Land Trust Alliance

Coastal Impact Assistance Program Funding

Erin Derrington — 2012-11-09T02:45:00Z

The Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) provides federal grant funds derived from federal offshore lease revenues to oil producing states for conservation, protection, or restoration of coastal areas including wetlands; mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife, or natural resources; planning assistance and the administrative costs of complying with these objectives; implementation of a federally-approved marine, coastal, or comprehensive conservation management plan; and mitigation of the impact of outer Continental Shelf activities through funding of onshore infrastructure projects and public service needs. CIAP funding to conserve, restore, enhance, and protect renewable natural resources is available for the following states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

EPA National Water Program 2012 Strategy

Erin Derrington — 2012-11-09T02:25:00Z

The National Water Program (NWP) 2012 Strategy addresses climate change impacts in the context of EPA’s water programs, reflecting the recognition that adaptation “requires a collaborative, problem solving approach, especially in a resource-constrained environment.” The NWP 2012 Strategy was designed to build upon other initiatives, such as the recent Coming Together for Clean Water strategy and the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy. It also details EPA’s commitments deriving from three climate change strategic plans currently under development within the federal government:

for freshwater resources by the ICCATF Freshwater Work Group;
for the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes by the National Ocean Council (NOC); and
for fish, wildlife, and plants by the National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Workgroup.

Specific goals, which include building collaborative networks to take effective adaptation measures, as well as making hydrological and climate data projections available, and strategic actions are highlighted in the executive summary and explained in the body of the report. The strategy also summarizes climate change impacts to water resources based on recent literature and outlines plans to achieve its mission to protect and restore aquatic ecosystems in the United States.

Launch Climate Action Projects in Your Community

Kimberly Seese — 2012-03-07T22:25:00Z

One of the best ways to inspire personal action and the commitment to change is to simply give people something to do.

Different projects will appeal to different sectors of your community. Consider your audience when launching a new project:

Conservation projects with tangible results motivate first-time participants and/or children, who are able to see how their efforts have directly improved their homes, communities or local environments.
More experienced or committed participants, including older children and teens, will also be inspired by projects with less tangible results. For example, these participants may be eager to advocate for a local policy change that would reduce carbon emissions in their community.
Consider allowing your most experienced and committed participants to create and lead their own community climate action projects.

Try one of these climate action projects in your community:

Reduce your carbon footprint
Advocate for climate-change-informed local land-use planning:

Read more about climate impacts of local land-use planning from the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Defenders of Wildlife, and a Climate Policy report.

Audit your home’s energy efficiency

Or, create your own climate action project. The following resources will help: