The Strengthening Coastal Communities Resilience in the Great Lakes Closing Workshop was held to facilitate collaborative partnerships between local community leaders in Great Lakes communities to catalyze the implementation of resilience strategies that address unique local challenges and improve the management of coastal resources. Participating communities included: City of New Baltimore, MI; City of St. Clair Shores, MI; Minnesota Point, Duluth, MN; and Wayne County, NY. The workshop brought these communities together with a cadre of leaders in the field of coastal management. It was an opportunity to close out planning processes the communities had undertaken over the previous year and a half in partnership with the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM), in partnership with the American Planning Association (APA), the Coastal States Organization (CSO) and the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network via Wisconsin Sea Grant, with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Discussions delved into risk communication and outreach, funding nature based projects, zoning and regulations in the Great Lakes, vulnerability assessments, and scenario and action planning. The event was hosted by ASFPM, in partnership with APA, CSO, and Wisconsin Sea Grant, with funding from the NFWF.

Workshop Materials

• Event agenda

  

SPOTLIGHT: Carrying out successful public outreach campaigns around shoreline and floodplain management best practices

New York Sea Grant has created the Lake Ontario Shoreline Resident Information folders, which are distributed to new residents to give them a sense of what living in a Great Lake shoreline entails. The session will go over each part of the folders and how they were created, printed, and distributed. Workshop participants will then discuss how they might modify to align with their community outreach needs.

• Megan Cochran, Great Lakes Outreach Coordinator, New York Sea Grant | Presentation Slides

  

PRESENTATION: Funding opportunities and proposal development

This session will explore funding opportunities that align with the goals and projects identified by each community. It will also discuss what makes a successful Nature Based Solution project application and tips and tricks for getting your project funded.

• Funding Nature-Based Solutions through FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program | Presentation Slides
  • Emily Donahoe, Policy Specialist, Resilient Coasts and Floodplains, National Wildlife Federation

• Funding Resilience | Presentation Slides
  • John Ryan Henry, Senior Policy Analyst, Coastal States Organization

  

MOBILE TOUR: Ford Cove Shoreline Habitat Restoration project

The mobile tour will explore the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House’s Ford Cove Shoreline Habitat Restoration project as well as other nature-based solutions and native prairie and wetland habitats on the property. The shoreline restoration project will soften the shoreline, from its current hardened infrastructure state, and improve the nearshore habitat, coastal marsh, and inland wetland habitats along a one-mile stretch of Lake St. Clair.

• Karl Koto, Director of Landscapes & Project Manager, Ford House
• Kevin Drotos, New Projects Manager, Ford House

  

MOBILE TOUR: Brandenburg Park Shoreline and Habitat Restoration project

The Brandenburg Park Shoreline and Habitat Restoration project restored 740 linear feet of shoreline along Lake St. Clair, along with 1.5 acres of shoreline and aquatic habitat. The project involved removing a degrading seawall and implementing a combination of shoreline stabilization methods. The project also improved community access to the waterfront along Lake St. Clair in Michigan.

• Amanda Oparka, Senior Planner, Parks and Natural Resources Team, Macomb County

  

PRESENTATION: Zoning and regulatory approaches to coastal resilience

This session will explore the current coastal regulations that Great Lakes states have in place, focusing on the states in which the four participating communities reside. It will then delve into local ordinances, ways to improve them, and barriers to improvement, before focusing on public trust doctrine and legal challenges to higher standards in the Great Lakes.

• Zoning and Regulatory Approaches to Coastal Resilience | Presentation Slides
  • Richard Norton, Professor of Urban & Regional Planning, Professor of Program in the Environment, University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
  • Rewa Phansalkar, Research and Outreach Specialist, New York State Water Resources Institute, Cornell University

  

SPOTLIGHT: Coastal and Floodplain Management in Michigan

Michigan is surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, and its coast ranges from sandy beaches and dunes to rocky cliffs and bluffs to coastal wetlands. With the responsibility of supporting the management of the coastline and floodplains of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy supports communities as they work to identify and implement creative, adaptive solutions to flooding, lake level changes, and associated climate change issues. This panel conversation will explore Michigan’s coastal and floodplain management philosophies and programs.

• Coastal and Floodplain Management in Michigan | Key Presentation Links
  • Dave Schuberg, Coastal Habitat Coordinator, Coastal Management Program, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
  • Donna Cervelli, P.E., CFM, Floodplain Engineer, Voluntary Wetlands Restoration Program, Michigan EGLE

  

  

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