Collaboration Fills SAMP Toolbox in 2015

In 2015, significant strides took place to “fill” the State’s Rhode Island Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP) “toolbox” with policy recommendations and resources to help coastal communities adapt to flooding and erosion – key impacts of storms and sea level rise.

It’s a group effort: The Beach SAMP is a project of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and is facilitated by the University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center (URI CRC) and Rhode Island Sea Grant (Sea Grant) at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography. Crucial financial support for the Beach SAMP and related efforts has been provided by the federal and state governments, Sea Grant, the Rhode Island Foundation, the Prince Charitable Trusts, the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, and 11th Hour Racing.

The support has enabled the participation of many; Rhode Island municipalities, the private sector, non-government and community organizations, and citizens took part in 2015 in SAMP activities with a shared goal in mind – improve the collective, long-haul abilities of our coastal communities to withstand big storms like 2012’s “Superstorm” Sandy, and adjust or adapt to life on shifting coastline.

Trying Tools and Testing Adaptive Approaches

Since its start in 2013, the Beach SAMP has served as a major state platform for gathering the new science and data needed to accurately characterize Rhode Island’s complicated and changing coastline. The SAMP has also provided the means for the state and local communities to identify together the issues – sometimes shared, sometimes not – facing the municipalities.

In 2015, the project achieved a milestone – enabling the state and communities to start working with the science by testing tools and engaging in activities focused on policies and solutions for long-term adaptation planning:

1. Communities explore shared issues as well as place-specific needs and concerns: The Beach SAMP team took to the road in 2015, meeting with coastal Rhode Island municipalities to listen to their concerns with flooding and erosion, review new shoreline change maps and the scientific data backing them, and explore tailored opportunities to employ best practices and policy solutions. Additional collaboration and technical assistance took place via webinar, workshops, and public stakeholder meetings. Besides providing municipalities with tailored technical expertise, the “Beach SAMP Road Show” enabled the team to collect valuable input necessary for developing in 2016 the Beach SAMP document, the state’s key recommendations to communities adopting adaptation policy and practice.
2. Marine-based businesses take part in adaption activities to prepare for change: A stable private sector is important for community health, so a pilot project in Newport focused on helping marine-based businesses in and around Newport Harbor understand the threats of storms and sea level rise as well as the opportunities and challenges involved in protecting assets from damage. The Newport Resilience Assessment Tour (NRAT) spotlighted technical assistance from national experts who studied the facilities of participating businesses and recommended short- and long-term steps they could take to prepare for storms and sea level rise. The program received participant praise and encouraged a related effort — work with Rhode Island’s marina industry to develop a survey tool so these businesses can, on their own, assess their vulnerability and consider adaptation options. For both these groups, as well as the public, the team compiled a collection of adaptation techniques to serve as a useful guide.

3. New tool aids visualization of shoreline change problems and solutions: The Beach SAMP project helped support development of a data-driven mapping application, StormTOOLS™, publicly available at SITE, that illustrates storm flooding and sea level rise scenarios for Rhode Island coastal communities. In 2015, the Beach SAMP team used the tool at several events, such as the Volvo Ocean Race in May, to take people on complimentary “tours” of their neighborhoods or communities, examine how they are potentially vulnerable to flooding, and discuss resources for further exploring adaptation practice at home or work.

4. Communities eye green infrastructure for protection against rising water: Newport, North Kingstown and Warwick worked with the Beach SAMP team, courtesy of grant funding provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior/National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, to examine plausible options for putting nature-based flood flaunters – think strategically placed plantings, swales and absorbent ground cover, for instance – in coastal areas vulnerable to inundation. The municipalities are providing the pilot sites, while state, non-government and academic organizations are working with the Beach SAMP team to provide resources, expertise and technical assistance. Implementation of the pilot projects is taking shape for 2016.

5. The Beach SAMP feeds a larger national effort to understand climate change: The SAMP is a state effort, but it’s informing a national project to gather and organize the best science and practices necessary for managing climate change on the coast. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security tapped the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography (URI GSO) – with the URI Coastal Resources Center (CRC) included – last May to take part in the initiative focused on formalizing and documenting the science of climate change risks and instituting wise guidance and practices to protect U.S. homes, businesses, infrastructure and historical and cultural public assets for the long haul.

6. Beach SAMP students gaining real world experience in adaptation arena: URI graduate students and Roger Williams University Law School students assigned to Beach SAMP projects gained real-life experience in 2015, working with the Beach SAMP team and communities to understand how flooding and erosion is changing the shoreline, and what policies and practices could potentially be applied to prevent damage or improve conditions. With support from Rhode Island Sea Grant, URI Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) students worked on. URI Undergraduates also participated in Beach SAMP learning; a URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS) Landscape Architecture Studio class developed scenarios for coastal adaptation in Newport, while a URI Ocean Engineering class produced adaptation option for Wickford Village in North Kingstown.

Bon voyage!
Michael Keyworth, a longtime leader for the local marina industry and the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association (RIMTA), is cruising into retirement. Keyworth, first recipient of RIMTA’s Rising Tide Award for lifetime contribution to Rhode Island marine trades, has consistently provided an industry voice to coastal management issues, including those being addressed by the Beach SAMP. We wish him well as he sets forth on his year-long sail to other parts of the world.

Found a flood? Snap it for MyCoast
The Beach SAMP team was pleased to learn about a new site, MyCoast, available to several states, that “allows anybody to quickly submit photos of coastal events, such as storm damage or nuisance flooding, especially when caused by king tides.” Submit your photo on https://mycoast.org/, and MyCoast will automatically geolocate and post it for you.

Thank you! Support for the Beach SAMP is provided by the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography (URI Coastal Resources Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant) and Eastern Connecticut State University, with significant support for closely related work provided by the National Ocean & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S Department of the Interior/National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Rhode Island Foundation, the Prince Charitable Trusts, the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, and 11th Hour Racing.