Two HPC2 Member Institutes help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Complete Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment

November 6, 2015

The Northern Gulf Institute and the Geosystems Research Institute's Gulf Coastal Plains & Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Complete its Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment (GCVA), a comprehensive report that evaluates the effects of climate change, sea level rise and urbanization on four Gulf Coast ecosystems and 11 species that depend on them. The ecosystems are mangrove, oyster reef, tidal emergent marsh and barrier islands. The species are roseate spoonbill, blue crab, clapper rail, mottled duck, spotted seatrout, eastern oyster, American oystercatcher, red drum, black skimmer, Kemp's ridley sea turtle and Wilson's plover.

The GCVA was initiated by four Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and received support/guidance from many partners, including the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Northern Gulf Institute, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and the United States Geological Survey.

See the News Release in its entirety.   The GCVA is available to read in its entirety.