Download: Webinar Brief

The National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) System created the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Tool for Coastal Habitats (CCVATCH) to help land managers, decision makers, and researchers develop conservation, management, and restoration plans for coastal habitats in light of climate change. Reserves in New England and North and South Carolina shared the results from recent assessments they conducted. The presentation demonstrated how CCVATCH serves as an evaluation process to identify sources of vulnerability, provides a greater understanding of the potential impacts of climate change alone and in relation to existing non-climate stressors, and identifies data gaps and research needs.

About the Speakers:

Robin Weber has been engaged in the development of the CCVATCH from its inception and served first as an Applied Science Investigator and then as Project Lead in two funded projects designed to pilot test and implement CCVATCH at multiple locations. As a Stewardship Coordinator within the NERRS for 18 years, Ms. Weber applies science to the management and restoration of a variety of habitat types on Reserve properties and works with partners to enhance stewardship of managed lands more broadly within the State of Rhode Island.

Dr. Plunket initially proposed the idea of developing a climate vulnerability assessment tool designed for coastal habitats in 2011. Since then she has led a workgroup that developed the CCVATCH, served as the principal investigator on a Science Collaborative funded project to pilot test the tool, and trained staff in the CCVATCH process at NERRA/NERRS meetings. As Stewardship Coordinator at the North Inlet-Winyah Bay NERR, Dr. Plunket works on a variety of projects directed toward the long-term conservation of the North Inlet and Winyah Bay estuaries.

Learn more about: Assessing How Climate Change Will Affect Coastal Habitats in the Northeast