Presentation Abstract
Many agencies, organizations, and communities across Puget Sound are working to restore nearshore habitats from historic degradation to reestablish or maintain the functionality of these ecosystems. Sea level rise is expected to cause increased coastal flooding in low-lying areas and increased storm surge reach in coastal zones. There is widespread recognition that these new threats must be addressed in the siting, design, and maintenance of Puget Sound’s nearshore habitat restoration projects, especially given the limited resources available for restoration. In spite of this, existing information on sea level rise has not yet been synthesized in a way that facilitates incorporation into nearshore restoration. Building off the Washington Coastal Resilience Project (WCRP), the study team has developed a draft guidance document that will help restoration practitioners and funders identify the specific issues that sea level rise raises for restoration. This guidance document is being developed using results from a Restoration and Sea Level Rise Workshop held in the spring on 2017, which brought together some of Puget Sound’s best restoration experts to help identify how restoration decisions may be affected by sea level rise, and to identify specific restoration questions or issues that sea level rise raises for restoration efforts. By breaking the question down into a set of shoreforms and specific restoration actions, the guidance aims to provide practitioners with the tools needed to plan restoration in a way that is robust to sea level rise and more likely to ensure a resilient path to recovery.
Session Title
Restoration and Protection Today for an Uncertain Tomorrow: Climate Change in Practice
Keywords
Sea level rise, Restoration, Guidance
Conference Track
SSE5: Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation, and Research
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE5-508
Start Date
5-4-2018 10:45 AM
End Date
5-4-2018 11:00 AM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Restoration monitoring (Ecology)--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Sea level--Washington (State)--Puget Sound
Geographic Coverage
Puget Sound (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and 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
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Sea level rise guidance for nearshore habitat restoration in Puget Sound
Many agencies, organizations, and communities across Puget Sound are working to restore nearshore habitats from historic degradation to reestablish or maintain the functionality of these ecosystems. Sea level rise is expected to cause increased coastal flooding in low-lying areas and increased storm surge reach in coastal zones. There is widespread recognition that these new threats must be addressed in the siting, design, and maintenance of Puget Sound’s nearshore habitat restoration projects, especially given the limited resources available for restoration. In spite of this, existing information on sea level rise has not yet been synthesized in a way that facilitates incorporation into nearshore restoration. Building off the Washington Coastal Resilience Project (WCRP), the study team has developed a draft guidance document that will help restoration practitioners and funders identify the specific issues that sea level rise raises for restoration. This guidance document is being developed using results from a Restoration and Sea Level Rise Workshop held in the spring on 2017, which brought together some of Puget Sound’s best restoration experts to help identify how restoration decisions may be affected by sea level rise, and to identify specific restoration questions or issues that sea level rise raises for restoration efforts. By breaking the question down into a set of shoreforms and specific restoration actions, the guidance aims to provide practitioners with the tools needed to plan restoration in a way that is robust to sea level rise and more likely to ensure a resilient path to recovery.
