Conservation - NOAA Coastal Services Center

Training Concepts
In Practice

Coastal managers in Maryland recognize the connection between conserving ecologically important lands and protecting human communities from storm surge, erosion, and sea level rise and therefore incorporated climate change considerations into existing conservation priorities. After developing a statewide ecological network using methods taught in the GIS Tools for Strategic Conservation Planning course, they conducted additional spatial analyses that identified high-priority wetland conservation areas for sea level rise adaptation. Read more.

Learn about Maryland’s initial considerations as it worked through this process and the geospatial best practices they incorporated to identify wetland conservation priorities for climate adaptation.

More data, tools, and training for conservation planning

More conservation success stories “In Action”

An effective climate adaptation strategy

Helping coastal communities become more resilient in the face of climate change and other hazards requires strategic and holistic planning. Incorporating coastal conservation as a climate adaptation strategy increases resilience by sustaining important ecosystem services, including flood storage, storm surge buffers, erosion control, water quality maintenance, and wildlife habitat.

The NOAA Coastal Services Center provides spatial data, analysis and visualization tools, and trainings that communities need to successfully incorporate conservation priorities into their community planning processes.