Angela  Larsen  Community  Resilience  Manager  

•  Engage  community  leaders  

•  Implement  adapta4on  strategies  

•  Secure  public  and  private  investments  

•  Communicate  benefits    

Mission    

 Conserve  and  restore  the  world's  largest  freshwater  resource  using  policy,  educa;on,  and  local  ac;ons.  

Vision  

   A  healthy  Great  Lakes  ecosystem  for  people  and  wildlife  forever.  

Resilient  Great  Lakes  Communi;es  

Connec;ng  Networks  Increases  Resilience  Co

mmun

ity  Networks  

Chan

ges    fo

r  Co

mmun

i;es  

Climate  and  stormwater  

•  More  variable  and  vola4le  weather  from  year  to  year  and  from  season  to  season  

•  More  extreme  weather  events,  such  as  storms  that  produce  more  than  one  inch  of  rain  in  24  hours  

Impa

ct  to

 Com

mun

i;es  

•  Residents’  quality  of  life  •  Community  leaders  ability  to  provide  services    

Key  to  Resilien

t  Com

mun

i;es  

– Understand  the  needs  of  the  community  

– Evaluate  the  impact  to  community  leaders’  ability  provide    needed  services    

– Community  leaders  come  together  to  develop,  priori4ze,  fund,  and  implement  prac4ces  

Case  Study  #1  

Climate  Adapta;on  IL  and  WI  Ravines  

Loca;on

 

Ravines  

!  Unique  coastal  habitat    !  Feed  directly  into  Lake  Michigan  !  Protects  drinking  water  quality    !  Provides  educa;onal  opportuni;es  

Partne

rs  

Alliance  for  the  Great  Lakes  

The  Field  Museum  

Delta  Ins;tute  

GLISA  

Lake  County  Forest  Preserves    

Openlands  

Technical  Com

miSee  

Openlands  

Lake  County  Forest  Preserves  

Lake  County  Stormwater  Management  Commission  

Northeast  Illinois  Invasive  Plant  Partnership    

Chicago  Botanic  Garden  

Illinois  Coastal  Management  Program  

 Park  District  of  Highland  Park  

Stakeh

olde

rs  

Over  30  addi;onal  public  land  managers    

•  IL:  munis,    park  districts,  researchers,  agencies,  non-­‐profits  

•  WI:  Milwaukee  County  Parks,  Schlitz  Audubon,  Root-­‐Pike  WIN  

Project  G

oals     1.   Iden;fy,  Assess  and  Implement  Ravine  

Adapta;on  Strategies  

•  Iden;fy  -­‐  climate  change  impacts/stressors  

•  Assess  -­‐  risks  posed  by  climate  change  

impacts  

•  Implement  -­‐  adapta4on  strategies  (e.g.  

project,  policies,  management  prac4ces)    

Project  G

oals  

2.   Strengthen  the  Community  of                  Ravine  Prac;;oners  

•  Facilitate    -­‐  a  process  by  which  members  collabora4vely  develop  ravine  adapta4on  strategies    

•  Communicate  –  importance  of  taking  ac4on  to  a    target  audiences  of  decision  makers  

•  Measure    -­‐  the  impacts  of  facilita4on  through  a  survey  and  network  mapping  

BEFORE  WE  ENGAGE  Design  an  itera4ve  engagement  strategy  to  achieve  the  goals  

Itera;ve  Engagement  Process  

June ’14 Stakeholders Meeting #1

May  ’14  Technical  CommiSee    Mee;ng  #1  

July ’14 Technical Committee Meeting #2

Aug ‘14 Technical Committee Meeting # 3 - FINAL

Sept ‘14 Stakeholders + Regional Networks in-person webinar

FIRST…  Establish  a  collec4ve  goal  

SECOND…  Ground  the  dialogue  in  adapta4on  terminology,  speak  the  same  language  

Exposure   Sensi4vity  

Poten4al    impact  

Adap4ve    capacity  

VULNERABILITY  

Concep

ts  

Resistance    -­‐  compensate  for  change,  hold  the  same  

Resilience  -­‐  remove  constraints  to  response,  promote  shiZs  

Transforma;on  -­‐  facilitate  change  to  a  new  state/system  

Moser  and  Ekstrom  2010  Biodiversity  whitepaper  –  Na4onal  Scale  (296  pages!)  

