Climate Change: Information on NOAA's Support for States' Marine Coastal Ecosystem Resilience Efforts
Published: 2016-09-28T00:00:00

Fast Facts:
Climate assessments predict that floods and other extreme weather events will become more common and intense, putting coastal areas—which are home to more than half of the U.S. population—at risk. The wetlands, marshes, and mangroves that usually help protect coastal communities are also vulnerable.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides funding, training, and other assistance to help states assess and prepare their coastal zones for sea-level rise and other effects of climate change. We surveyed the coastal managers in the 23 states with such coastal zones and found that they're generally satisfied with NOAA's support.

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Coastal areas—home to over half of the U.S. population—are increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic damage from floods and other extreme weather events that are expected to become more common and intense, according to the 2014 Third National Climate Assessment. This assessment further indicated that less acute effects from changes in the climate, including sea level rise, could also have significant long-term impacts on the people and property along coastal states. Marine coastal ecosystems—including wetlands and marshes—can play an important role in strengthening coastal communities' resilience to the impacts of climate change, such as protecting eroding shorelines from sea level rise. Under the CZMA, NOAA is responsible for administering a federal-state partnership that encourages states to balance development with the protection of coastal areas in exchange for federal financial assistance and other incentives.
GAO was asked to review federal efforts to adapt to potential climate change effects on coastal ecosystems. This report provides information about NOAA's actions to support states' efforts to make marine coastal ecosystems more resilient to the impacts of climate change and states' views of those actions. GAO reviewed the CZMA and relevant NOAA policies and guidance; interviewed officials from NOAA headquarters and six regional offices; and conducted structured interviews with officials from the 25 state coastal zone management programs in all 23 marine coastal states.
NOAA provided technical comments on this report.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is taking a variety of actions to support states' efforts to make their marine coastal ecosystems more resilient to climate change, and states generally view NOAA's actions as positive steps. The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) provides a foundation for managing these ecosystems and partnering with states to work towards the agency's goals of achieving resilient coastal communities and healthy coastal ecosystems, according to NOAA officials. Through the federal-state partnership established under the CZMA, GAO found that NOAA has taken actions, including:
Financial incentives. NOAA has targeted some of its financial incentives for activities aimed at addressing the impacts of climate change. For example, NOAA designated coastal hazards—physical threats to life and property, such as sea level rise—as the focus of CZMA competitive grants. States competed for a total of $1.5 million in grants in fiscal year 2016. Officials from all 25 state programs that GAO interviewed said funding provided by NOAA has been critical for planning projects related to ecosystem resilience, but also expressed concern that the amount of funding is insufficient to address states' needs in implementing projects. For instance, officials from 15 state programs further indicated that coastal zone management grants have been a primary source of funding from NOAA, but that they generally cannot be used to purchase land or for construction projects, activities states identified as important for improving coastal resilience.
Technical assistance. NOAA has provided assistance largely through technical information, guidance, and training to help states better understand and address the potential impacts of climate change on marine coastal ecosystems. For example, NOAA helped develop an interactive digital tool to simulate different sea level rise scenarios. NOAA also developed guidance to help identify ways ecosystems may be used to enhance the resilience of coastal areas, such as using natural shorelines to buffer the effects of erosion. In addition, NOAA developed training on topics such assessing the vulnerability of coastal areas. State managers GAO interviewed had generally positive views of the technical assistance provided by NOAA. For example, officials from all 25 state programs said that the technical information NOAA provides has generally helped them incorporate climate information into their state programs.
National Estuarine Research Reserve System. NOAA, in partnership with coastal states, manages 25 marine-based estuary reserves, in part, to study natural and man-made changes to estuaries (bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea), including the potential impacts of climate change. For example, in 2014, one state used its research reserve to study and map marsh migration patterns across the state's coastline to determine how these ecosystems may respond to rising sea levels. Officials from 19 of the 25 state programs said that work carried out through the research reserves plays an important role in furthering their understanding of how climate change may affect the structure and function of estuarine ecosystems.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Coastal areas are home to more than half of our nation’s population and  contribute more than $6.6 trillion to the annual U.S. gross domestic  product. Coastal areas are increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic  damage from floods, drought, and other extreme weather events that are  expected to become more common and intense as a result of climate  change, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s 2014  Third National Climate Assessment. This assessment further indicated  that less acute effects from changes in the climate, including sea level  rise, could also have significant long-term impacts on the people and  property along marine coastal states. In 2013, we concluded that the  increasing number and severity of weather-related events are a key  source of fiscal exposure for the federal government. For example, in  2013, Congress appropriated about $50 billion for expenses related to the  consequences of Superstorm Sandy, which caused significant damage to  hundreds of thousands of homes and properties in mid-Atlantic and  northeastern coastal states. Limiting the federal government’s fiscal  exposure by better managing climate change risks has been on our high  risk list since 2013, in part, because of concerns about the increasing  costs of disaster response and recovery efforts.
