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Deal Island Marsh & Community Project   March 2016, Volume 5

 

The Integrated Coastal Resiliency Assessment is Underway!

The Integrated Coastal Resiliency Assessment (ICRA) is a co-sponsored iniative led by the University of Maryland and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and funded through the Maryland SeaGrant College. The ICRA is bringing together scientific, technical, and local community knowledge and experience to assess how best to enhance the resilience of the Deal Island Peninsula. Building on the project's previous work, the ICRA will measure the potential and limitations of a range of adaptation and restoration strategies for reducing community and ecological vulnerabilities to coastal flooding, storms, and erosion. The assessment will focus on 5 highly vulnerable areas identified through stakeholders. For more information on the focus areas and ongoing activities, please visit the ICRA information page. 

 

 

ICRA Phase 1 Workshop and Community Conversation

On January 30th, stakeholders met at Rock Creek Church Hall in Chance for the first workshop of the Integrated Coastal Resiliency Assessment (ICRA). The workshop was convened to share future sea-level change scenarios with stakeholders, compare these maps with local knowledge of vulnerabilities, and use this information to prioritize areas for the ICRA initiative. At the workshop, Dr. Mike Scott (Eastern Shore GIS Coooperative - Salisbury University) gave a great presentation on the range of drivers propelling sea-level changes in the region and shared several sea-level change scenarios, which he generated using the HAZUS computer model. These scenarios showed what the Deal Island Peninsula is predicted to look like between now and 2050 under different storm conditions and sea-level changes.  After Dr. Scott's presentation, Sasha Land and Mike Paolisso led group discussions to identify 3-5 areas that stakeholders believed best fit a set of criteria developed by the Project Team for identifying vulnerable locations. At the end of the workshop, the breakout groups reconvened to come to agreement on five focus areas to target in future ICRA activities. 

 

Outcomes from this workshop were shared with the Deal Island Peninsula communities on February 3rd at a Community Conversation meeting, held at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church on Deal Island. Dr. Scott again presented the sea-level change information and scenarios. Participants were given the opportunity to review the five prioritized areas selected by stakeholders on January 30th, and provide feedback. The meeting was very well attended, and we received a lot of great input, which is being used to refine the boundaries of the five areas before the ICRA Phase 2 is started. Thanks again to all who participated in these workshops!

 <  Dr. Mike Scott presents sea-level change scenarios on January 30th to members of the Stakeholder Network

 

 

 

 

Potential focus areas selected at January 30th workshop 

for future ICRA

activities.  >

Upcoming Events and Activities:

 

Community Workshop: 

Learn about conservation landscaping, including tips on plant selection and how to create buffers along a shoreline or bulkhead. Hosted by Sasha Land (MD-DNR) and Jen Dindinger (Sea Grant Extension). More details coming soon!

  • When: April 16

  • Location: TBD site on the Deal Island Peninsula

 

 

 

Maryland SeaGrant Research Fellow joins the Project

Liz Van Dolah is an Anthropology PhD student at the University of Maryland-College Park, and will be joining the project for the next two years as a Maryland SeaGrant Research Fellow. As part of her Fellowship, she will be helping to facilitate the Integrated Coastal Resiliency Asessment (ICRA). Liz's research interests are in the ways that people use cultural heritage to respond to environmental changes. She is looking forward to learning more about the heritage of Deal Island through her work on the Project. In her spare time, Liz enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and sailing. 

Maryland SeaGrant is a service organization at the University of Maryland that funds research, education, and outreach to support healthy, viabrant communities and ecosystems throughout the state of Maryland. Maryland SeaGrant is currently supporting the ICRA iniative on the Deal Island Peninsula. Visit Maryland SeaGrant to learn more.

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