WASHINGTON STATE

nATURE-bASED sOLUTIONS pROJECT pIPELINE

2022 - ONGOING

With funding from FEMA Region X through a Cooperating Technical Partnership, American Rivers, Bonneville Environmental Foundation and Tetra Tech worked closely with willing Tribes, local jurisdictions, special purpose districts, and NGOs to identify and map unfunded nature-based flood hazard mitigation opportunities, plans, and projects over the short (0-2 years), mid (2-4 years), and long term (4+ years). This Project Pipeline analyzed a variety of eligibility criteria to identify potentially suitable federal and state funding opportunities to support local project proponents and achieve the following goals:

To tell the story and build the case for investments in a climate-resilient Washington.
To create connections between agencies who have opportunities to access unanticipated funding and may benefit from seeing the scope and breadth of projects available statewide and local communities interested in advancing work.
To collaboratively identify and map where future technical and funding assistance may be focused to support Tribes and jurisdictions in accessing climate resilience funding for projects.

The Project Pipeline documented 42 activities across just 12 Tribes, jurisdictions, special purpose districts or NGOs, with the following results:

Over $450 million in documented need over the next 4+ years
If funded, activities would occur across 17,500 acres
50% of activities are located in socially vulnerable or disadvantaged areas according to FEMA and the White House Council on Environmental Quality

My role was to develop a partnership with FEMA, secure funding, manage the project and consultants, conduct outreach and engagement to local communities, QA/QC deliverables, and contribute to community planning and funding resources. Phase 2 of this project is now underway.

This project is occurring while I am employed at American Rivers.