Coastal ecosystems provide a variety of environmental and economic  benefits, including protecting shorelines from erosion and inundation,  reducing flood and storm damage, providing habitat for commercially and  recreationally important species, and offering opportunities for recreation  and commerce. Marine coastal ecosystems—including wetlands,  marshes, and mangroves—can also play an important role in  strengthening coastal communities’ resilience to the impacts of climate  change. Recognizing this role, in October 2014, the Executive Office of  the President released the Priority Agenda: Enhancing the Climate  Resilience of America’s Natural Resources, which identified enhancing  ecosystem resilience, among other things, as a national priority for federal  agencies in managing the effects of climate change. The priority agenda  defined “resilience” as the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to  changing conditions and withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from  disruptions.
Enhancing resilience also means reducing potential future losses rather  than waiting for an event to occur and paying for recovery afterward, as  we found in 2013. Enhancing resilience may create additional up-front  costs, but it may also reduce potential future damages from climate- related events that could otherwise constrain federal programs. As stated  in a 2010 National Research Council report, increasing the nation’s ability  to respond to a changing climate can be viewed as an insurance policy  against climate change risks.
The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric  Administration (NOAA) plays a key role in federal efforts to make marine  coastal ecosystems more resilient in the face of a changing climate.  NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management has identified resilient coastal  communities and healthy coastal ecosystems as goals in its strategic  plan, in line with NOAA’s overall vision for resilient communities,  economies, and ecosystems. The Office for Coastal Management works  toward these goals in part through its administration of the Coastal Zone  Management Act, as amended (CZMA). The CZMA created a voluntary  federal-state partnership, known as the National Coastal Zone  Management Program, to balance the often competing demands for  economic growth and development with the need to protect coastal  resources. As of the date of this report, 22 of 23 marine coastal states  are participating in the National Coastal Zone Management Program.
You asked us to review federal efforts to adapt to the observed and  projected effects of climate change on coastal ecosystems. This report  provides information about actions NOAA is taking with its CZMA  authority to support states’ efforts to make marine coastal ecosystems  more resilient to the impacts of climate change and states’ views of those  actions.
To conduct our work, we reviewed the CZMA; NOAA policies, strategic  plans, and other guidance on the National Coastal Zone Management  Program; and scientific studies and other documentation on climate  change and ecosystem resilience. We reviewed documentation from and  conducted interviews with NOAA officials in the Office for Coastal  Management from its headquarters and six regional offices (the Mid- Atlantic, Northeast, Southeast, Gulf Coast, Pacific Island, and West  Coast) about actions they are taking to support states’ efforts to make  marine coastal ecosystems more resilient to the impacts of climate  change. We interviewed officials from all 25 state coastal zone  management programs in the 23 marine coastal states. Specifically, we  conducted structured interviews with state coastal zone managers, and  others who have responsibility for overseeing aspects of their states’  coastal zone management programs, about actions NOAA is taking to  support their efforts to enhance ecosystem resilience in light of a  changing climate. We analyzed state responses and reviewed  associated documentation to identify common themes and summarize  states’ views on NOAA’s actions. In addition, to better understand how  NOAA works on coastal resilience issues across its various offices and  programs, we interviewed officials from NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and  Atmospheric Research and National Marine Fisheries Service. To obtain  broader perspectives on coastal resilience issues, we identified (through  our interviews and review of documentation) and interviewed  representatives from a nongeneralizable sample of stakeholders selected  to represent a variety of local, state, and national organizations, including  the Coastal States Organization, National Association of Counties,  National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, and Georgetown  Climate Center.
