Climate Adaptation in the Hudson River Estuary

In This Issue:

• New 2021-2025 HREP Action Agenda
• Native American Heritage Month
• Upcoming Events
• NYS Climate Resilience Leadership
• New Climate Smart Communities
• Funding
• New Resources
• News Roundup

New 2021-2025 Action Agenda

Our Climate Team will lead the Climate-adaptive Communities benefit. The Action Agenda will guide the climate team to complete the following measures of success:

• By 2025, 100 new Climate Smart Communities (CSC) adaptation and resilience actions have been completed that increase adaptive capacity and physical climate resilience. 
• By 2025, 10 communities have completed Climate-Adaptive Design Phase I (Engaged Studio), or a similar process, and 5 have completed Phase II (Design Advancement). 
• By 2025, 27 (10%) local governments are working together in the Flood Resilience Network.
• By 2025, 100% of new adaptation plans include natural and nature-based solutions and consider social equity factors, and are developed using inclusive engagement best practices. 

Native American Heritage Month

November was Native American Heritage Month, a month dedicated to recognizing the significant contributions Indigenous peoples have made to protect our shared environment. From advocacy efforts to protect the Allegheny River from pollution and construction of the Onondaga Nation’s new eco-friendly firehouse, to the removal of a dam blocking fish migration up the Saint Regis River, Indigenous Nations have been instrumental in advancing critical environmental initiatives.  

For example, earlier this year, in recognition of the Seneca Nation’s sovereignty, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the Nation’s application to assume regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in a manner similar to a state, enabling the Nation to implement its own water quality standards and certification programs, as well as participate in CWA grant programs. With this designation, the Seneca Nation has begun to develop and establish water quality standards and certify federal permits and license uses for surface waters within and upstream from Nation territories.

To show respect for our Indigenous neighbors, DEC is actively supporting the process of renaming agency-managed resources. These include Skenoh Island, in Canandaigua Lake and Ganowtachgerage Road in Hammond Hill State Forest. DEC welcomes public input on additional changes to location names. Please email justice@dec.ny.gov with suggestions. 

https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/or visit DEC’s Native American Heritage Month webpage.

Upcoming Events

Cornell Climate-adaptive Design Studio Open House

December 13, 2021, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. 

The Climate-adaptive Design (CaD) Studio is a program led by Professor Joshua Cerra, Cornell University Landscape Architecture Department, in partnership with the DEC Hudson River Estuary Program. This semester's CaD Studio was hosted by the City of Poughkeepsie. The landscape architecture students will be presenting their design strategies for a more connected, climate-adapted Poughkeepsie waterfront at the December 13th Open House event. Join us (virtually) to reimagine possibilities of the Poughkeepsie waterfront! 

Register now.

20th Annual Alfred B. DelBello Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference

December 6 – 9, 2021

PACE University's Land Use Law Center is pleased to announce the 20th annual Alfred B. DelBello Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference. Scheduled for December 6 - 9, 2021, this year’s conference theme is Rx for Land Use Reform: Meeting the Challenge in a Time of Crisis.This conference will explore how to meet the growing challenges of public health: climate change and resiliency, housing insecurity, and racial discrimination.

Register now.

American Society of Adaptation Professionals

December 7, 2021, 12 p.m.-3 p.m.

Hear about the climate in-migration methodologies developed through the New York State Climate Migration Methodology Accelerator, learn about potential migration into and out of the Great Lakes region and throughout New York State, and have an opportunity to network with other participants and experts in the field.

Register now.

NYS Climate Resilience Leadership

• Governor Hochul announced award of $1.5 million in grants for 39 projects in the Hudson Valley that will protect communities from future flooding, enhance river access and education, and promote environmental stewardship. These grants will be administered by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. 
• Governor Hochul announced launch of a collaborative multi-year study to explore how climate change affects New York State communities, ecosystems, and the economy. The research will be led by NYSERDA in partnership with academic institutions, science organizations, community leaders, and industry representatives, among others. 
• Shorna B. Allred, a conservation social scientist at Cornell University, has developed participatory partnerships to bind together community stakeholders in the face of adversity. Strong social ties build resilience. Allred has collaborated with researchers as a part of R2G Binghamton to study the role that social capital plays in building resilience.

Congratulations to the Newly Certified Climate Smart Communities in our Region!

Capital District 

• Albany County (bronze) 

Mid-Hudson 

• Village of Ardsley (bronze) 
• Town of Gardiner (bronze) 
• Village of Hastings-on-Hudson (recertified silver) 
• Town of New Castle (bronze)
• City of Poughkeepsie (bronze) 
• Town of Poughkeepsie (bronze)
• Town of Woodstock (recertified bronze)

Funding

• The NYS Water Resources Institute, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, is making funds available to New York State researchers for projects that support water resource management, policy, and outreach in New York.
• The fiscal year 2021 (FY 2021) application period for the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program and the new Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant programs will open on Sept. 30, 2021, and close at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 28, 2022. 
• The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is pleased to announce the release of the Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund 2021 Request for Proposals (RFP). This funding comes directly from the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, (PL 117-43) to support projects that increase the resilience of wildlife habitat and coastal communities impacted by hurricanes and wildfires in 2020 and 2021. Under the same authorities as NFWF’s National Coastal Resilience Fund, NFWF will award approximately $24 million in grants through this RFP for practices that help restore wetlands, build living shorelines, improve hydrologic flow, reduce hazardous fuels, and generally enhance natural systems. There will also be an applicant webinar offered on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 3-4 p.m. ET. Register now.

