WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the National Wildlife Federation announced the release of a new publication, Building Ecological Solutions to Coastal Community Hazards: A Guide For New Jersey Coastal Communities. The guide outlines ecological approaches to mounting coastal hazards such as sea level rise, erosion, saltwater intrusion, flooding and coastal storms. It presents clear solutions that are actionable at the municipal level, highlighting four important coastal systems for New Jersey: coastal urban areas, beaches and dunes, coastal forests and shrublands, and tidal marshes, providing case studies, specific recommendations, and regulatory background.

“It is our hope that by highlighting ecological solutions to New Jersey’s coastal hazards, we can help coastal communities across the nation think about the role of nature in preparing for and adapting to future changes, in ways that benefit people and wildlife,” said Collin O’Mara, president and chief executive officer of the National Wildlife Federation.

“Today’s decisions about coastal management and ecosystem stewardship will ultimately determine the fate of our coastal regions, where natural and human systems are closely intertwined,” said Dr. Stacy Small-Lorenz, Senior Wildlife Ecologist at the National Wildlife Federation and lead author of the guide.

The guide was produced in partnership with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Office of Coastal and Land Use Planning, with financial support from the U.S. Department of the Interior and administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant Program, in collaboration with numerous New Jersey technical partners.

A companion coastal resilience curriculum has been developed for high schools by New Jersey Audubon and New Jersey School Board Association in partnership with NWF that will be housed on the New Jersey DEP website. “You can really see the excitement in students when they experience firsthand the important role that nature plays in protecting their communities while providing valuable fish and wildlife habitat,” said Dale Rosselet, Vice President for Education at New Jersey Audubon.

The guide can be downloaded at www.nwf.org/CoastalSolutionsGuideNJ