We conducted this performance audit from November 2014 to September  2016 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Approximately 88,000 miles in length, the nation’s marine coastline is  composed of a variety of coastal ecosystem types (see fig. 1). The  potential effects of climate change on these ecosystems are complex and  often difficult to predict, according to the 2014 National Climate  Assessment. For example, climate scientists have indicated high  confidence that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity  of coastal storms, but the exact location and timing of these events is  unknown. Similarly, the effects of sea level rise are expected to vary  considerably from region to region and over a range of temporal scales,  according to the assessment.
The 2014 National Climate Assessment further indicated that marine  coastal ecosystems are dynamic and sensitive to small changes in the  environment, including warming air and ocean temperatures and sea- level rise. Climate change may cause shifts in species’ distributions and  ranges along coasts that may impact ecosystem character and  functioning, according to the assessment. For example, eel grass, one  type of submerged vegetation that provides coastal protection from storm  surges, may die if water temperatures exceed its maximum tolerance  level. Ecosystems along the coast are also vulnerable to climate change  because many have been altered by human stresses, and climate change  will likely result in further reduction or loss of the services that these  ecosystems provide, according to the assessment.
The federal government has a limited role in project-level planning central  to helping increase the resiliency of marine coastal ecosystems to climate  change because state and local governments are primarily responsible  for managing their coastlines. However, the federal government plays a  critical role in supporting state government efforts to increase resiliency to  climate change, according to the President’s State, Local, and Tribal  Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. The  federal role includes ensuring that federal policies and programs factor in  potential risks from climate change, providing financial incentives for  enhancing resilience, and providing information and assistance to help  states and others better understand and prepare for climate risks.
NOAA, as a key federal agency whose mission is, in part, to manage and  conserve marine coastal ecosystems, has identified enhancing  ecosystem resilience as an important part of its broader goal of building  community resilience. NOAA works toward this goal, in part, through its  administration of the CZMA. Specifically, NOAA’s Office for Coastal  Management administers the National Coastal Zone Management  Program. To participate, states are to submit comprehensive  descriptions of their coastal zone management programs—approved by  states’ governors—to NOAA for review and approval. As specified in the  act, states are to meet the following requirements, among others, to  receive NOAA’s approval for their state programs: designate coastal zone boundaries that will be subject to state define what constitutes permissible land and water use in coastal propose an organizational structure for implementing the state  program, including the responsibilities of and relationships among  local, state, regional, and interstate agencies; and demonstrate sufficient legal authorities for the management of the  coastal zone in accordance with the program, which includes  administering land and water use regulations to control development  to ensure compliance with the program and resolve conflicts among  competing uses in coastal zones.
The act provides the states flexibility to design programs that best  address states’ unique coastal challenges, laws, and regulations, and  participating states have taken various approaches to developing and  carrying out their programs. States’ specific activities also vary, with some  states focusing on permitting, mitigation, and enforcement activities, and  other states focusing on providing technical and financial assistance to  local governments and nonprofits for local coastal protection and  management projects. If states make changes to their programs, such as  changes to their coastal zone boundaries, enforceable policies, or  organizational structures, states are to submit those changes to NOAA for  review and approval. NOAA officials are responsible for, among other  things, approving state programs and any program changes;  administering federal funding to the states; and providing technical  assistance to states, such as on the development of 5-year coastal zone  enhancement assessment and strategy reports that identify states’ priority  needs and projects.
One primary incentive to encourage states to develop coastal zone  management programs and participate in the National Coastal Zone  Management Program is states’ eligibility to receive federal grants from  NOAA to support the implementation and management of their programs.  Specifically, NOAA provides two primary types of National Coastal Zone  Management Program grants to participating states:
Coastal zone management grants support the administration and  management of state programs and require states to match federal  contributions.
Coastal zone enhancement grants support improvements in state  programs in specified enhancement areas. Coastal zone  enhancement grants do not require state matching funds and include  both formula and competitive grants for projects of special merit. To  be eligible for coastal zone enhancement grants, state coastal zone  management programs are to develop an assessment of each of nine  enhancement areas for their state every 5 years, including those  areas that are a priority for the state. In conjunction with the  assessment, state programs are to also develop a strategy for  addressing the high priority needs for program enhancement within  one or more enhancement area(s). NOAA reviews and approves  this “assessment and strategy” document for each state and, if  approved, states are eligible for formula grants and may also apply  annually for competitive grants.
