Option

Assess and inventory ecosystems, natural assets, and their protective services

Details

Focus of action

Data Collection, Analysis, Research, Assess Vulnerability & Risk

Examples from plans

This option appears in resilience plans from around the country.

Option from plan	Hazards Sort descending	Assets	Region	Source Plan
Assess and prioritize natural public areas for additional water storage capacity. This action could also support natural habitat resilience.	Drought	Water Infrastructure – Drinking Water Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife	Southeast	Triangle Region, NC Regional Resilience Assessment
Develop and regularly update a coastal erosion assessment to track conditions of coastline bluffs, beaches, access stairs, ramps, outfalls, seawalls or other related infrastructure.	Erosion and Shoreline Recession	Water Infrastructure – Wastewater Natural Areas and Wildlife	Southwest	Climate Resilient San Diego (p. 55 (pdf p. 61))
Identify open space that could function as water storage areas.	Flooding – Coastal Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife	Southeast	Charleston, South Carolina - All Hazards Vulnerability & Risk Assessment (p. 185)
Analyze current, historical and projected conditions to identify and prioritize where to resist, accept or facilitate site or ecosystem change, considering cultural values.	Shifting Species, Habitats, and Ecosystems	Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife	Northwest	Missoula, MT Regional Adaptation Strategy (p. 46 (pdf p. 62))
Assess options to support active conservation of species (e.g., nurseries, seed banks), habitat restoration and regeneration or relocation of near-endangered species.	Shifting Species, Habitats, and Ecosystems	Urban Landscape and Tree Canopy Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife	Southern Great Plains	City of San Antonio, TX: A Path for Climate Action & Adaptation (p. 46)
Designate ecologically important areas as “permanent natural features.”	Shifting Species, Habitats, and Ecosystems	Urban Landscape and Tree Canopy Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife	Midwest	Detroit Climate Action Plan (p. 50)
Create an ecosystem services inventory for your community to identify the natural features, like particular areas of forest or wetlands, that do the most	Shifting Species, Habitats, and Ecosystems	Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife	Midwest	Detroit Climate Action Plan (p. 50)
Assess the vulnerability of forested areas to fire and develop a strategy to address that vulnerability.	Wildfire	Agriculture and Food Supply Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife	Northwest	City of Seattle, WA: Preparing for a Changing Climate (p. 26 (pdf p. 54))

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