New Resources

Greening (In)Equitably: Visions, Processes, and Distributions for Green Infrastructure in US Cities

On Thursday, October 14, 2021, featured speaker Zbigniew J. Grabowski, PhD presented Greening (In)Equitably: Visions, Processes, and Distributions for Green Infrastructure in US Cities. Zbigniew J. Grabowski, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and Visiting Scholar at The Urban Systems Lab at The New School. A recording of the talk is available on the Hudson River Watershed Alliance’s YouTube channel. Ongoing debates over the equity of green infrastructure (GI) programs often focus on the distribution and benefits of the investments. Mr. Grabowski and colleagues reviewed over 120 GI plans from twenty US cities to evaluate definitions of equity, procedural equity, and strategies to influence distributional equity.

NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program Annual Conference: Waterway Stories Water Quality, Access and Community

On November 15 - 18, members of the community, non-profits, academia, and local, state and federal government were invited to talk about water quality and how it affects our lives and our community. How should we encourage equitable and safe waterfront access? How do we best communicate about risk? View the recordings of the conference on the HEP website.

DEIJ Resource Flowchart

The SCA Hudson Valley Corps Environmental Leadership Institute Class of 2021 created this series of interactive flowcharts (screenshot below) to help anyone find their path in unlearning racism. Some of the topics introduced in the flow charts include racism in the environmental movement, what it means to be anti-racist, why it is important to engage in anti-racism as environmentalists, and how to start to implement change in different fields. The flowcharts have clickable text and photos that send you to different kinds of resources which vary in intensity.

Research: Andrew Bechdel, Grace Brennen, Zarria Brown, Olga Iwaniuk, Jesenia Laureano, Juliet Linzmeier ,Abigail Natelson, James Newport, Alexa Maione, Helena Mazurek, Andrew Meashaw, Anna Pirkey, Audrey Trossen

Design: Jesenia Laureano

First Street Foundation Community Level Flood Resilience Report

First Street Foundation publishes community level flood resilience report. This new research highlights the cities and counties across the US who have experienced flood risk to their residential properties, roads, commercial properties, and social and critical infrastructure. View the report online.

Central Climate Sea-Level Rise Modeling

Climate Central is pleased to announce the release of CoastalDEM® v2.1, a near-global digital elevation model for ocean coastal areas. CoastalDEM v2.1 has substantially reduced bias and error scatter even compared to its predecessor, CoastalDEM v1.1, providing new, up-to-date sea-level rise models from the recent IPCC report, as well as the coastal elevation models.

NY Sea Grant Environmental Justice Mapping Tools Series

NY Sea Grant's new Environmental Justice Mapping Tools Guide highlights publicly available online tools to connect communities with data for exploring environmental justice locally.

News Roundup

• Rutgers Researchers have found that New Jersey tidal marshes are at risk of disappearing within the next century. The study provides insight on potential strategies to mitigate the loss of New Jersey’s marshes.
• In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Rebuild by Design asked 20 experts to provide practical policies and projects that protect communities from the effects of future storms. The group included experts in water management, regional planning, data, transportation, parks and open space, and more. 
• Indigenous communities and climate change: Cornell professor Karim-Aly S. Kassam works with Indigenous communities to address their concerns about the impacts of a changing environment on their communities. He reminds us, “We need to give the necessary respect to local, place-based Indigenous knowledge,” Kassam says. “And if we want to contribute to climate change adaptation strategies, we need to ask how the biophysical sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities can collaborate with that knowledge. We need to understand the relationship between ecological diversity and cultural diversity in specific contexts, whether in the Arctic, or in the mountains—or even in Manhattan.”  
• New York's future is very wet--the NYC Stormwater Resiliency Plan describes that NYC’s infrastructure is not prepared to deal with the climate-related crises to come. Read more about the plan online.
• A team of researchers in New Jersey from the DEP, Rutgers University, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and other environmental groups is working to harness local knowledge to map areas across the state that offer the largest value for net carbon sequestration, ecosystem health, and community resilience. The project, called the Coastal Ecological Restoration and Adaptation Plan, uses a bottom-up approach to identify key areas for restorative projects.
• COP26: The United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, was held in Glaslow. The conference brought together almost 200 countries to come to consensus on climate decision making. Hundreds of diplomats gathered, and struggled to come to consensus. Here are some key takeaways.
• The EPA released a report on Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States. 
• A new partnership between the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Center for Native Peoples and the Environment and the Nature Conservancy will serve as a bridge between traditional ecological knowledge and Western scientific approaches. 
• New York State is set to reap upwards of $170 billion after the House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. The Senate passed the bipartisan bill back in August, but the legislation had been stalled for months in the lower chamber as progressive and moderate Democrats haggled over the details.
• The state Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced new guidance for the insurance industry, directing New York insurers to take climate risks into account in making business decisions, and setting forth expectations for what that should look like.

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