With their strategic plans in place for the next five years, Maryland coastal resource managers are moving from planning for climate change impacts to implementing adaptation measures.
What they are finding so far is that implementing these measures is not requiring drastic changes. In fact, in many cases, climate change is just a new element to be added into activities that are already underway.
The lesson from coastal managers in Maryland—and around the country—is that often, by adjusting the focus of a program or project slightly, the impacts of climate change can be included in work that is already being done. You can read more about Maryland’s climate change planning and implementation efforts in the cover story of this edition of Coastal Services.
Also in this edition, you can read about an interactive
online mapping tool using new technology that is helping coastal resource
managers in Ohio share information on the resources that may play a role in
the placing of offshore wind turbines in Lake Erie.
Other articles look at how enlarging the group of collaborators working on marine debris in South Carolina has helped raise public awareness of the problem, led to better reporting tools, and expanded the state’s cleanup efforts, and how Washington state coastal resource managers are encouraging residents to take photographs during high winter tide events to build public awareness of the likely effects of sea level rise.
While this and every edition of Coastal Services are aimed at helping coastal managers around the country share information about successful programs and projects, the best way to communicate information is still face-to-face.
Coastal Zone 2011—one of the best opportunities to learn from the experiences of coastal managers from across the nation and around the world—is being held July 17 to 21 in Chicago.
This year’s conference will include plenary sessions, technical presentations, special panel discussions, café conversations, poster sessions, field trips, and training opportunities. For more information on the Coastal Zone conference, go to www.doi.gov/initiatives/CZ11/index.htm.
I look forward to seeing you
there!
-- Margaret A. Davidson
