Coastal managers are, in many cases, the real heroes of this story. They are making a difference in many parts of our coasts to protect and restore our coastlines.

The National Wildlife Federation hopes the data and maps provided on these reports will help coastal managers even more to make that difference.

NWF knows that many coastal managers are already accounting for global warming impacts in their coastal plans. We recommend the following:

1. Account for global warming in habitat restoration efforts – it is important that projects be prioritized based on vulnerability to sea level rise. By restoring diverse habitat types, this will help as habitat shifts. Addressing upstream stressors that affect sedimentation can also help protect estuarine habitats.
2. Explicitly consider climate uncertainties - projections of future climate will always be accompanied by some degree of uncertainty, but this should not be an excuse for inaction. The risk of global warming necessitates a precautionary approach, much like that applied to anticipating flood hazards.
3. Incorporate sea-level rise in coastal development – To anticipate sea-level rise, we should discourage development in coastal hazard areas, move or abandon shoreline infrastructure, preserve ecological buffers to allow inland habitat migration, and enhance shoreline protection recognizing the negative consequences for shoreline habitat.

Download the:

• Pacific Northwest Sea Level Rise Report PDF (2.2 Mb file size)
• Chesapeake Bay and Global Warming Report PDF (1.7 Mb file size)