2009 Coastal Program Managers' Meeting

NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, in partnership with the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association, hosted the annual Ocean and Coastal Program Managers’ Meeting on February 24 - 26, 2009, in downtown Washington, D.C. at the Washington Marriott, 1221 22nd Street, NW.

The meeting brought together coastal managers from states, territories, and commonwealths from across the nation and provided a forum for discussion with their federal counterparts on emerging issues in ocean and coastal resource management. 

This year’s theme was focused on NOAA’s Coastal Strategy, with a particular emphasis on Coastal Hazards & Climate Change. 

Roundtable discussions and presentations were focused on products, services, and abilities related to various aspects of climate change, hazards, and smart growth.  

Program specific information can be found in the links to the right while the presentations from the various joint sessions are all listed below.

Presentations

Sea Level/Lake Level Mapping 101

This session explored various water level mapping examples exposing the range of uses and possible constraints. Data considerations presented included resolution, accuracy, vertical datums, and data sources. Sample mapping elements such as model fields and datasets were highlighted followed by a discussion.

(top)

Assessing Your Community's Resilience and Vulnerability

The NOAA Coastal Services Center are enhancing their Community Resilience and Vulnerability Assessment Toolkit (CRVAT). Decisions-makers have to address so many aspects of hazards management running the gamut from risk, vulnerability, resilience, climate change to adaptation planning. What does it all mean? How can these issues be assessed? Where does planning fall among so many other priorities? What’s the role of the CSC and attendees in this process?

In the first half of the session the CRVAT initiative was introduced. CRVAT is being designed to help communities assess their risks and vulnerabilities and adapt to climate change and variability. During the second half of the session, participants explored and identified how communities can use the CRVAT, partnership opportunities, and implementation strategies.

(top)

Smart Growth and the Water's Edge

Smart Growth at the water's edge (the coast) requires a tailored approach that recognizes the unique opportunities and challenges of waterfront and coastal development. The first half of this session provided an overview of: 1) the Waterfront and Coastal Smart Growth Elements developed by NOAA, EPA, and the International City/County Management Association; 2) a state coastal smart growth program; 3) the Coastal Community Planning and Development Training offered by CSC; and 4) free software that can be used to investigate potential visual impacts from coastal development. During the second half of the session, participants will identify and discuss opportunities and challenges to addressing coastal hazards and climate change impacts when implementing smart growth.

(top)

Guidelines for CZ Managers Developing Adaptation Plans

OCRM is drafting a guide to help state coastal managers develop and implement climate change adaptation plans to reduce the risks associated with climate change impacts. A climate change adaptation plan identifies and assesses the impacts that are likely to affect the planning area and develops goals, objectives, and actions to best minimize these impacts.  At this session OCRM leads for the project presented a framework overview of the guidelines and solicited feedback from managers with respect to gaps in content, usability and recommendations for how best to package the guidelines.  

(top)

Climate Modeling 101

Using state-of-the-art supercomputers as their laboratories, climate modelers employ mathematical models of our planet's global climate system to conduct climate variability and change research. This presentation illustrated how, by incorporating what is known from observations, fundamental physical laws, and nascent theory, climate models have been used to deconstruct and explore the relative effects of different anthropogenic and natural factors involved in driving climate change and variability.  Some of the robust findings derived from climate modeling experiments, as well as remaining uncertainties, were illustrated by drawing upon national and international scientific assessment reports and work done at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Particular attention was given to the challenge of projecting future sea level change.

(top)

Assessing Vulnerability

Mark Crowell from FEMA's Mitigation Directorate discussed an ongoing study of the impact of climate change on the National Flood Insurance Program that includes analyzing potential changes in sea level rise and coastal storms. He also discussed related efforts to determine whether policy and methodologies for mapping coastal special flood hazard areas should be revised. Ultimately, the results of these efforts will provide a clearer picture of the vulnerability of our nation's coasts to climate change, sea level rise and coastal storms in particular.

John Haines from USGS’s Coastal and Marine Geology Program discussed coastal mapping and research programs addressing coastal change and assessment of vulnerability due to storms, erosion, and sea-level rise. He also discussed existing vulnerability products for storm and sea-level response, their application by coastal managers in our National Parks and Seashores and elsewhere, and future directions for development of more comprehensive products.

Charles Chesnutt from the USACE's Institute for Water Resources discussed recent Corps experience that highlights coastal vulnerabilities.  He also talked about several of the USACE efforts underway to better incorporate Sea Level Rise and other climate change impacts into USACE project planning, design and management.

(top)

Adapting to Climate Change in our Nation's Estuaries

Estuaries face a host of increasing threats from a variety of climate change related stressors that range from sea level rise to increased incidence of invasive species.  In addition to mitigating such impacts, coastal managers will also have to consider an array of adaptation strategies and approaches in order to preserve the ecosystem services of these regions. This session highlighted three approaches being taken by the EPA and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System that begin to address this pressing management need.  Topics included: 1) EPA's Climate Ready Estuary Program; 2) Planning for Climate Change - a new workshop on tools and approaches; and 3) Adapting Shorelines to Climate Change: Preserving Ecosystem Services.

(top)

Marine Spatial Planning

Hundreds of competing interests, policies, and jurisdictions impact ocean and Great Lake waters.  Coastal states and nations are turning to marine spatial planning (MSP) for solutions.  This session demonstrated how MSP is being used to help site alternative energy development, map human uses of ocean space, and facilitate state level comprehensive planning, with a focus on the data and tools that support the process.  Participants had the opportunity to engage in facilitated discussion, look at maps being used in current projects, and learn about resources available to MSP practitioners.  

(top)

For questions or more information, contact Patmarie Nedelka at (301) 563-1127.