Resilient Coastal Wetlands and Communities Workshop Proceedings
States and their constituent coastal communities recognize that wetlands are a critical environmental component of community resilience because of the beneficial ecosystem services they provide. One such service—the ability to protect adjacent upland areas by mitigating the impacts of storms and floods—is of growing interest and importance to communities facing extreme events of greater frequency and intensity, especially where human-made buffers are too costly or less desirable for ecological or social reasons. Other ecosystem services, such as water purification, provision of fish and wildlife habitat, and carbon sequestration, are also of great value to community and regional stakeholders.
The Resilient Coastal Wetlands and Communities Workshop (24-25 May 2022) brought together USEPA researchers along with a host of other partners and stakeholders virtually, for a cross-organizational and cross-regional exploration of three scientific themes: characterizing and measuring wetlands resilience; adapting management to support wetlands resilience; and linking wetlands resilience to the health and resilience of coastal communities, including those that are overburdened and underserved. The workshop focused on efforts in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, but the tools, approaches, and lessons learned are relevant nationally. This Workshop Proceedings synthesizes the results of the workshop presentations and interactive audience discussions. The aim was to generate and share new information and opportunities that will further advance our collective understanding of how to protect and boost the resilience of our coastal wetlands, and the communities that depend on them.