As the Lake Superior Unit Manager with Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources Office of Great Waters, Cherie Hagen collaborates with partners from federal, provincial, tribal, state and local governments, universities, and nongovernmental organizations to identify shared goals and actions to protect and restore the Lake Superior ecosystem and communities. She’s oversees implementation... Read More →
Region 8 Regional Director & Regional Emergency Response Coordinator, NYSDEC
Tim Walsh has served as the Regional Director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Region 8, which includes the southern shore of Lake Ontario and stretches to the Pennsylvania border and includes Rochester and the Finger Lakes Region, since 2020. Tim’s... Read More →
Monday October 7, 2024 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Grand Ballroom
Climate change is altering the Great Lakes region. Coastal disasters are becoming more frequent and more costly; slow-burn hazards like erosion and episodic flooding are also increasingly ubiquitous in the face of heavier precipitation, more rapidly fluctuating water levels, and stronger storms. Coastal resilience – an approach that holistically considers the natural, physical, cultural, and built environments along with the living beings that rely on them – has gained traction globally as the preferred way to address climate change and protect human and ecological communities.
Livelihoods and lifeways are at stake as climate continues to change in the region; ecosystems, communities, recreational amenities, public and private property, and cultural resources are all affected. Multiple players across the region – including at Canadian and U.S. federal agencies, Tribal nations, states and provinces, and non-government organizations – have been proactively involved in coastal resilience initiatives to better understand and plan for future climate change impacts on coastal areas. Increased investment in habitat restoration, shoreline management, and sediment remediation projects from sources like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (U.S.), Inflation Reduction Act (U.S.), Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (U.S.), and Climate-Resilient Coastal Communities Program (CAN) is helping grow our understanding of the impacts of and actions needed to address climate change, and how to make future investments more durable to varying conditions.
This plenary Coastal Resilience Panel will consist of agency personnel that have been leading large-scale Great Lakes resilience studies and efforts. The panelists will provide updates on these efforts and their agency’s perspectives on coastal resilience and adaptability of restoration projects. The panel will set the tone of the overall resilience theme for the Great Lakes Coastal Symposium and will provide a foundational introduction to crucial dialogue that will continue throughout the conference.
