Slide 1Overview of Hudson River Sustainable Shorelines Project
Introduce shoreline management challenges & ecosystem services
Describe HR shoreline adaptation project
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Sea Level Rise Estimates for New York City*
- By 2020s: 2-5” (5-10”**)
- By 2050s: 7-12” (19-29”)
- By 2080s: 12-23” (41-55”)
* Climate Risk Information, New York City Panel on Climate Change (original source: Columbia Center for Climate Systems Research)
** Rapid ice-melt scenario – based on acceleration of recent rates of ice melt in the Greenland and west Antarctica ice sheets
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Hudson River Tidal Shorelines
How will we manage shorelines & erosion in the future?
Harden to reduce erosion?
Effects on Adjacent Habitats
NRC and CICEET Roles
National Research Council (NRC) - Committee on Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts
Cooperative Institute on Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET) – Request for Proposals $$
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
CICEET’s 3 Key Questions
Determine the tradeoffs in ecosystem services that arise from land use management, shoreline hardening, and vegetative approaches to erosion control.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Ecosystem Services
Nature’s contributions to human well-being
See February 2009 issue of Ecological Society of America’s Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
General Ecosystem Services of
Dave Strayer. 2008. Ecology of freshwater shore zones, unpublished.
Shore zones are among the most ecologically valuable on the planet, but have been heavily damaged.
Ecosystem attributes: Boundary between land and water, Zone of energy dissipation; Highly heterogeneous; A dispersal corridor
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
CICEET’s 3 Key Questions
2. Determine the short- and long-term costs of different erosion prevention measures, using long-term forecasts of erosion control performance in the context of sea level rise.
3. Transfer new knowledge and tools to relevant stakeholders.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Short and Long-term Cost Calculations
Forecast erosion control performance in context of sea level rise scenarios
Consider broad array of costs:
Capital and operating costs
Impacts on public uses
Impacts on ecosystem services
Engage Key Stakeholders and Shoreline Decision-Makers
Property owners
Geographic Scope
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Collaborative Process
Formal structure of teams with clear roles
Consensus process
Link to Regional Climate Change Adaptation Initiatives
NYS Sea Level Rise Task Force
Rising Waters
NYSERDA initiatives
Others TBD
Challenges
Complex array of incentives, disincentives, policies and other factors guide erosion control
Diverse stakeholders
Climate change unknowns
Opportunity!
Excellent team and partners
Betsy Blair
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
(845) 889-4745 x113