Presentation Abstract
Floodplains support a tremendous wealth of goods and services, including fisheries, water filtration, flood storage, rich agricultural soils, flat ground for building, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, etc. While society has discussed the ideal of integrated floodplain management for many years, the shift to this ideal has been hampered by the reality of the narrowly defined programs and policies established to meet singular goals. Rather than maximizing the goods and services we derive from our floodplains, this “stove-piped” approach to floodplain management leads to unintended consequences, inefficiency and conflict. In Puget Sound salmon runs remain on the brink, flood risks continue to rise, and conflicts between competing goals persist. Those involved in the Puget Sound Floodplains by Design partnership – including The Nature Conservancy, Puget Sound Partnership, Washington Department of Ecology, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, US Environmental Project Agency, and US Geological Survey – believe that we can do better. The term “Floodplains by Design” infers a shift away from the conflict and unintended consequences of single-objective projects to integrated floodplain management for multiple benefits. It infers a move toward better floodplain design, where decisions are made in an integrated fashion considering a broader variety of the functions, values, and risks associated with floodplains. Projects within the multiple benefits paradigm can have a larger extent and scope when they both improve ecological functions of floodplains and reduce flood risk projects as they are more likely to garner the needed political support and public funding. Many have been trying to integrate multiple benefits at the local level. The Floodplains by Design partnership is accelerating these on-the-ground efforts through a comprehensive regional effort focused on aligning programs, resources and politics with a multiple benefits ideal. This presentation will describe the FbD partnership’s approach to addressing the financial, social, policy and technical issues that have hampered both Salish Sea ecosystem recovery and integrated floodplain management, share our results to date, and discuss our plans for the future. We will share insights from an innovative regional effort to make room for floods and fish that is clearly gaining momentum and has recently succeeded in securing $50M in new state funding for multiple benefit floodplain projects.
Session Title
Session S-04E: Managing Floodplains for Multiple Benefits
Conference Track
Habitat
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 8:30 AM
End Date
1-5-2014 10:00 AM
Location
Room 613-614
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Floodplain management--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Floodplain ecology--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Restoration ecology--Washington (State)--Puget Sound
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Floodplains by Design: Accelerating integrated floodplain management across Puget Sound
Room 613-614
Floodplains support a tremendous wealth of goods and services, including fisheries, water filtration, flood storage, rich agricultural soils, flat ground for building, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, etc. While society has discussed the ideal of integrated floodplain management for many years, the shift to this ideal has been hampered by the reality of the narrowly defined programs and policies established to meet singular goals. Rather than maximizing the goods and services we derive from our floodplains, this “stove-piped” approach to floodplain management leads to unintended consequences, inefficiency and conflict. In Puget Sound salmon runs remain on the brink, flood risks continue to rise, and conflicts between competing goals persist. Those involved in the Puget Sound Floodplains by Design partnership – including The Nature Conservancy, Puget Sound Partnership, Washington Department of Ecology, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, US Environmental Project Agency, and US Geological Survey – believe that we can do better. The term “Floodplains by Design” infers a shift away from the conflict and unintended consequences of single-objective projects to integrated floodplain management for multiple benefits. It infers a move toward better floodplain design, where decisions are made in an integrated fashion considering a broader variety of the functions, values, and risks associated with floodplains. Projects within the multiple benefits paradigm can have a larger extent and scope when they both improve ecological functions of floodplains and reduce flood risk projects as they are more likely to garner the needed political support and public funding. Many have been trying to integrate multiple benefits at the local level. The Floodplains by Design partnership is accelerating these on-the-ground efforts through a comprehensive regional effort focused on aligning programs, resources and politics with a multiple benefits ideal. This presentation will describe the FbD partnership’s approach to addressing the financial, social, policy and technical issues that have hampered both Salish Sea ecosystem recovery and integrated floodplain management, share our results to date, and discuss our plans for the future. We will share insights from an innovative regional effort to make room for floods and fish that is clearly gaining momentum and has recently succeeded in securing $50M in new state funding for multiple benefit floodplain projects.
