Case Studies | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Communities and businesses are taking action to reduce their vulnerability to climate-related impacts and to build resilience to extreme events. The stories below illustrate the application of the process and tools featured in this Toolkit. Browse the stories, or filter by topic, step to resilience, and/or region in the boxes above. To expand your results, click the Clear Filters link.

Mapping Wildland Values and Climate Change Vulnerability

Using climate change projections, conservationists can assess which of the wildest lands remaining in the contiguous United States are most vulnerable to the impacts of future climate change.

Bracing for Heat

Heat waves bring some level of discomfort to nearly everyone. When excessive heat catches vulnerable populations off guard, though, discomfort can advance to illness and even death. Learn about strategies taken in Minnesota that help protect people in both rural and urban settings.

How Will Fish Fare in the Future? Assessing Vulnerability Across an Ecosystem

Fisheries in the Northeast—and the businesses that depend on them—want to know how fish will respond to climate change. A new methodology helps scientists and fisheries managers identify species' vulnerability across an ecosystem.

Protecting Fish to Save Coral Reefs

Coral reefs off the west coast of Maui are readily accessible and heavily used by visitors and locals alike. Managers needed a plan to boost the resilience of the reefs so they could continue providing critical habitat for marine species.

Panorama of the Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska

A Town with a Plan: Community, Climate, and Conversations

Homer, Alaska, has been taking action to reduce climate change for almost a decade. As the ten-year anniversary of their first plan looms on the horizon, the community is engaging in conversations about adaptation.

Improving Water Quality by Dealing with the First Inch of Rain

The suburban city of Mount Rainier, Maryland, is doing its part to improve the water quality of a polluted river in its region: residents and organizations are using green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff.

Morro Bay, Morro Rock, and the City of Morro Bay

Assessing Climate Risks in a National Estuary

Stakeholders of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program in California worked with resources from the EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries program to identify their climate risks. Their results helped them prioritize actions for building resilience.

Photo of pararescueman Staff Sgt. Lopaka Mounts receiving a hug from a resident after Hurricane Ike, Sept. 13, 2008.

A Climate for Resilience

Located just inland from the Gulf Coast, the City of Houston faces an array of climate vulnerabilities: flooding, drought, tropical cyclones, and extreme heat can all affect the city's population and industries. Federal, state, municipal, and non-profit agencies combined their resources in a pilot project to plan for climate resilience.

Preparing for La Niña

O'ahu's busy construction industry depends on being able to dispose of demolition and construction wastes. Forecasts for a developing La Niña—often accompanied by heavy rains in Hawai'i—alerted managers at the island's main construction landfill to their climate vulnerability.

Protecting Critical Infrastructure in the Nation’s Capital

Changing conditions spur a utility in Washington, D.C., to consider and address its future climate vulnerabilities.

Waves chip away at land below a beachfront home

Confronting Shoreline Erosion on O‘ahu

Each winter, massive waves attract surfers and visitors to the North Shore of O‘ahu in Hawai‘i. Some years, the waves cause severe erosion, and continuing sea level rise will accelerate this issue. Residents and the state are taking steps to preserve homes and beaches.

Residential trees and one of Chicago's elevated commuter trains

Fortifying Chicago's Urban Forest

Trees within a city can help reduce urban heat, control stormwater, and provide habitat to local wildlife. As climate conditions change, a Chicago group is working to enhance its urban forest so that the city can continue to receive these benefits.

Low water at Lake Mead exposes a wide "bathtub ring" that marks the lake's former level.

A New Generation of Water Planners Confronts Change Along the Colorado River

Reduced flows and increased demand for Colorado River water represent a real and present danger in the West. To address the threat, water managers and modelers initiated a study to understand the system, consider options, and take action.

Green or Gray? Choosing to Preserve Water Quality

Faced with the potential of a large expense related to water quality, the Portland (Maine) Water District performed a thorough analysis of their options. Their choice came down to making an investment in conservation or concrete.

Maine's Lobster Fishing Community Confronts Their Changing Climate

Participatory planning and system dynamics modeling help fishermen in coastal Maine make decisions to improve their bottom lines.

Recreational boats on quiet water with seaside homes in background.

Exploring Adaptation Options for Water Infrastructure at Sea Level

In Massachusetts, Manchester-by-the-Sea's wastewater treatment plant is located right on the coast. The town's water utility is working with the EPA's Climate Ready Water Utilities program to consider its adaptation options.

Dam and spillway on the St. Francis River

Addressing Short- and Long-Term Risks to Water Supply

In 2012, water managers in Fredericktown, Missouri, saw their city's main source of water dwindle. They used the EPA’s Climate Ready Water Utilities program to consider options and develop plans to protect their water source.

