Climate Ready Estuaries Website
Visit the Climate Ready Estuaries Website to
find information on climate change impacts and
adaptation, including:
Basic Information
What are the projected climate change impacts
to coastal systems? What can be done to address
these impacts?
Where You Live
Where are the National Estuaries and what
climate change impacts assessment and adaptation
efforts are underway in your region?
Explore Climate Ready Estuaries
Learn how the program is working with coastal
managers to advance coastal adaptation to climate
change.
Coastal Too/kit
What tools and information will help you get
started assessing climate change vulnerabilities,
finding data, and developing adaptation plans?
www.epa.gov/cre
PROGRAM
CONTACTS
If you are a coastal manager with specific
questions on the program, please contact:
Jeremy Martinich
martinich.jeremy@epa.gov
Climate Change Division
EPA Office of Air and Radiation
(202) 343-9871
John Wilson
wilson.john@epa.gov
Oceans and Coastal Protection Division
EPA Office of Water
(202) 566-1158
For media or press inquiries, please visit
www.epa.gov/newsroom/contact-us.htm.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Air and Radiation
Office of Water
EPA 430-F-08-027a
February 2009
CLIMATE READY
ESTU ARI ES
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ADAPTING
TO CLIMATE CHANGE
The Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) program is a
partnership between EPA and the National Estuary
Programs (NEPs) to address climate change in
coastal areas. This effort is building additional
capacity in coastal communities as they prepare to
adapt to the effects of climate change.
Climate Ready Estuaries is supporting NEPs and
coastal communities in becoming "climate ready"
by providing tools and assistance to:
• Assess climate change vulnerabilities
• Engage and educate stakeholders
• Develop and implement adaptation strategies
• Share lessons learned with other
coastal managers
PROTECTING
CRITICAL RESOURCES
Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea.
They are highly productive and unique ecosystems.
Millions of people live, work, and play in estuaries,
and they are home to many industries critical to
our nation's prosperity. However, estuaries are
projected to be particularly vulnerable to many
climate change effects. Impacts that may occur
include:
• Damage to and loss of wetlands, coastal
property, and infrastructure due to inundation
and more severe coastal storms.
• Changes to water availability and quality,
including impacts to groundwater and
drinking water.
• Changes in habitat, fisheries, and other
plant and animal distributions.
Get Ready!
Coastal resource managers can reduce these risks,
reduce future costs, and improve resiliency by acting
now to identify areas that are particularly vulnerable,
establish monitoring that will warn of impending
changes, and develop and implement adaptation plans.
Tools and Resources
for Estuaries
Assess, P/an, Take Act/on/
A Coastal Toolkit of information products, data,
tools, workshops, and technical assistance is
available to all NEPs and other coastal managers.
This Toolkit, available on the CRE Website
(www.epa.gov/cre), provides information and
resources related to:
Monitoring
climate change
Tools for
assessing risk
and vulnerability
Smart growth
in the context of
climate change
Finding
data
Adaptation
planning
Sustainable
financing
options
CRE
IS UNDERWAY!
ERA is providing targeted assistance to NEPs to
identify climate change vulnerabilities, develop
adaptation plans, and begin to implement selected
actions within these plans.
To learn more about the programs EPA is working
with under Climate Ready Estuaries, visit the CRE
Website.
www.epa.gov/cre/explore.html
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