Building Coastal Resilience, One Community at a Time

Building resilience to natural hazards is crucial for coastal communities to help maintain quality of water and quality of life. Resiliency planning is also vital for healthy growth, durable systems, and conservation of resources for all. With that said, most coastal communities lack the resources to facilitate the process.

The services provided by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management offer assistance to local governments to develop critical plans that serve to reduce impacts to coastal habitat and water quality.

PHOTOS: RIDER, 2022 – Mackenzie Todd (LEFT), Tancred Miller, Policy & Planning Manager at NC Division of Coastal Management and Coastal Carolina Riverwatch Board Director (MIDDLE), Riley Lewis, Waterkeeper at Coastal Carolina Riverwatch

The Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP) helps address the need for local planning through technical and financial assistance to advance coastal resilience efforts throughout the 20 coastal counties in North Carolina.

The objectives of the N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program include:

Addressing barriers to coastal resilience in North Carolina at the local level (limited capacity, economic constraints, and social inequities);
Assisting communities with risk and vulnerability assessments and developing a portfolio of planned and prioritized projects;
Advancing coastal resilience projects to shovel-readiness, or ready for implementation; and
Linking communities to funding streams for project implementation.

Mackenzie Todd, Coastal Resilience Specialist, manages this program. Mackenzie is a subject matter specialist in the area of coastal resilience, coastal climate adaptation, coastal flooding, hazard mitigation planning, and related public policy issues. Mackenzie is a coastal resiliency advisor to Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, seen above in the photo, and works directly with the Waterkeeper on ways that we can collaborate to enhance water quality protection actions.

Reach out to Mackenzie herefor assistance with projects related to coastal resilience. This service includes assisting local communities with resilience evaluations and planning, outreach and communications focused on coastal hazards.

ADVOCACY ACTION NEEDED:

The Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP) has NOT been permanently sustained by funding from the State Legislature. The program needs long-term funding from the NC Legislature to continue providing service. You can help by sharing your stories about the importance of coastal resiliency.

Please consider reaching out to your legislators with your story of support for this programming. Let your legislators know that this is a crucial service being provided to underserved rural coastal communities.