Puget Sound floodplains workshop scheduled for October 2, 2013

The Nature Conservancy, in partnership with local governments, and state and federal agencies is planning a “Floodplains by Design” workshop for Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at the Edmonds Conference Center from 9:00 to 3:00.  Those involved in floodplains management in the region are invited to attend. The partnership extends from a new allocation of $33 million in funding from the Washington State legislature “to advance 9 important floodplain projects in Puget Sound.”

The Nature Conservancy writes:

The “Floodplains by Design” partnership is working to improve the resiliency of our floodplains for the protection of human communities and the health of the ecosystem. Over the next ten years, this initiative will nurture and expand on the great work already being done, seek to address some of the common barriers to success and secure additional money and technical assistance to advance a suite of projects.  The “Floodplains by Design” partnership comes at a time when population growth, increased bureaucracy, limited resources and a changing climate are putting new pressures on our ability to keep people safe and to make sure the Puget Sound basin is the kind of place we all want to live. A National Estuaries Program Grant from Ecology, NEP funding from the Puget Sound Partnership, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy funds this effort over the next year.

Puget Sound’s floodplains are among the region’s most valuable assets. They contain some of the richest farmland, host the Sound’s signature salmon runs, provide recreational opportunities for the region’s population of over 4 million people, and contain commercial, residential and industrial development worth billions of dollars.  Around Puget Sound, programs directed at improving flood control and restoring the environment demonstrate we can protect the public, improve our quality of life and repair natural processes. We have the knowledge to do it all.

However, many of you involved in floodplain management face similar challenges: you have visions for what is necessary and possible but face many barriers from permitting to complex and conflicted regulations to a lack of critical resources.  We believe we will all be more successful if we work together to develop a joint 10-year program across Puget Sound.

Over the next 12 months, we want to work with you and others to identify barriers to your success, practical solutions to those barriers and a suite of projects needed to protect our communities and restore the ecosystem in each of the major river floodplain.

Read more at The Nature Conservancy’s website.