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.

Keeping Toxins From Harmful Algal Blooms out of the Food Supply

Dense populations of some microscopic algae (phytoplankton) in ocean waters can contaminate seafood, resulting in serious health problems for humans. Satellite data displayed in an online tool help fishermen monitor and avoid these harmful algal blooms.

Exterior rendering of the proposed Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care Center

After Katrina, Health Care Facility's Infrastructure Planned to Withstand Future Flooding

After catastrophic flooding in New Orleans destroyed two hospitals, the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System is planning a replacement facility that will incorporate resilience against future extreme events.

Photo of Dr. Hiza Redsteer and students on dunes

Navajo Nation: Hotter, Drier Climate Puts Sand Dunes on the Move

Sand dunes cover roughly one-third of the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona. Higher temperatures and lower precipitation totals projected for the region have researchers monitoring dune motion and considering solutions.

Viewing data in the control room of Tampa Bay Water.

Climate Outlooks Help Water Supply Planning

When water utility personnel recognized their groundwater withdrawals were damaging ecosystems in the Tampa Bay area, they found new ways to reduce their dependence on it.

Preparing to Respond to Oil Spills in the Arctic

Increased activity in the Arctic means an increased risk of oil spills. Crews on annual scientific expeditions practice skills and test technologies to keep themselves prepared to respond.

Climate Data Inform Recovery Plan for Endangered Butterfly

After a butterfly species disappeared from a location where it had been found for many years, conservation professionals accessed climate projections to identify potential habitat for its recovery.

Homeland of the Suquamish Tribe taken from Port Madison Bay

Suquamish Build Resilience to Ocean Acidification Through Education

Changing ocean chemistry could have a disastrous impact on shellfish and fisheries in Puget Sound. The Suquamish Tribe is working with partners to inform the public about this problem while they elicit support for research and monitoring the issue.

Photo of tornado damage in Greensburg, Kansas

Following a Devastating Tornado, Town and Hospital Rebuild to Harness Wind Energy

After 90 percent of the town was damaged or destroyed by a tornado, Greensburg, Kansas, and Kiowa County Memorial Hospital developed a Long-Term Community Recovery plan to rebuild for resilience.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes: Applying the Values Taught by Our Ancestors

Incorporating elders’ wisdom in the process of systematically analyzing climate impacts and vulnerabilities in nine categories of tribal life prioritizes actions to take to enhance the evolution of an ancient culture, while protecting tribal traditions.

Restoring native longleaf pine ecosystems on the Francis Marion National Forest may include the use of management strategies like prescribed burning.

Incorporating Climate Change Into a New Forest Management Plan

Facing sea level rise, increasing numbers of wildfires, and encroachment of invasive species, managers of a national forest chose to integrate climate change into their new plan.

Planning drawing for College Avenue in Fort Colllins, CO

Building Smart in the Floodplain

The city of Fort Collins, Colorado, found a win-win solution to problems it faced with 100 acres of abandoned property. The city now enjoys new green space, improved floodwater management, and a boosted economy.

Increasing Transportation Resilience in the Gulf Coast

A federal study assessed vulnerabilities of transportation infrastructure to extreme events in Mobile, Alabama. The effort also resulted in tools and approaches that other transportation departments can use to assess and address their own vulnerabilities.

A view of a hot-cold map generated from the North Atlantic LCC Conservation Planning Atlas

Hot-Cold Map Provides Blueprint for Protecting Ecosystems

A regional conservation partnership in Massachusetts needed to update their approach to evaluating land acquisitions. Adding the complexity of climate change to their map helped resolve their vision.

Alert System Helps Strawberry Growers Reduce Costs

In Florida's humid climate, strawberry growers are in a constant battle with two kinds of fruit rot. Using a decision support system, they can save money by spraying fields only when the plant diseases are a threat.

Photo of plume of smoke is seen rising from the North Fork fire in Jefferson County, Colorado

Health Care Facilities Maintain Indoor Air Quality Through Smoke and Wildfires

When smoke from wildfires swirls around health care facilities, prepared hospitals in California and Colorado use air quality tools to keep the indoor environment safe for patients and staff.

Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Plans for Change on the Olympic Peninsula

With valuable cultural and dietary assets at risk from sea level rise, this Pacific Northwest Tribe developed a plan to identify community adaptation priorities and concerns, and charted a course of action to address them.

E.L. Huie Jr. Constructed Treatment Wetland in Clayton County, Georgia.

Water Recycling in Clayton County, Georgia

Just south of Atlanta’s busy Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Clayton County seems like an obvious place for metropolitan growth. But more homes and businesses mean a higher demand on the county’s limited water supplies.

Rebuilding Roads to Maximize Resilience

After an extremely heavy rain destroyed almost 500 miles of roadway in Colorado, the state is redesigning some roadways—and the streams they follow—to make the roads more resilient to future floods.

