Hazards and Resilience and Climate Change

WSG welcomes inaugural cohort of Coastal Resilience Fellows

September 17, 2025

Congratulations to our new WSG Coastal Resilience Fellows!

We are pleased to announce that recent graduates Anabel Baker, Elyse Kelsey, Madeleine Lucas and Rich Desanto have been awarded the Washington Sea Grant (WSG) Coastal Resilience Fellowship for 2025–2027.

This is the inaugural cohort of the new WSG Coastal Resilience Fellowship, a unique educational opportunity for early or shifting career professionals to provide additional capacity for coastal communities around coastal resilience. A two-year, paid fellowship ...

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SEP

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coastal resilience, fellows, fellowships, new

The Salmon and Climate Initiative brings a broader perspective to recovery efforts

From the Summer 2025 Sea Star

By Jess Davis, WSG Science Communications Fellow

Chinook salmon underwater Big actions often start with simple dreams. Nearly 40 years ago, many Washington state salmon fishermen began noticing declining stocks in salmon populations. Livelihoods impacted, a group of these fishermen felt a sense of urgency to initiate an effort to reinvigorate Washington salmon fishery ...

21
AUG

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long live the kings, recovery, research, restoration, salmon

Eyes on the Elwha: A Conversation with WSG Coastal Hazards Specialist, Ian Miller

March 3, 2025

By Maddie Gard, WSG Science Communications Fellow

When the Elwha River dams were breached in 2011, a century’s worth of accumulated sediment was released and transported downstream to the coastal zone. An estimated 19 million metric tons of mud, sand and gravel that had been trapped in the dam reservoirs transformed twists and turns of the Elwha River, eventually flushing out to the coast and reshaping the river delta near Port Angeles. Since then, Washington ...

3
MAR

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Hazard Resilience, Marine and Coastal Planning, WSG News Blog

Grassroots community engagement and Kevin Decker’s economic report changed the tide for North Cove

Once facing rapid erosion, North Cove beach was recently deemed one of the nation’s ‘best restored beaches’

January 23, 2025

By Maddie Gard, WSG Science Communications Fellow

A decade ago, the northern shore of Willapa Bay was washing away — along with the homes and businesses of the North Cove community. Rapid coastal erosion along North Cove beach in Pacific County, Washington was causing over 100 feet of beach to disappear annually into the ocean on average. ...

23
JAN

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King tides return to Washington shores

December 12, 2024

The highest tides of the year return to Washington state this weekend, with areas like Shelton and Olympia expecting high tides over 16 feet.

King tides, extreme-high tides that occur when Earth experiences increased gravitational pull from the moon and sun, are an annual yet dramatic feature of Washington winters. Alone, they can cause flooding conditions in low-lying areas. Combined with other factors–like high winds and wave action, especially during coastal storms–flooding can become more ...

12
DEC

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Federal funding will build capacity in Washington coastal Tribes and communities to address hazards due to climate change

August 22, 2024

Coastal Tribes and communities in Washington are on the front lines of climate change. Many are already grappling with associated coastal hazards, including sea level rise and flooding. However, all too often, these communities lack the capacity to adequately address the increasing climate risks that they face.

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) and the Climate Impacts Group (CIG) — both based at the University of Washington College of the Environment — collectively received $8.1 million in ...

22
AUG

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New report shares Northwest coastal Tribes’ needs and barriers in adapting to climate change

August 14, 2024

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) co-led with University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians a new report sharing Northwest coastal tribes’ needs and barriers as they work to adapt to climate change. The report compiles findings from six Tribal listening sessions where Tribal members were invited to share their experiences around climate change adaptation in their communities.

The report, “Climate adaptation barriers and needs experienced by Northwest coastal Tribes: ...

14
AUG

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Washington Sea Grant will lead collaborative research to model southwest estuaries and advance climate resilience in coastal communities

August 12, 2024

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is excited to have a project selected for funding through the Climate and Fisheries Adaptation (CAFA) program, a partnership between NOAA Research Climate Program Office and the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology.

The WSG project aims to build on the foundation laid by the Willapa-Grays Harbor Estuary Collaborative (Collaborative). Launched in April 2022 and facilitated by WSG, the Collaborative holds the long-term mission of increasing the resilience ...

12
AUG

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New modeling tool shows impacts of sea level rise, coastal flooding to Whatcom County

February 27, 2024

Created by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and supported by Washington Sea Grant, the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) will soon be available for use across Washington state

From rising seas to eroding shorelines and more frequent, intense storms, the hazards faced by coastal communities are only projected to grow. Recognizing these threats, planners and managers around Washington are assessing the vulnerability of their communities and planning for impacts – in particular, the impacts ...

27
FEB

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WSG receives $1.59 million to boost Puget Sound habitat

March 6, 2023

The two WSG-led projects selected for funding will focus on sea level rise vulnerability and managing invasive European green crab

Two projects led by Washington Sea Grant (WSG) will receive a total of $1.59 million through the Puget Sound National Estuary Program’s Habitat Strategic Initiative, a partnership between Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Department of Natural Resources. The WSG-led projects will focus on sea level rise vulnerability ...

6
MAR

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Drone videos show height of tsunami based on UW modeling

An evacuation route in Westport, Washington gets a “tsunami eye” view

October 20, 2022

It started with a question: How can emergency managers and educators make tsunami evacuation maps and routes easier to remember for coastal communities?

That’s when Washington Sea Grant Coastal Hazards Specialist Carrie Garrison-Laney came up with an idea.

“Some people are visual in terms of how they understand things,” she said.

“Being able to see video of how high a tsunami could be on a familiar landscape is a ...

20
OCT

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Monitoring the Damage in the Heat Wave’s Wake

From the Autumn 2022 Sea Star

Washington Sea Grant rapidly provided funding to two projects to survey the impacts of the historic June 2021 heat wave on intertidal marine life

By Samantha Larson, WSG Science Writer

In June 2021, the peak of an unprecedented heat wave coincided with extremely low tides in the Salish Sea, wreaking havoc on intertidal ecosystems. As a “heat dome” settled above the Pacific Northwest for several days and the temperatures climbed well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, many ...

15
SEP

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Sea Levels are Rising in Washington. What will the Shorelines of the Future be like?

July 22, 2022

A new report from the Washington Coastal Resilience Project evaluates the trade-offs between various strategies to manage the impacts of sea level rise

As sea levels continue to rise, coastal hazards such as flooding and erosion will become increasingly common. According to recent assessments, over 14,000 homes and structures in Washington State — representing a current value of over 8 billion dollars ...

22
JUL

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How can we better prepare for natural hazards on our coasts? Inter-organizational collaboration to assist local efforts may be key

March 24, 2022

A newly completed project lays the foundation for a team to help Washington’s coastal communities be better prepared for floods, erosion and other coastal hazards

Floods. Erosion. Sea level rise. Tsunamis. All of these hazards threaten Washington State’s coasts — with potentially dire consequences. Although there have been many efforts and investments to respond to disaster events, geographically isolated communities on the state’s Pacific coast often lack sufficient capacity to undertake comprehensive planning efforts to ...

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MAR

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