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ASFPM’s Science Services Rolls Out Next Generation of Great Lakes Coastal Resilience Planning Guide

After three years in the making, the newest version of the Great Lakes Coastal Resilience Planning Guide is online featuring additional case studies and stories for municipal planners and decision makers to use in planning for more resilient coasts.
Throughout the Great Lakes region, communities are witnessing a widespread transformation of the landscape, climate, weather patterns, plants and wildlife, which has caused a degree of uncertainty about what the future will bring. Now more than ever before, questions about resilience and how to plan for the challenges presented by climate change and natural hazards are being asked at the community level. With this guide, communities have a versatile, organized, and free web-based tool to share and look for answers to this pressing question.
“Early on in our Great Lakes community research and needs assessment, we realized that there were two niches that had not yet been filled. One was existence of local data, and one was of process, or what to do with those data,” said Jeff Stone, project manager for the Association of State Floodplain Managers (one of many partner groups involved in GLCR’s creation).
He said the planning guide sought to fill those niches by creating a venue where existing local data and examples of how it has been used on the ground can be connected with the maps, tools, data, people, and resources required to replicate the actions exemplified.
The planning guide shows how Great Lakes coastal communities are using science-based information to address coastal watershed hazards such as flooding, stormwater, shore erosion, and lake-level fluctuations. This online resource connects people with the tools and data needed to consider natural hazards and climate change in local planning and management efforts.
Stone said that although some of the tools and resources of the planning guide are Great Lakes-centric, he sees it as a useful tool for all floodplain managers.
“There are not a lot of tools out there to show what other communities are doing, at least not in one single place. But with this planning guide, planners and community officials can see what other communities have faced, and consider it in their planning and management activities. It’s about helping people adapt to dynamic and changing natural hazards … and planning is what gets you to a resilient community.”
Additional resources featured in the planning guide include:

• Climate and Environment– Learn about the Great Lakes and its coastal hazards and climate.
• Events and Funding– Identify events and funding sources related to coastal resilience and hazards.
• Library – Uncover relevant publications that include legal and regulatory documents, best practices, ordinances, comprehensive plans, and more.
• Local stories– Learn what’s happening in Great Lakes communities. Information ranges from news articles to outreach materials.
• Maps, Data, and Tools– Access geospatial data, tools, applications, and Web map services available in the region.
• People and Organizations– Connect with others working to address coastal hazard and climate change impacts in the region.

To share your stories, feedback, comments, or content ideas please contact: info@greatlakesresilience.org.

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