Session 4B: Putting Coastal Resilience into Action

June 12
12:45 - 2:15 pm

Chesapeake Salon EF

Maryland's Plan to Adapt to Saltwater Intrusion and Salinization
Jason Dubow
Maryland Department of Planning

The Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) will present an overview of the 2019 Maryland's Plan to Adapt to Saltwater Intrusion and Salinization and the needs identified through that effort. Under Chapter 628 of the 2018 Laws of Maryland, the Maryland General Assembly tasked MDP to “establish a plan to adapt to saltwater intrusion,” in consultation with the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources, Environment and Agriculture, by Dec. 15, 2019, and to update the plan at least once every five years. To obtain guidance regarding the plan, MDP established and led a state agency workgroup, which included the Departments of Natural Resources (including the Maryland Geological Survey), Environment, and Agriculture, as well as the University of Maryland, including the Center for Environmental Science, Maryland Sea Grant, and the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology.

Using new wetland adaptation areas to prioritize conservation in Maryland
Sara Coleman
Department of Natural Resources

As sea level rises, coastal wetlands must either accrete vertically or have space to migrate landward, otherwise they risk being drowned. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is employing a new run of the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) to identify areas critical for wetland migration and adaptation over the next century. A host of new data layers and visualizations from this model can aid in targeting and prioritizing land conservation. In particular, the Department is focused on developing coastal resilience easements that allow for transition of coastal habitats and provide key community protection from flooding and storms. Implementing this land protection tool will involve coordination within the Department and with local land trusts, county planners, nonprofits, and private landowners. This presentation will review some of the new data available for Maryland and provide a summary of coastal resilience easement goals.

Stewarding Salt-Impacted Protected Lands
Larisa Prezioso* & Frank Deuter**
*Eastern Shore Land Conservancy
**Lower Shore Land Trust

Conservation easements, though protected in perpetuity, remain vulnerable to climate change impacts such as saltwater intrusion, sea level rise, and land loss. In the context of perpetual stewardship after a property is protected, stewards are often faced with both documenting the changes in these landscapes and maintaining the relationships with the property owners of these changing lands. Land stewards from Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and Lower Shore Land Trust will share their experiences in monitoring and documenting the changes of protected lands experiencing saltwater intrusion, interactions with coastal landowners, and restoration or alternative agricultural practices landowners have begun to adopt in the face of these changes.

Resilient Protection Frameworks: Using Traditional Land Protection Tools for Climate Adaptation
Joseph Galarraga
The Nature Conservancy

With sea-level rise threatening critical coastal habitat, socioeconomically important land use practices, and heritage landscapes across the Chesapeake Bay, land protection protocols must change to accommodate the impacts of climate change and to promote coastal resilience. Traditionally, land protection tools such as conservation easements and land management plans have been used to protect natural features from development and incompatible land use in perpetuity. However, the fixed nature of these tools does not allow for adaptive land management, which poses a problem under climate change conditions that are projected to dramatically alter the landscape in Maryland. The Nature Conservancy MD/DC has been working closely with land protection practitioners, coastal scientists, landowners, farmers, and other interested parties to re-imagine how land protection might work in the future on Maryland’s coasts via the Resilient Protection Frameworks (RPF) project. Through the development of climate adaptive easements and land management plans, to the exploration of financing and institutionalizing structures, to in-depth qualitative research with landowners and farmers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the project team has gained several insights into the viability of re-envisioning land protection with climate change considerations. In this presentation, the presenter will review the processes associated with the development of the RPF, and landowner/user perspectives on the feasibility of widespread scaling of such protocols.