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Charlotte Harbor Climate Ready Estuaries Charlotte Harbor has been selected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be a case study for local action to protect sensitive coastal ecosystems and economies from the potential effects of climate change. This is the first step in EPA’s new "Climate Ready Estuaries" effort to build local ability through its 28 national estuary programs to adapt to climate change. Five grants have been received from EPA to date. In the first year, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP) received two grants to help build this local ability. These projects were completed by December 2009. In the second year, CHNEP received technical assistance grants to develop model language for comprehensive plans and to develop indicators to develop environmental indicators of climate change. In the third year a grant was received to develop conceptual ecological models. Year 1 projects
Year 2 projects
Year 3 project
This assessment is an easy-to-ready summary of past and potential future climate change in the Charlotte Harbor region.
Comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment This report is also available from the CHNEP FTP site (ftp://ftp.swfrpc.org, user name: chnep, password: chnepaccess). This is an easier process to download large documents from the Internet. Staff analyzed climate-change effects on ecosystems and infrastructure surrounding the Charlotte Harbor estuary. A list of significant potential effects on human and natural systems was developed along with the climate-change parameters associated with a least-case, moderate-case and worst-case “severity” scenarios. An assessment of effects and adaptation options to minimize the social, economic and environmental costs was generated. A list was developed of significant potential effects on the human and native ecosystems and the climate-change parameters associated with each of the three scenarios. The list was developed by reviewing 39 professional source documents. Staff generated an assessment of significant potential effects, identifying the potentially critical areas for which adaptation options could be implemented and analyzing potential adaptations and developing options for minimizing the social, economic and environmental costs of anticipated climate effects. Least-case, moderate-case and worst-case "severity" scenarios were developed based on The Probability of Sea Level Rise published by the EPA. The closest documented rate of sea level rise (2.3 mm/yr or 0.09 of an inch in St. Petersburg) is multiplied by the number of years plus "normalized" sea level projections. The least-case scenario would have a 90 percent probability with a resultant average sea level increase of 10.4 inches by the year 2100; the moderate case, with a 50 percent probability, would have a resultant average sea level increase of 19.8 inches by the year 2100; and the worst case, at a 5 percent probability, would have a resultant average sea level increase of 35.9 inches by the year 2100. Adaptation/Weather Adaptation Plan for the City of Punta Gorda This report is also available from the CHNEP FTP site (ftp://ftp.swfrpc.org, user name: chnep, password: chnepaccess). This is an easier process to download large documents from the Internet. A climate-change adaptation plan for a southwest Florida coastal city was developed. On December 17, 2008, the Punta Gorda City Council voted unanimously to participate in this project. This progressive municipality has already included climate-change planning in their recently adopted Comprehensive Plan (Objective 2.4.2 and Policy 2.4.2.1). This project will build upon a Charlotte County-Punta Gorda Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) study addressing sea level rise implications to infrastructure. The information developed in the climate change adaptation plan will be applied to the selected city to evaluate its overall climate-change vulnerability "score." With public participation, mitigation strategies and adaptation techniques will be identified and a process for implementing identified actions will be developed. The plan will be available for other cities to tailor to their own circumstances. If you’ve lived in southwest Florida for long, you know our weather varies from year to year. Thankfully, we don’t experience three hurricanes every year as occurred in 2004. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP) invited residents in the City of Punta Gorda and others concerned with the city to help prepare the city for changes in the weather, which may include more drought, less availability of potable water, sea level rise, shorter winter seasons, higher humidity, higher maximum temperatures, more hot days and heat waves, higher and stronger storm surges, and increased precipitation including heavy and extreme precipitation events, increased storm frequency and stronger storms. The CHNEP asked members of the public who live in or care about the City of Punta Gorda to participate in this project by participating in the workshops and taking on-line surveys. Additional guidance was provided to those who registered. Refreshments were provided. As a thank-you for participating, each person will receive a poster of a local scene by either Clyde Butcher or Diane Pierce, well-known artists.
Model language for comprehensive plans T he University of Florida’s Law School Clinic developed model language for use in comprehensive plans as well as with the City of Punta Gorda. A workshop was held May 27, 2010, entitled “Utilizing Comprehensive Plans and Local Ordinances To Improve Community Resilience to Climate Change” that included presentations by the University of Florida Law School, a presentation by Jim Titus from EPA Headquarters on the use of rolling easements for dealing with climate change and sea level rise issues and a DCA representative who spoke about a rule change to Florida Administrative Code 9J5 which has to do with energy efficiency and greenhouse gas. The workshop provided ideas on how local planners could implement language changes.Development of environmental indicators of climate change CHNEP and EPA worked together to identify climate change indicators and corresponding monitoring plan alternatives for the CHNEP. ICF International was contracted by EPA to assist in the development of the indicators. A Climate Change Indicators Working Group was established to participate in the development of the indicators. Five indicators have been approved.
The indicators were then incorporated as an addendum into CHNEP’s Environmental Indicators report (PDF @ 216 KB). The 2008 report is available. (PDF @ 4,361 KB)
Conceptual Ecological Models of the Effects of Climate Change on the Southwest Florida Coast Additional information about this work is also available.
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