Climate Resiliency
Goal
Increase the resiliency of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including its living resources, habitats, public infrastructure and communities, to withstand adverse impacts from changing environmental and climate conditions.
Importance
Changing climatic and sea level conditions may alter the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and human activities, requiring adjustment to policies, programs and projects to successfully achieve our restoration and protection goals. This challenge requires careful monitoring and assessment of these impacts and application of this knowledge to policies, programs and projects.
Outcomes
Climate Monitoring and Assessment
Monitoring and assessing changing climatic conditions and trends are vital parts of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s climate resiliency goal. Documenting changes in sea level, precipitation patterns, water temperature and the resulting ecosystem response will inform the development and prioritization of on-the-ground projects and program management.- Outcome:
- Continually monitor and assess the trends and likely impacts of changing climatic and sea level conditions on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, including the effectiveness of restoration and protection policies, programs and projects.
- Lead Workgroup:
- Scientific, Technical Assessment and Reporting (STAR)
- Management Strategy:
- Climate Mgt Strategy FINAL updated 2023 04 04 submit 2023 04 19 020021 ttio [PDF, 2.0 MB]
- Strategy Review System Update:
- Narrative | Presentation
- Archived Strategy Review System Documents:
- View Archived Strategy Review System Documents
Climate Adaptation
To increase the climate resiliency of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, it is important to consider changing climatic conditions in the pursuit, design, implementation and long-term maintenance of restoration and protection management practices. In some cases, this could mean using specific practices to address certain environmental needs, like restoring areas that would ease the inland migration of wetlands or planting vegetative buffers in areas that experience coastal floods. In other cases, it could involve factoring climatic conditions and sea level rise into the design of on-the-ground restoration work.- Outcome:
- Continually pursue, design, and construct restoration and protection projects to enhance the resiliency of Bay and aquatic ecosystems from the impacts of coastal erosion, coastal flooding, more intense and more frequent storms and sea-level rise.
- Lead Workgroup:
- Scientific, Technical Assessment and Reporting (STAR)
- Management Strategy:
- Climate Mgt Strategy FINAL updated 2023 04 04 submit 2023 04 19 020021 ttio [PDF, 2.0 MB]
- Strategy Review System Update:
- Narrative | Presentation
- Archived Strategy Review System Documents:
- View Archived Strategy Review System Documents