Pocomoke Sound Resiliency Planning

A landscape-scale and unified framework for climate adaptation serves as a model for resiliency for communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The Pocomoke Sound and its surrounding lands are a confluence of culturally and ecologically significant land and waterscapes, spanning both Maryland and Virginia. The Sound holds one of the Chesapeake Bay’s healthiest and most productive oyster habitats, supporting historic watermen communities on both sides of the Sound.

The Pocomoke Sound faces an uncertain future as the land subsides, waters rise, and flooding and erosion degrade and reshape the region’s socio-ecological landscapes. Coastal habitats are projected to be lost at an alarming rate and climate justice communities such as Crisfield (MD) and Saxis (VA) are vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise due to limited adaptive capacity and access to adaptation resources.

Biohabitats, along with The Nature Conservancy and OLIN Studio, created a unified landscape-scale strategy for climate adaptation in the Pocomoke Sound Corridor. The resiliency framework established a baseline understanding of social and ecological factors that could be negatively impacted by current and future flooding; inventoried existing, relevant restoration and management efforts; conducted a social and cultural assessment of existing communities; identified potential restoration activities; and developed a plan for future community engagement. One of the main goals of this effort was to serve as a model for resiliency for other communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

TAGS

• Analysis+Planning
• Climate Adaptation + Resilience