Developing Wetland Restoration Priorities for Climate Risk Reduction and Resilience in the MARCO Region
Author
James McElfish, Rebecca Kihslinger and Jessye Waxman
Date Released
December 2016
Developing Wetland Restoration Priorities for Climate Risk Reduction and Resilie

Working with New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia — the five members of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) — the Environmental Law Institute prepared a detailed assessment of methods to identify, conserve, and restore wetlands for protection of communities and ecosystems in the face of rapid climate change. ELI in collaboration with an expert panel designed an approach that can accommodate continuous improvement by resource managers, legislators, and policy makers. The approach relies on:

Floodplain Buyout Case Studies

The Natural Hazards and Opportunity: Community Resilience and Habitat Connectivity project aims to help communities understand and fully leverage the potential ecological and social value of properties acquired under federal hazard mitigation and other programs that fund voluntary acquisitions of flood prone properties.

Floodplain Buyouts: An Action Guide for Local Governments on How to Maximize Community Benefits, Habitat Connectivity, and Resilience
Author
Environmental Law Institute, University of North Carolina Institute for the Environment
Date Released
April 2017
Floodplain Buyouts: An Action Guide for Local Governments (Cover)

This Action Guide is designed to help local governments across the country leverage hazard mitigation buyouts to protect, restore, and connect habitats in local communities.

Floodplain Buyouts, Community Resilience and Habitat Connectivity

Since 1993, FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has funded the acquisition of over 55,000 flood-damaged properties. Under FEMA’s acquisition programs, once properties are purchased following a disaster, existing structures must be removed and the land must be dedicated to open space, recreational, or wetland management uses. These properties can offer opportunities to restore and permanently protect natural habitats and help conserve biodiversity, while also providing community amenities and improving resilience.

Restore the Chesapeake
Author
Ridgway Hall - Chesapeake Legal Alliance
Chesapeake Legal Alliance
Current Issue
January/February 2016
Issue
33

The vast bay and watershed include the largest estuary in the country. Efforts to restore its vastly degraded water quality involve a commensurately large response by the Bay States, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, local governments, and the public.

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