Quinault Village of Taholah on the Pacific Coast, October 2009

Quinault Indian Nation Plans for Village Relocation

As the threats of tsunami and sea level rise are joined by real and potential climate impacts, the Quinault community looks to move the lower village of Taholah to higher ground.

Santa Ana winds carried a fire across Camp Pendleton's Las Pulgas area on September 28, 2005. The brush fire consumed 1,250 acres of the base's open land.

Watching for Wind: An Effort to Get the Upper Hand on Wildfire

After Santa Ana winds contributed to devastating wildfires in 2007, San Diego Gas & Electric worked with partners to monitor threats posed by the wind.

Panini Bay Restaurant in Tuckerton, New Jersey

Waterfront Restaurant Rebuilds to Remain Open Through Future Storms

Property owners in New Jersey can check their vulnerability to sea level rise and storm surge using an interactive mapping tool—the NJ Flood Mapper. Here's how one restaurant owner used results from the tool in his long-term planning.

State Highway Administration Catalogs Vulnerabilities

Through the innovative use of a collection of tools, Maryland has begun identifying which of its roads and bridges are vulnerable to climate-related events.

Wind-Resistant Construction Key to Rebuilding for Resilience

After most of the city was flattened by a tornado, Joplin, Missouri’s Mercy Hospital built a new facility, incorporating features to reinforce its resistance to wind.

Show Don't Tell: Visualizing Sea Level Rise to Set Planning Priorities

City officials in Tybee Island, Georgia, recognized sea level rise as a growing problem for their community. Visualizations from a sea level rise viewer helped them raise awareness of the city's vulnerabilities and led to development of Georgia’s first sea level rise plan.

Looking to the Future on Alaska’s North Slope

As ice retreats and energy resources along Alaska's North Slope become more accessible, diverse stakeholders consider potential futures and develop a science-informed view of the implications of development in the region.

Irrigation canal and valve outside Phoenix, Arizona.

Managing Water for Irrigated Agriculture in the Central Arizona Desert

In the Arizona desert, farmers depend on an ample supply of irrigation to grow their crops. As climate changes, irrigation managers face a host of issues to keep the water flowing.

Boosting Ecosystem Resilience in the Southwest's Sky Islands

Conservation organizations teamed up to document the climate vulnerability of mountain springs that support unique ecosystems. Now, the Alliance they formed facilitates restoration work to enhance habitats and improve resiliency.

A Black-Necked Stilt meanders in a shallow salt marsh at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve near Huntington Beach, California.

Sediment Strategy Seeks to Save Salt Marsh Species

One of Southern California’s few remaining tidal marshes—and the habitat it provides for marine life and endangered birds—is threatened by sea level rise. A collaborative effort is underway to help these wetlands stay above water.

An aerial view of Surfers' Point taken February 4, 2014

Restoring Surfers' Point: Partnership's Persistence Pays Off

Coastal erosion has repeatedly damaged bike paths and parking lots near Ventura, California. It took local groups with varying viewpoints more than a decade to agree upon a strategy, but the first phase of their solution is now complete.

Climate Outlooks Increase Farmer's Odds for Success

From weeks-long dry spells to extreme precipitation events, farmers face significant challenges in bringing crops to market. Here’s how one grower uses seasonal climate forecasts to increase his chances for success.

Photo of young men trying to mitigate erosion near Kivalina, Alaska

Relocating Kivalina

Rising seas and coastal erosion are eating away at the barrier island on which the Alaska Native Village of Kivalina rests. Residents and others are making concerted efforts to move the community to safety.

Assessing a Tropical Estuary's Climate Change Risks

Puerto Rico's San Juan Bay Estuary faces multiple threats, including heavy use by urban populations and impacts of climate change. A workbook from the EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries program helped them catalog, prioritize, and address their climate risks.

View of Loveland Ski Area from above the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado.

Balancing Variable Water Supply With Increasing Demand in a Changing Climate

Anticipating increasing demand as well as changes in the timing and amount of future water supply, state agencies and researchers are gathering information to help decision makers plan for Colorado's water future.

Meandering river in Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge

Yukon Delta Villages Document Baseline Environmental Data

Students and community residents of four remote Alaskan villages measure environmental data to identify their climate vulnerabilities.

Retrofitting a Children's Hospital with a Hurricane-Resistant Shell

After conducting an assessment that showed their building’s vulnerability to wind damage, the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami looked for a way to improve safety for patients and staff.

Photo of Long Island City, Queens, New York City

Working Together to Keep the Lights on in New York City

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Con Edison examined the future vulnerability of electrical infrastructure. Based on the results, they took action to increase their resilience.

Quantifying Risk Shows Value of Replacing Highway

Louisiana’s Highway 1 carries a significant fraction of the gas and oil that comes from the Gulf of Mexico to distribution points in the United States. Faced with rising seas and sinking land, would the cost of rebuilding the road be worth the investment it required?

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