Concep

ts  

THEN…  Integrate  climate  data  into  the  local  adapta4on  planning  process  

•  Increase  temp:  AIR  

•  Increase  temp:  WATER  

•  Increase  soil  freeze-­‐thaw  cycles  

•  Increase  drought  stress  

•  Increase  lake  level  variability  

•  Increase  extreme  storm  events  

Iden

;fy  Clim

ate  Stressors  

•  Summary  establishes  a  locally  focused  narra4ve  of  exis4ng  climate  informa4on  –  Temperature,  Precipita4on  

–  Annual,  Seasonal  •  Relates  local  trends/projec4ons  

to  larger  regional  trends/projec4ons.    

•  Discussion  is  broken  into  two  4me  frames.  –  Historical  Observa4ons  –  Future  Projec4ons  

Ravine  Climate  Summary  

Observed  Changes  for  Ravines  Area  

Projected  Changes  for  Ravines  Area  

Main Points •  Spring warming least

but potential for greater localized warming in Ravine Area

•  Precipitation changes more complex –  Average increases

except for during summer

–  Summer = highly uncertainty " models predict increases and decreases

Air temperature increases

Water temperature increases

More extreme rain events

Increased summer/fall

drought stress

Increases in freeze/thaw episodes

Heat stress/range shifts

Increased surface water flow & flooding, headward erosion and run off

Increased inputs of nutrients, pollutants, and sediments; scouring of aquatic habitats

Damage to plant roots, increased erosion due to flooding & slumps

Reduced water flow to seeps, drying of ravine, stress on plants

Disruptions in species interactions, species losses, species invasions

More  variable  lake  

levels  –  low  years  

STRATEGIES…  Connect  impacts  to  ac4on    

How  to  refine  impacts  and  strategies?  Climate  Stressor   Possible  Impacts   Possible  Adapta;on  strategy  

Increased  extreme  storm  events  

•  increased  flashiness  and  surface  flow  

•  increased  freq  of  channel-­‐forming  events  

•  groundwater  loading  behind  bluffs  leading  to  bluff  failure  

•  changes  in  chemistry,  nutrient  load,  and  clarity  at  ravine/lake  junc4on    

•  *evaluate  stormwater  management  prac4ces  and  ordinances  to  ID  where  and  how  to  integrate  ways  to  protect  systems  and  divert  stormwater  from  ravines  

•   stabilize  side  tributaries  and  restore  main  channels  to  account  for  energy  generated  by  high  flows  that  occur  during  rainfalls  

IMPLEMENT!  Select  which  strategies  to  implement  

COMMUNICATE…  Further  transla4on  of  climate  impacts  in  a  way  that  resonates  locally  

Commun

ica;

on   Personalized  stories  built  on  narra;ves  

– Showcase  a  species  “poster  child”    

– Highlight  uniqueness  of  place    

– Illustrate  impacts  to  water  quality  and  Lake  Michigan  

– Economic  costs  of  proac4ve  vs.  reac4ve  approach,  and  increases  over  4me  

MEASURE…  Whether  facilita4on  and  collabora4on  lead  to  increased  implementa4on  

Measure  Im

pact   Survey  

Measure,  whether  par;cipa;on  increases  

•  knowledge    •  Implementa4on  

Iden;fy    

•  barriers  to  implementa4on    

•  which  key  members  are  connected  to  each  other  

Measure  Im

pact  

Network  Mapping  

•  Map  the  social  structure  

•  Iden4fy  links  /  rela4onships  •  Overlay  the  social  map  with  the  ecological  map  

•  Iden4fy  members  implemen4ng  and  changing  behaviors  

References  

•  Green  Works  for  Climate  Resilience:  A  Guide  to  Community  Planning  for  Climate  Change,  Na4onal  Wildlife  Federa4on,  Reeve  and  Kingston,  April  2014  

•  Being  Prepared  for  Climate  Change,  A  Workbook  for  Developing  Risk-­‐Based  Adapta;on  Plans,  Climate  Ready  Estuaries,  EPA  Office  of  Water,  DRAFT  saved:  9/19/2013  

•  Climate  Considera;ons,  for  Management  of  Natural  Areas  and  Green  Spaces  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  Derby  Lewis,  The  Field  Museum,  2013  

Connect  with  us!  

Angela  Larsen    alarsen@greatlakes.org    

       allianceforthegreatlakes  

       @a4gl  

Thank you