Adaptation Guide Wins Planning Award!

Our work on sea level rise adaptation in Virginia has us working closely with local governments, since they are the only people who can determine the use/development of shoreline private property. In the absence of state and local leadership on adaptation, shoreline communities are left on their own to figure out what to do and to determine if they have the authority to do it.

In this vacuum, clever local staff are doing some creative things and coming up with "workarounds" on existing legal authorities. Wetlands Watch wanted to put this in one place and make it available to everyone in tidewater Virginia: possible adaptation authorities, examples of clever "workarounds," flood insurance cost consequences, etc. We interviewed over 70 local government staff in the process, to find out what they needed/wanted and in what format.

What resulted was our "Sea Level Rise Adaptation Guide" which we finished a few months ago and have been promoting on line and in person. We thought it was pretty neat but that was really affirmed when we found out the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association had selected the Guide for its 2017 Nelsonite Award, Planning Advocate of the Year.

We continue to update and revise the guide - newest effort is adding stormwater regulatory credit information for nature-based solutions, with final products due late 2017.