Update from Kate – Marin County Secures Grants to Address Local Sea-Level Rise Impacts

UPDATE FROM KATE

 

County of Marin Secures Grants to Address

Sea-Level Rise in Marin’s Local Bay and Shoreline Communities

 

The County of Marin received two major State Coastal Conservancy grants totaling $415,000 to support a countywide sea-level rise vulnerability assessment for Marin’s bay shoreline and conceptual designs on wetland restoration at Bolinas Lagoon.

 

The Conservancy authorized the disbursement of nearly $2 million dollars for “climate ready” projects that sequester greenhouse gases or address the effects of climate change on coastal resources. “My Southern Marin Sea Level Rise Pilot study, bringing together local residents for an initial vulnerability assessment culminating in a community workshop on November 1, 2014, helped underscore Marin’s readiness to engage with the challenges climate change will bring,” said Supervisor Kate Sears. “We are grateful for this funding which will help Marin move forward to lay the necessary groundwork for countywide climate readiness and resilience.” 

 

The bay shoreline project, called Marin Bay Waterfront Adaptation Vulnerability Evaluation (aka Marin Bay WAVE), will engage staff in the County’s Community Development Agency (CDA) and Department of Public Works, municipal jurisdictions along the bay, elected officials and the public to develop action plans to address sea-level rise. The $250,000 grant from the State Coastal Conservancy will help CDA map areas expected to experience temporary flooding as well as permanent inundation in the future.

 

In addition, the Marin County Open Space District will receive a $165,000 grant to develop conceptual designs for restoration of 25-35 acres of wetlands at the north end of Bolinas Lagoon on Marin’s coast. Along with another $325,000 grant awarded to the Marin Resource Conservation District for a study on greenhouse gas emission reduction on North Bay farms, Marin County secured more than one-third of the conservancy’s statewide “climate ready” grant funding.

 

For further information on the County of Marin’s various sea-level rise projects, please contact Leslie Alden at Supervisor Kate Sears’ office at lalden@marincounty.org or (415) 473-7331 or Jack Liebster, Planning Manager of the Community Development Agency at jliebster@marincounty.org.