Wetlands can be powerhouses for climate adaptation and resilience. This World Wetlands Day, we are highlighting one type of wetland that impacts people the most – coastal urban wetlands. Read More
Growing Returns
Selected tag(s): wetlands
Three ways to take bold action to protect urban coastal wetlands
Posted in Climate Resilience Also tagged climate resilience, Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds, natural infrastructure Comments are closed
A new way of partnering with the Corps leads to innovative wetland mitigation solutions and increased flood resilience.
Today marks the release of the Record of Decision (ROD) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on a restoration project known as the River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp (or Maurepas Diversion) that will serve as mitigation for the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane risk reduction levee project (WSLP). Read More
Posted in Climate Resilience Also tagged Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds, resilience Comments are closed
Six reasons why wetlands are vital every month of the year.
The Environmental Protection Agency has designated May as American Wetlands Month, a “time to celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to our Nation’s ecological, economic, and social health.”
Scientists and coastal planners increasingly recognize the important role wetlands play in everything from flood protection to water quality to wildlife habitat to economic impact. At the same time, climate change and other stressors threaten wetlands, and in turn, the people and wildlife that rely on them.
As we close out American Wetlands Month, here are six reasons why one of nature’s richest ecosystems provide value to our lives every month of the year. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged climate resilience, coastal resilience, Coasts, Louisiana Comments are closed
3 actions Congress can take now to build more resilient coasts
Earlier this year, NOAA released findings indicating that the rate of sea level rise has doubled over the last century and, even if global emissions reduction targets are met, sea level could increase 12 inches by 2100.
Coastal states are already feeling the effects of sea level rise with high-tide flooding increasing from 300% to 900% in some places compared to 50 years ago. Hurricanes are also getting stronger and dumping more rain, and last year’s Atlantic hurricane season was the most active ever. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Atlantic hurricane season, coastal buffers, coastal reseilience, Congress, ecosystems, FEMA, infrastructure, natural infrastructure Comments are closed
Experts warn of a more active hurricane season. We need more wetlands, fast.
Hurricane season is just around the corner, but experts are already predicting an above-average season.
Researchers at Colorado State University and meteorologists at Accuweather each released predictions indicating that the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season could be cause for concern with the potential for up to nine hurricanes and an “above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States.”
Adding additional concern, water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are currently extremely warm, creating a recipe for intensifying storms. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Coasts, hurricane, hurricane season, natural infrastructure, storm Read 2 Responses
The solution to agriculture’s water quality impacts is bigger than WOTUS
The Clean Water Act continues to provide critical protections for America’s drinking water, lakes and streams. While this bedrock, bipartisan law put the worst industrial water pollution largely behind us, the hard work of addressing nonpoint source pollution remains.
Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulations were created to help mitigate nonpoint source pollution and protect isolated wetlands, but the long-running controversy over the scope of WOTUS illustrates the limitations to using broad and blunt regulations to solve complex problems.
Nutrient runoff from farms is one of the causes of dead zones and contaminated groundwater – the drinking water source for nearly half of all Americans. In addition, 43 million Americans, mostly in rural communities, drink water from private wells – 16 percent of which contain groundwater that exceeds federal nitrate limits.
As WOTUS revisions make their way through a public comment period and face likely legal challenges, water quality improvements can’t wait. Here’s why, and what we can do in the meantime. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged conservation, sustainable agriculture, WOTUS Comments are closed
What the world can learn from Louisiana about living with climate change
Louisiana is emerging as a global leader in how to sustainably plan for the future in the face of increased storms, coastal erosion and rising seas. By combining nature-based solutions with traditional flood protection measures, Louisiana is a proving ground for living with climate change.
The lessons Louisiana can teach are not new, but they build upon those first taught by the Dutch. The Netherlands has taught the world innumerable lessons in flood protection – but historically, the Dutch have been primarily focused on building walls to keep water out, rather than finding more sustainable ways to protect coastal communities.
That is until recently, when the Dutch began embracing a more nature-based approach of “living with water,” similar to what is happening in Louisiana.
We can change the way we face coastal flooding challenges if we blend coastal restoration, protection and community resiliency measures. Louisiana’s multiple-lines-of-defense approach is a model for other coastal places, including the Netherlands, that are planning their futures in the face of climate change. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged climate adaptation, climate change, coastal protection, coastal restoration, coastlines, Coasts, community resiliency, Delta Works, Dutch, flood protection, flooding, floodplains, floods, Katrina, Louisiana, Netherlands, Rita, sea level rise Comments are closed
4 ways to strengthen coastal communities’ resilience before the next storm
This blog was authored by Shannon Cunniff, with contributions from Kate Zerrenner.
The 2017 hurricane season sounded the alarm for coastal communities across the country and across the world that are facing increased exposure to powerful storms.
Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population lives in coastal counties, where hurricanes are often the most destructive weather phenomena bringing rain, wind, waves and storm surge that too often result in significant loss of life. With a changing climate, we can expect more extreme weather. But we don’t have to expect the same levels of devastation.
There are steps we can take to decrease coastal communities’ vulnerability to storms, lower the risk of damaging floodwaters, and reduce the impacts associated with these disasters. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged adaptation, building codes, buyouts, Coastal Master Plan, coastal protection, coastal resilience, Coasts, flood insurance, Harvey, hurricane, Matthew, mitigation, natural infrastructure Read 1 Response
How coastal restoration in Louisiana is helping rural communities in the Midwest
Hunkering down in a duck blind with my dad on the Cuivre River, which feeds into the Mississippi.
Clang. A knot of rusted chains pulls shut the driveway gate, bringing it closed with a final smack against a worn fence post. Just like that, my Sunday afternoon visit to our family farm in Clarksville, Missouri ends. After a quick trip home to Saint Louis, it’s time to catch a flight to Washington, D.C. for my internship.
But not before my dad asks, “Do you want to see downtown?”. I laugh, but agree to check it out. “Downtown” is a relative term in Clarksville – a quiet river community with fewer than 500 residents.
The streets slope down to the shoreline, where historic buildings meet the Mighty Mississippi. A few barges float nearby, unperturbed by the currents that pull toward the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a calm day on the river. I spot a sign emblazoned with a familiar red and white Army Corps castle. Just ahead, a concrete arm extends across the channel. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged agriculture, climate change, commerce, crops, economics, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, farmers, farmland, flooding, floodplain, floods, Louisiana, Mississippi, Mississippi River, missouri, resilience, resiliency, shipping, supply chain, sustainability, water quality, watershed, weather Comments are closed