January 2, 2008

Land Use, Habitat, and Hazards Top List of Coastal Management Priorities

Land use, habitat, and coastal hazards have emerged as the top three priorities for coastal resource managers, according to the recent report: “Strengthening the Application of Science in Coastal Decision Making.” The report is the product of a collaboration of the Coastal States Organization (CSO), the Coastal States Stewardship Foundation (CSSF), and the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET).

The report is based on multiple surveys, focus groups, and workshops conducted in coastal regions around the United States. The results of these initiatives have been compiled into this document for the coastal resource management community and the agencies that support it. A synopsis of findings and recommendations related to coastal land use, hazards, and habitat is presented below.

Land Use Habitat Coastal Hazards

Land use
Land use decisions have a profound impact on the environmental and economic sustainability of coastal areas. To address the challenges of land use change, coastal managers have identified a range of needs, including research to determine the ecological impacts and cumulative effects of land use decisions, and the appropriate thresholds for development; information to assess land use change and analyze trends; and technology to support research and information gathering.

Recommended Actions:

Enhance monitoring programs to assess land use change over time and characterize the impacts of stressors: Agencies with responsibilities in this area should enhance existing monitoring programs and technology; establish new programs to synthesize and assess data as needed; and standardize methodology to ensure consistency from one jurisdiction or geographic area to the next.

Develop decision-support models to assess the ecological and economic consequences of prospective land use change: The scientific community should develop “application ready” models for broad use.

Establish development thresholds (e.g., type, density, location) based on monitoring, modeling, and related scientific data: Public officials with land use decision-making authority should draw on available data to establish model guidance, ordinances, and regulations to inform decisions.

Habitat
The ecological integrity and economic viability of coastal areas are affected by decreasing biodiversity; the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat; and the establishment of invasive species. Consequently, ecosystem protection, restoration, and sustainable use practices are essential for the effective management of coastal habitats. The report identifies a range of needs related to habitat management, including research to identify existing/prospective degradation problems and prioritize restoration efforts; information that identifies habitat type, documents change, and analyzes trends; and technology that supports low cost, long-term research and information gathering.

Recommended Actions:

Collect information to characterize coastal habitat types, identify stressors and associated impacts, and document change over time: Data-gathering agencies should maintain and enhance monitoring programs with techniques such as aerial photography, high resolution remote sensing, and hyperspectral imagery. Such programs require long-term financial support, and legislators responsible for authorizing such programs should be apprised of their economic and environmental benefits.

Develop and implement methodologies to characterize habitat change, assess impacts, and prioritize restoration efforts: A strategic, cost-effective approach to coastal habitat restoration is essential in a time of growing needs, limited budgets, and competing priorities. All parties that support habitat assessment and its application to coastal management should invest in, develop, and apply such methodologies.

Coastal Hazards
Coastal hazards vary from short-term, localized events, such as extreme storms, to long-term global phenomena such as climate change and sea level rise. To safeguard their communities, coastal managers need to anticipate, prevent, and mitigate coastal hazards at every scale. The needs identified related to coastal hazards include research to model the effects of coastal hazards, improve responses to shoreline erosion, and evaluate the impacts of restoration; information in the form of shoreline/wetland mapping, and baseline data on current conditions and the impacts of coastal hazard events; and technology in the form of high resolution bathymetry.

Recommended Actions:

Develop, modify, and apply models to the range of coastal hazard challenges confronting state coastal managers: The science community, in collaboration with funding agencies, should strengthen the existing model toolkit with an emphasis on sediment transport and accretion/erosion, plumes within harbors; dredging impacts, and shoreline/ coastal wetlands changes over time. Such models should be integrated into decision-making processes.

Collect baseline data through ongoing coastal hazard monitoring programs: Public agencies should establish or enhance monitoring programs with an emphasis on topography and bathymetry (LIDAR) mapping, coastal wetlands mapping, and baseline data collection. This is essential to support model development and application, and to inform state coastal manager decisions. Funding entities should provide enhanced support for such programs.

Establish methodologies to improve the development, application, and evaluation of coastal hazard programs: State and federal coastal management officials should employ decision support tools to ensure that responses to coastal hazard events are timely, efficient, and cost-effective. Such tools are essential to audit ongoing restoration activities and to make informed adaptive management decisions. The science community should strengthen its role in the development of such tools and, similarly, funding entities should embrace this as a priority.

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