. All assessments are available through NFWF's website here, along with final reports and detailed methods.
About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Chartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, NFWF has funded more than 6,000 organizations and generated a total conservation impact of $8.1 billion. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.
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Contact:
Rob Blumenthal, 202-857-0166, rob.blumenthal@nfwf.org