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Nature-based Resilience for Coastal Highways: Finding Partners and Funding Webinar

Last year the Federal Highway Administration released Nature-based Solutions for Coastal Highway Resilience: An Implementation Guide.  This report provides information to transportation agencies on how they can use nature-based solutions, such as restoration or construction of wetlands, dunes, and reefs, to reduce flood and erosion risks to coastal highways.

Join us for a webinar to learn more about the two critical steps in getting nature-based solutions built: finding the right partners and finding funding.

Wednesday, June 24th, 3pm to 4pm Eastern

REGISTER for the webinar.

Share your contact information (optional) with other registrants in order to facilitate partnerships.

In this webinar, you will hear from two organizations that provide grants to research or implement nature-based solutions.  You will also hear from a state transportation department that partnered with their state natural resources agency to develop a nature-based solution to mitigate coastal flood risks to a highway. 

Finally, you will get tips on how to build partnerships between transportation agencies, natural resource agencies, universities, and others to implement nature-based solutions.  You have the option to share your contact information with other registrants in order to facilitate building teams for projects that include both the transportation community and the coastal management community. 

This webinar is geared towards transportation planners and engineers, coastal engineers and ecologists, practitioners, academics and others interested in working across disciplines to mitigate flood risks to roadways and improve community and ecological resilience simultaneously.

Speakers:

  • Tina Hodges, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will provide insights on finding partners and funding from FHWA’s project Nature-based Resilience for Coastal Highways.

  • Trevor Meckley, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will discuss research grant opportunities under the Effects of Sea Level Rise Program (ESLR), which funds teams of academics and practitioners to assess the vulnerability of coastal areas to sea level rise and analyze the potential of nature-based solutions to mitigate flood risks to communities. 

  • Kaity Goldsmith, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), will discuss the National Coastal Resilience Fund, which provides funding to enhance coastal communities’ natural defenses against severe weather and flooding.

  • LaTonya Gilliam, Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), will share how, after conducting a pilot with FHWA that developed a conceptual design for a nature-based solution to mitigate flood risks, DelDOT partnered with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to fund and implement the nature-based solution, which was constructed earlier this year.

Webinar Registration Process:

For non-USDOT users: If you do not yet have an account on FHWA’s external webinar portal, you must first request an account at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/FBA/Register.aspx. Step-by step instructions on how to request an account can be found here: https://connectdot.connectsolutions.com/espnon-dotstaff/. The account issuance takes approximately one business day. Once you receive your account information, you can register for the webinar at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=2443.

If you are a USDOT user or already have an account, you may register directly at https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/WC/Lists/Seminars/DispForm.aspx?ID=2443.

Contact:

If you have any difficulty registering for the webinar, please contact Webconference@dot.gov.  If you would like further information about nature-based solutions and resilience, please contact Tina Hodges (tina.hodges@dot.gov, 202-366-4287).