MISSION
Wetlands Watch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Norfolk, Virginia. Our mission is to enhance natural resilience, bolster community adaptation efforts, and protect and restore wetlands throughout Virginia. We advance climate adaptation by working collaboratively with a wide variety of stakeholders, and by implementing solution-focused strategies that unify and connect.
VISION
We envision a future in which Virginia’s communities and natural systems flourish amidst the escalating impacts driven by climate change, and one where wetlands are thriving ecosystems that support a diversity of wildlife, serve as natural safeguards against flooding, protect against erosion, and help keep water quality high. We work toward a future in which academics, business leaders, conservationists, landowners, citizens, and government officials throughout Virginia unite to develop innovative and creative solutions to what we believe is the defining challenge of our time.
Message from the Executive Director
Welcome to Wetlands Watch! You may notice that we're not your typical nonprofit organization. That's by design. When your mission involves addressing the adaptation challenges associated with rising seas and other climate change impacts, being atypical is exactly what you need to be.
Our mission centers on wetlands protection, natural resource preservation, and climate change adaptation because these things are inseparably connected. The increasing flooding events and constantly shifting shorelines we witness today are clear evidence of the changes impacting our world. Safeguarding these wetlands that are on the forefront of climate change is a key part of Virginia’s adaptation strategy. Wetlands and shoreline buffers provide natural resilience against rising seas and storms, protecting our communities, and ensuring that Virginia’s ecosystems remain vibrant for future generations.
We protect Virginia’s wetlands and shorelines so they can in turn protect us.
As you explore our website, you'll notice that we have a lot going on. This also is by design. With respect to public policy, we engage policymakers at the local, state, regional, and federal levels. We help ensure that local governments have the technical support they need to keep communities safe and healthy in the face of climate change challenges, especially those communities that have not been helped in the past. We inspire the public through our crowd-sourced data collection events that have made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Adaptation challenges are all around us. Because they are escalating, we need to escalate with them. Rooted in activism and public policy savvy, we approach both recognized and emerging challenges with the same pioneering spirit that started Wetlands Watch twenty-five years ago. When we see a need, we try to fill it.
Our team members are recognized professionals in a wide variety of fields, including stormwater management, hydrology, floodplain management, planning, law and policy, workforce development, education, organizational development, and horticulture. We serve on boards and contribute to professional organizations, bringing diverse, informed, and multifaceted perspectives to the problems we address. In this way, we meet the complexity of climate change adaptation with a wide range of experience, education, and technical knowledge.
We view climate change as the defining challenge of our time, an unprecedented, far-reaching threat that disrupts ecosystems, threatens communities, and is in the process of reshaping our entire way of life. The scale and complexity of this crisis requires us to think and act differently, embracing innovative strategies that address both immediate impacts and long-term resilience. Navigating this uncharted territory means acknowledging the uncertainties and complexities of a rapidly changing world, where rising seas, extreme weather events, and shifting shorelines demand proactive and new responses.
Because no single organization or community has all the answers, collective action is our strongest strategy. By collaborating across sectors, leveraging diverse expertise, and engaging with communities on the front lines, we at Wetlands Watch believe that we can develop some of the many needed adaptive solutions to protect our natural resources and ensure a safe future for all Virginians. That’s the commitment we’re making at Wetlands Watch—to be a catalyst for change, a pioneer of solutions, and a partner to others in this fight.
With respect to our present challenges, here’s what we know:
It's flooding too much from high tides and excessive rainfall.
We're losing safe land to live on in our tidal and riverine areas. We need to figure out where people will go when it's no longer safe.
We need more natural systems everywhere to capture water and slow it down, preventing it from overwhelming our undersized and overburdened systems.
We need a stable, trained workforce to meet the growing need for living infrastructure practices, and we don’t have it yet. We need to build that workforce quickly and maintain it.
Adaptation work is challenging and will only become more challenging in the years ahead, so all of us in this space must work together to leverage capacity and resources.
Natural resources must be protected and remain central in our adaptation planning and response.
Tidal wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Without them, 90% of Virginia’s fish species cannot survive.
Not all people will adapt equally. The sooner we figure out how to build equity into solutions, the better off all adaptation efforts will be.
Local governments are on the front lines of this issue. They are tasked with an immense duty and will need all of our help to get it done right. Show up at meetings and make your voice heard. Local action is consequential action.
We do not yet have the laws or policies in place to deal effectively with sea level rise and climate change. We will only develop them with political will and public support.
The challenges before us are formidable, and the work serious, but that doesn’t mean that this work cannot be pursued with joy and purpose. We invite you to join us–in partnership and with your support—so our impact can grow, helping more communities prepare for today’s challenges, and tomorrow’s.
