Great Lakes communities are experiencing escalated threats from extreme flooding and erosion due to fluctuating lake levels, increased severity of storms, and other climate impacts.This presentation will provide an overview of two programs that provide technical support and capacity building to such municipalities: the Initiative for Resilient Great Lakes Coasts, funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and implemented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Great Lakes & St.Lawrence Cities Initiative, and the Resilient Coastal Projects Initiative, funded largely by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and administered by the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. Both programs engage communities across the region to advance coastal resilience projects and build local capacity to incorporate nature-based solutions. Program leads will share program models and municipal engagement approaches, and program partners will present nature-based designs and their co-benefits within the context of select projects. As many of these projects begin to conclude and/or move onto future phases, presenters will be able to share some of these communities’ most prominent challenges and opportunities. In the event the symposium allows for multiple sessions on this topic, another 15-30 minutes would be dedicated to detailed project examples across the Great Lakes coast.
