Hurricane Sandy Resiliency Science Projects

The North Atlantic LCC is working with the Department of the Interior, its bureaus, and the broader conservation community to coordinate Hurricane Sandy resiliency science projects, identify science needs and help guide future restoration investments. This includes a portion of Interior’s recently announced $162 million investment in 45 projects throughout the region impacted by Sandy, as well as science projects funded previously by DOI.

As part of the Hurricane Sandy resiliency effort, the North Atlantic LCC is coordinating projects to develop decision-support tools for understanding future impacts of sea-level rise and storms – along with other predicted effects of climate change and urban growth – on beach and tidal wetland areas throughout the coastal region impacted by Hurricane Sandy. These projects will include evaluating the effectiveness of restoration, management and protection strategies for increasing the resiliency of beach and marsh habitats and species; and ensuring that results and decision-support tools are made available for use by DOI, other federal agencies, states and local communities. The LCC will work with DOI Bureaus, the Northeast Climate Science Center, coastal states, tribes, NGOs and university partners.

The North Atlantic LCC is also coordinating a collaborative, region-wide Hurricane Sandy resiliency project to prioritize efforts to increase the resiliency of road stream crossings to future floods while restoring fish passage. This critical need was demonstrated dramatically in a series of extreme weather events hitting the Northeast in recent years including Tropical Storms Irene and Lee and Hurricane Sandy that washed out roads throughout the northeast. The LCC will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries program and a broad group of collaborators from the conservation, transportation, and state and municipal planning sectors on a regional science-based approach to prioritize restoration and replacements of culverts for both resiliency and fish passage.

Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency projects have been organized into topic areas. Click the links below to explore the projects.