OCM Announcement: New "How To" on Mapping Open Space for CRS Credit!

Dear CZM and NERR Managers,

I am pleased to announce that NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management has recently launched several new or updated products related to natural infrastructure and coastal resilience. Please share these resources with anyone who might benefit from them.

How to Map Open Space for Community Rating System Credit:

NOAA produced an interactive, online "How to" and companion GIS Workflow and Mapping Guide to help communities earn credits in FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS) program by mapping and documenting preserved open space. These products respond to interest from coastal communities in the CRS and requests for technical help with GIS mapping. They can be found at: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/training/crs.html.

Under the CRS, participating communities can earn discounts on NFIP flood insurance policy premiums through their efforts to reduce their flood risk, including preservation of open space in flood hazard areas. These new resources help communities identify places where they could earn credit for existing and future efforts to preserve open space in floodplains.

The “How to” outlines the process – from mapping to documentation of preserved open space – in seven easy-to-understand steps, and is geared for community CRS coordinators and planners. The companion GIS workflow provides geospatial analysts with sources of data, information, and instruction needed for key mapping tasks.

NOAA has also recently launched on Digital Coast:

• New Peer-to-peer case studies, which share how practitioners are implementing natural infrastructure and their lessons learned.
• A new Green Infrastructure Benefits Handout, which helps communicate with local officials about the benefits of green infrastructure to reduce climate and hazard impacts. It provides benefits, key points, and short success stories.
• An update to our How to Consider Climate Change in Coastal Conservation online self-guided resource, which now includes new worksheets to help users work through the steps as well as case studies and additional resources.

If you have not seen our new Green Infrastructure Effectiveness Database, please check it out. And, if you are interested in hosting our one-day, in-person introductory training on using green infrastructure to enhance coastal resilience, some slots are still available. Visit the training page to submit a request or email Lauren.Long@noaa.gov.

We hope coastal communities will find these products useful and we would love to hear how they’re being applied.