Photo courtesy of CCRM/VIMS

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coastal Management  recently awarded a nearly $835,000 Coastal Resilience Grant to the Center for Coastal Resources Management (CCRM) at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). The award is matched by existing funds from partners at VIMS, the College of William & Mary Coastal Policy Center, and Wetlands Watch to bring the project total to more than $1.25 million.

The new funding will allow the team to develop science-based tools to guide coastal planners in restoring, protecting or creating natural infrastructure- including tidal wetlands and living shorelines. CCRM Director, Carl Hershner, explains, “The project will help us identify natural features that are providing, or could provide, benefits for localities by increasing resilience to storms, improving water quality, providing public access and recreation opportunities, and meeting requirements for credits under a variety of programs like the National Flood Insurance Program.” Dr. Hershner continues, “We will be generating guidance for each of the Virginia’s localities on finding and/or creating nature-based features within their jurisdictions and the methods for obtaining credit for these efforts.”

Mark Luckenbach, VIMS’ Associate Dean of Research and Advisory Services, said the grant will enable them to inventory resources and coastal flood risks in the coastal zone, develop designs and identify co-benefits of using “natural and nature-based features to build resilience to flooding.”

In addition to the funding partners mentioned above, VIMS will collaborate with Albermarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership and several state agencies.