$Ice wedges thaw along fracture lines of a tundra surface and water accumulates in small thaw lakes.$

ShoreZone: A Tool for Coastal Resilience

Stunning photographs of Alaska's coasts aid planners, responders, and communities in ways that promote resilience.

A rock groyne at Atlantic Beach, New York.

Training Sessions Build Capacity for Recovery and Planning

Damage from Hurricane Sandy emphasized the need for East Coast coastal communities to prepare for future hazards and the impacts of climate change. Training sessions helped decision makers in these communities learn about and use data and tools to inform their planning efforts.

Bear Mountain and tarn below the Devils Punchbowl tarn in the Siskiyou Wilderness.

Anticipating and Preventing the Spread of Invasive Plants

Finding and eradicating invasive plants is a tough job that requires constant vigilance. County-scale maps that show where invasive plants are and where they have the potential to spread in the future are helping on-the-ground efforts to build the resilience of natural vegetation.

Iñupiaq Work to Preserve Food and Traditions on Alaska's North Slope

Residents of North Slope Borough, Alaska, look to solar-powered ice cellars and other strategies to preserve their traditional whaling lifestyle.

Lone Tree Point on the Swinomish Reservation, La Conner, Washington

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Prepares for Climate Change Impacts

From changes in traditional foods to concerns of displacement from rising seas, this coastal community in the Pacific Northwest is assessing potential impacts to make decisions for their future.

Grand Isle: Louisiana's First Line of Defense from Coastal Flooding

Lying directly south of New Orleans on Louisiana’s coast, Grand Isle often bears the brunt of strong waves and storm surge in the Gulf of Mexico. To protect this town and inland parishes from flooding, engineers constructed a first line of defense.

College of Menominee Nation's Sustainable Development Institute Builds Capacity for Tribal Climate Change Adaptation

The Institute—a regional service provider for many Tribal Nations—has developed a unique sustainable development model that incorporates traditional knowledges.

Seasonal Climate Forecast Serves as a Call to Action

Faced with an increased chance for heavy precipitation and flooding, an emergency manager in Oregon spread the word, encouraging groups to be prepared.

Assessing the Timing and Extent of Coastal Change in Western Alaska

An interactive map based on four decades of satellite images helps residents, resource managers, and stewards of the land anticipate and plan for coastal change.

A flood damaged aerial view of downtown Gays Mills, Wis., is shown from an UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter assigned to the Army.

Using Demonstration Storms to Prepare for Extreme Rainfall

An extreme precipitation event in 2008 cost one town more than a million dollars in infrastructure repairs. Now, other municipalities can simulate how their homes, businesses, and facilities might fare if they experienced a similar event.

Photo of Gambell, Alaska, an Alaskan Native Village Corporation and a member of the Bering Sea Alliance, LLC

Alaska Native Villages Work to Enhance Local Economies as They Minimize Environmental Risks

As reduced sea ice conditions bring increased shipping and development opportunities to the Arctic, Alaska Native Village Corporations are at the table with resource developers, representing the interests of their people and land.

Gulfport, MS, August 20, 2010. The new pier was completed with construction funds provided by FEMA to help rebuild the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

Shopping Mall Exhibit Raises Awareness of Sea Level Rise

Residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast are familiar with the flooding hazards associated with storms, yet many are unaware of the risk of sea level rise. Shoppers at a local mall had a chance to explore the potential impacts of sea level rise on their communities.

Bridge over the Huron River, Bandemer Park, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Integrating Education and Stormwater Management for Healthy Rivers and Residents

The City of Ann Arbor recognized stormwater runoff as a growing threat to the quality of their water supply. They're addressing the issue with two complementary strategies.

Alaskan Tribes Join Together to Assess Harmful Algal Blooms

Tribal communities in southeastern Alaska are partnering with federal and state agencies to investigate increasing harmful algal blooms—events that pose human health risks to subsistence harvesters.

Precise Soil, Climate, and Weather Data Help Dairy Optimize Water Use

For irrigated crops, knowing when and how much water to apply has long been a matter of experience and guesswork. In a changing climate, new technology can reduce this uncertainty, enabling farmers to make every drop of water count.

People and equipment on a grassy ridge with mountains in background

Developing Monitoring Programs for Protected Lands in Alaska

Coastal habitats and archeological sites in western Alaska are at risk from coastal erosion. Researchers are documenting current assets and vulnerabilities so managers can make informed decisions.

Ice damage to a camp near Golovin, Alaska

Addressing Links Between Climate and Public Health in Alaska Native Villages

As the environment changes, a public health group helps people understand—and build resilience to—climate change impacts on community health.

Barron Collier Bridge from Laishley Park in Punta Gorda, Florida

Developing and Using an Index to Guide Water Supply Decisions

It's not easy to keep faucets flowing year-round in southwest Florida. To make sure their customers can get ample clean water at a good price—even through dry seasons—water utility managers crafted a useful index to help them decide which water sources to use.

Pages