Resources

The Resource Hub aims to point coastal managers toward helpful tools and resources. 

Below is a list of curated resources that fall within 5 supporting pillars: Planning, Technical Assistance, Legal Assistance, Funding, and Communication & Education. Each tool description includes contact details for questions or additional information.

GLISA

GLISA developed these tool guidance documents and tutorial videos based on their experience as a potential user. These materials are intended to help other users in the Great Lakes region better understand the tools and their potential applications.

Tools

• Lake Level Viewer: The Lake Level Viewer displays variations in the Great Lakes water levels through interactive maps and helps users visualize the effects of lake level fluctuations on shorelines and coastal areas.
• Great Lakes Water Level Dashboard: The Great Lakes Water Level Dashboard allows users to access and visualize historical Great Lakes water level data, as well as forecasted water levels 6 months into the future.
• Michigan’s Coastlines Through Time: The interactive maps in the Michigan’s Coastlines Throughout Time tool provide a look at how historical shorelines and coastal bluffs around the state of Michigan are changing over time, with an emphasis on locating critical bluff erosion areas and assessing potential shoreline modifications using historical aerial imagery.
• Climate Explorer: The Climate Explorer tool provides historical observations and future projections for multiple climate indicators, including temperature and precipitation. The tool offers interactive maps and graphs that display past and projected future climate conditions, historical weather data, and historical thresholds.
• FEMA Flood Maps: FEMA Flood Maps can help identify high risk flooding areas at a given property.
• EPA Stormwater Calculator: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Stormwater Calculator is a planning tool that provides a comparison of how much water is collected using different green infrastructure projects such as rain gardens and green roofs, and provides planning-level estimates of costs.
• NOAA Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Estimates: NOAA Atlas 14 provides estimates of precipitation frequency for a specified location in the U.S. in graphical or tabular form.

University of Michigan Sustainability Law Clinic

Shoreline Protection Ordinance Guide

Example ordinances with accompanying policy considerations assist coastal municipalities in developing policies that protect shorelines from the impacts of hardened armoring, while also protecting resident assets from the effects of shoreline erosion, lake level fluctuations, and flooding.

Link | coastalresourcehub@umich.edu 

Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)

Michigan’s Resilient Coast

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Michigan’s Resilient Coast site provides resources to help jurisdictions become Resilient-Ready Coastal Communities. Resources include:

• Resilient Coastal Communities Planning Guide 
• Building Coastal Resilience video series (scroll to bottom of page) 
• Coastal Leadership Academy (technical training; see more below)

Link | Ronda Wuycheck, Coastal Program Manager WuycheckR@Michigan.gov 

Coastal Leadership Academy

The Coastal Leadership Academy provides free 1-day, in-person technical training for coastal managers. Reach out to Adam for more information. There are three modules:

1. Scenario-based Planning & Zoning Module
2. Nature-based Solutions to Reduce Coastal Risks Module
3. Adaptation Strategies for Coastal Hazards Module (In Development)

Link | Adam Arend, Coastal Community Coordinator ArendA@Michigan.gov 

Michigan State University Extension

Citizen Planner

Land use education and training for locally appointed and elected planning officials in Michigan. The in-person or online self-paced courses cover fundamental roles, responsibilities, and best practices for planning and zoning. Coastal Planning module is in development.

Link | cplanner@msu.edu 

NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management (OCM)

Digital Coast

The NOAA OCM Digital Coast is the go-to resource with a slew of data, tools, training, and case studies covering a wide-variety of topics. Some popular resources are: 

• Coastal County Snapshots
• Digital Coast Academy (In-demand trainings and guides)
• Lake Level Viewer (specific to U.S. Great Lakes)
• Data Access Viewer (imagery, Lidar/elevation, and land cover data) 
• Land Cover Data

Link | Digital Coast Contact Form

Clean Marina Green Infrastructure Stormwater Toolkit

A team from the Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin Sea Grant programs, as well as the Ohio State University, are part of a three-year project to help marinas make their facilities more environmentally sustainable by harnessing the power of green infrastructure (GI).

The project, titled “Advancing Stormwater Management at Marinas in the Great Lakes,” has created this decision-support toolkit to help marina owners and operators choose feasible and effective green stormwater management strategies that fit their facility. The project also includes installation of green infrastructure practices at select marinas located in the Great Lakes Basin.

This project team was awarded funds in 2018 by the Great Lakes Protection Fund, an endowment established by seven states in 1989 to support projects that restore or enhance Great Lakes ecosystem health. View the project fact sheet for more details and contact information.

Link | Contacts