A Note from the Founding Executive Director
“I’m Going Where the Climate Suits My Clothes - It’s Been A Great Time!”
August 14th, 2023
As you’ve probably heard by now, I’m stepping down after 16 years as the executive director of Wetlands Watch. Mary-Carson Stiff has taken over after a well-planned transition process, putting the right person in the job.
When I turned 70 a few years ago, I wanted to ensure that the quality work Wetlands Watch was doing would continue. Mary-Carson, one of the brightest and most talented people I have worked with, was the natural choice to lead Wetlands Watch and continue our mission.
Besides, it’s time for the old guys to get out of the way and let new folks take over!
Its been an amazing ride, so far. After working in Congress for a couple of decades. I was consulting on environmental and science policy when my oceanographer spouse, Margie Mulohlland, landed a professorship at Old Dominion University. We moved to Norfolk in 2000 and one of my consulting collaborators hooked me up with Jay Taylor, major creator of Wetlands Watch. That was the start of a journey that has lasted over 16 years, longer if you count my time on the Board of Directors when we were an all-volunteer group.
We began working on climate change adaptation back in 2006, after inviting Dr. Carl Hershner of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to brief us - shock us, actually - about wetlands losses due to sea level rise.
We sat down with the data and figured Virginia would lose 50% - 80% of its vegetated tidal wetlands by century’s end - lower losses if we could get folks to move away from the shoreline and let the wetlands “move uphill;” higher losses if we kept doing the same old thing. Since then, we have higher estimated rates of sea level rise that are almost double those earlier ones, meaning we’ll see these wetlands losses by about 2060. And with little progress on adaptation and retreat, I fear we’ll see the higher range of losses unless we hurry up.
Wetlands Watch is not a “drive-by, drop the study and run” group, so after our sobering projections of marsh loss, we started the tough work trying to save Virginia’s coast from sea level rise. At that time Wetlands Watch was the only group in the country doing climate adaptation work at the local level.
Back then we couldn’t say, “climate change,” or even “sea level rise.” We had to call it “recurrent flooding”, and even at that I’d get stone silence at rural service club lunch talks on the challenges we face.
But we’re starting to see results from our efforts.
Today, after lots of hard work and strong partnerships, Virginia is ahead of most states in its response to climate change. We are one of a few states that has a statewide flood fund and the only one that draws its money from the sale of carbon credits (for now anyway – more on that in a bit). We’ve included sea level rise in our tidal shoreline regulations and soon we’ll consider climate change in our septic permitting – the only state in the country doing that. And the Virginia Department of Transportation has developed new engineering standards to take climate change into account – again the only state we can find that is taking these steps.
But the biggest progress has been with local governments, which have the lion’s share of responsibility to address our changing climate. Localities across Virginia are responding to the changes they are seeing. We have developed and value our partnerships with localities, the primary focus of our work.
We’ve assembled a group of dedicated and creative staff at Wetlands Watch and have grown our programs strategically to meet the needs of Virginia’s citizens. We have focused our programs on those communities facing the greatest risk and having the fewest resources, seeking to move lower income communities to the front of the line as funding becomes available.
The work we have done, and will do, is rewarding and very challenging. There are no guidebooks for this because humans have never experienced the changes we are seeing. In my first career as a senior staffer in Congress, I thought I was doing grand, creative work. None of that compares to the innovative policy work Wetlands Watch has done and will continue to do.
And no, I’m not really leaving Virginia. Besides, with the climate changing, I’m not sure where the climate suits my clothes anymore.
Interested in Our Work? Stay in Touch!
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General Newsletter
This newsletter covers a range of topics, including updates on Wetlands Watch’s programs, recent advocacy efforts, community events, and educational resources. Intended for broad audiences, the General Newsletter offers insights into Wetlands Watch’s work and how individuals can support our initiatives.
Commonwealth Resilience Brief
Unlike typical newsletters, the Commonwealth Resilience Brief is a technical briefing that is designed to keep professionals informed about latest policy changes, financial resources, and innovations in the resilience field, fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration across Virginia’s resilience community.
High Water Watch Newsflash
High tides can creep up on all of us. Subscribe to High Water Watch to receive notifications when moderate to high tidal flooding is expected in coastal Virginia.
Coastal Retreat Network
The Coastal Retreat Network is a national network of climate adaptation professionals working on removing people and infrastructure out of harm’s way. This network brings together a diverse group of practitioners, including leaders in science, policy, government, and law to collaborate on strategies for facilitating the natural inland migration of coastal wetlands.
Catch the King Newsletter
Sign up here for news about the Guinness World Record-holding event!