NE CASC Holds Listening Session to Identify Information Needs in Coastal and Marine Ecosystems

Coastal and marine ecosystems are undergoing rapid environmental changes, including sea level rise, ocean warming, and increasing storm intensity. To better understand concerns regarding these issues, the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center hosted a virtual listening session on April 9th for the regional climate adaptation science community.  Building on earlier in-depth interviews with NE CASC salt marsh partners, this session was the first region-wide dialogue to address a broad range of coastal and marine habitats. To match the breadth of the session’s subject matter, event organizers–led by Aly Putnam, a UMass postdoctoral researcher and former NE CASC fellow–invited input from a wide array of stakeholders, including researchers, managers, NGO staff and others working across coastal and marine systems. Ultimately, the session sought both to help clarify how environmental changes are impacting these systems and to identify the kinds of adaptation science that are most needed for in this vital area. 

The listening session brought together more than 75 participants from across the Northeast and beyond, including representatives from federal agencies (EPA, NOAA, USGS, NPS), state agencies, NGOs (including The Nature Conservancy, the National Audubon Society, and Mass Audubon), regional networks such as the Boston Harbor Ecosystem Network, and numerous colleges and universities. Attendees represented states within the NE CASC region as well as distant locations such as the state of Washington and Puerto Rico. 

During the discussion, participants defined several priorities for grappling with environmental change across coastal and marine systems, including: 

• Development of long-term and localized biological and environmental monitoring, 
• Better integration of physical and biological data 
• Increased attention to species range shifts and novel emerging communities
• The adoption of shared frameworks and consistent data standards
• Cross-jurisdictional collaboration

Looking ahead, event organizers will distribute a summary of information gathered from the listening session along with a list of resources referenced by session participants. Organizers will also distribute a follow-up survey to the broader coastal and marine community via the NE CASC list serv. This survey will seek to refine NE CASC’s understanding of relevant knowledge gaps and priorities so team members can begin addressing them through the development of actionable adaptation science.