Coastal Resilience Plan for the Obtawaing Biosphere Region

The Great Lakes region contains approximately 1,700 miles of shoreline, including 577 islands providing habitat for numerous state and federally listed threatened and endangered species, including important breeding and migratory habitat. The impacts of climate change will manifest uniquely in this region, compounding the threat with increased development pressure. Applying best practices and local knowledge through a bioregional approach will be necessary to understand and address impacts from climate change and urban development. Although plans and prioritization tools exist for larger and smaller landscape scales, there is a significant gap in planning and coordination at the Great Lakes basin-level.

Photo by Huron Pines

Kicked off at the Obtawaing Biosphere annual meeting on October 11, 2023, the Coastal Resilience Plan seeks to support communities along the Great Lakes shoreline in creating manageable and science informed plans for the conservation of healthy coasts. In this endeavor, the initiative prioritizes the recognition of  interconnections among natural systems, human livelihoods, and diverse cultures through publications, public engagement programs, and various media platforms and the creation forums for collaboration and information sharing across the Great Lakes region. Many habitats and organisms are under threat, and a coordinated, regional, landscape-level approach will optimize opportunities for conservation and restoration.

Photo by Huron Pines

This project, in partnership with Great Lakes Commission and Axiom Data Science and funded by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation Coastal Program, aims to bolster high-level plans through local knowledge and priorities, and elevate site-level planning to the landscape level where it can address the ecological needs sedentary and migratory animal populations and coastal hazards. Specifically, the Coastal Resilience initiative will address the need for improved coordination and cross-partner collaboration among regional partners and stakeholders, the incorporation of tribal perspectives and priorities into regional planning, and the identification and prioritization of large-scale, high-impact restoration projects in the region.

The Coastal Resilience Plan will be undertaken in three phases. The first will engage OBR stakeholders to develop regional goals, priorities, values for resilient coastal systems, identify and gather resources (e.g., plans, decision-making and prioritization tools) and connect with key organizations and experts, engage decision-makers and project managers to identify needs, and develop prioritized project lists. The second phase will continue to engage/consult key organizations and experts, synthesize resources into regional vision and framework, develop tools (e.g. prioritization/mapping tool) that are easily accessible by a variety of stakeholders (including local governments and local/regional planning entities), and develop the communications toolkit. The final stage will implement tools at the local level through pilot projects and use this framework (engagement, prioritization, communications, implementation) for the inland areas of the OBR.

The first phase of the Coastal Resilience Plan will occur between October 1st, 2023 and September 30, 2025. The project will be overseen by the Great Lakes Commission and Obtawaing Biosphere Region Steering Committee which meets regularly to coordinate partner collaborations, guide project development and prioritization and ensure timely communication.