Cape Cod Commission Receives $780,000 Coastal Resiliency Grant

BARNSTABLE – A series of coastal resiliency strategies will be developed by the Cape Cod Commission after receiving a $780,000 grant from the National Oceanographic and Atmosphere Administration.

The grant will lead to research on the Cape’s vulnerability to climate adaption and will allow officials to develop strategies for specific areas threatened by coastal hazards. The Cape Cod Commission will also research the environmental and socio-economic impacts of regional and local resiliency strategies through a series of public outreaches.

“The challenges confronting our nation’s coastal communities are incredibly complicated. Effective solutions are going to require strong science, ingenuity and collaboration if they are going to safeguard and ensure the future vitality of our economy and valuable natural resources,” Dr. Jeffrey Payne, Acting Director of the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, said. “The projects that have been approved for funding represent opportunities to do just that.”

The grant was one of six awarded by NOAA. 132 agencies applied for money.

The Commission will explore the willingness of different towns to pay for strategies and plans. “Understanding how a community views and values different strategies is a key to developing consensus and support for resiliency-based project,” Commission officials said in a press release.

The Commission will partner with the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, and the Center for Coastal Studies for the project.