In fiscal year 2016, a total of almost $50 million was allocated to the 22  participating marine coastal states for these two types of grants. By  statute, a maximum of $10 million of the amount appropriated for CZMA  management grants may be used for the coastal zone enhancement  formula and competitive grants. States received a maximum of  approximately $0.9 to $2.7 million per state for the two types of grants  under the National Coastal Zone Management Program in fiscal year  2016. In addition, the CZMA authorizes NOAA to provide technical  assistance, including by entering into financial agreements, to support the  development and implementation of state coastal zone management  program enhancements.
The CZMA also established the National Estuarine Research Reserve  System—a network of 28 coastal estuary reserves (25 of which are  located in marine coastal states) managed through a state-federal  partnership between NOAA and coastal states. NOAA provides financial  assistance, coordination, national guidance for program implementation,  and technical assistance, and coastal states are responsible for  managing reserve resources and staff, providing matching funds, and  implementing programs locally. The reserve system was established on  the principle that long-term protection of representative estuaries provides  stable platforms for research and education and the application of  management practices that will benefit the nation’s estuaries and coasts,  according to its 2011-16 strategic plan.
State coastal zone managers may take various actions to manage marine  coastal ecosystems and help increase their resilience to the potential  effects of climate change. For example, managers may target land  acquisition and conservation activities to areas of higher ground adjacent  to coastal wetlands, mangroves, and other natural habitats to allow the  habitats to migrate so they do not disappear if sea levels rise. In addition,  state coastal zone managers may remove physical barriers, such as  concrete structures, that prevent beach migration over time in favor of  installing living shorelines along areas with a low impact from waves.   Living shorelines are natural habitats, or a combination of natural habitat  and manmade elements, put in place along coastal shorelines to reduce  shoreline erosion. Management decisions about what actions may be  appropriate for a specific area often depend upon detailed information  about the current and expected future conditions of the area in question,  such as shoreline elevation data, expected rates of sea level rise, and  how the ecosystem may be expected to respond to future environmental  changes. As we concluded in our 2009 report on climate change and  strategic federal planning, new approaches may be needed to match new  realities, and old ways of doing business—such as making decisions  based on the assumed continuation of past climate conditions—may not  work in a world affected by climate change.
section_title: NOAA Is Taking a Variety of Actions to Support States’ Efforts to Enhance Marine Coastal Ecosystem Resilience, and States Have Generally Positive Views of NOAA’s Actions
paragraphs: NOAA is taking a variety of actions under the CZMA to support states’  efforts to make their marine coastal ecosystems more resilient to climate  change, and states generally view NOAA’s actions as positive steps.  According to NOAA officials, the agency’s actions are largely embedded  in its broader efforts to build community resilience, and through these  efforts NOAA has emphasized the importance of healthy ecosystems, as  there is increasing recognition of the critical role that ecosystems play in  supporting resilient communities. The CZMA provides a foundation for  managing marine coastal ecosystems and partnering with states to work  towards the agency’s goals of achieving resilient coastal communities and  healthy coastal ecosystems, according to the officials. Within this context,  NOAA is taking such actions as providing financial incentives and  technical assistance and supporting research through the National  Estuarine Research Reserve System to help coastal states understand  the potential effects of climate change and plan or implement projects to  respond to these effects and enhance marine coastal resilience. We  found that state coastal zone managers generally had positive views of  the actions NOAA is taking.
subsections: section_title: Financial Incentives
paragraphs: NOAA has targeted some of the financial incentives it provides to states  under the CZMA for activities aimed at addressing the impacts of climate  change and enhancing marine coastal resilience. For example, within the  National Coastal Zone Management Program for fiscal years 2016 to  2020, NOAA designated coastal hazards—physical threats to life and  property, such as sea level rise—as an enhancement area of national  importance. In so doing, NOAA indicated that coastal zone enhancement  competitive grants would be focused on projects that will further support  approved state strategies related to this enhancement area. NOAA also  increased the total amount available for these competitive grants from $1  million in fiscal years 2014 and 2015 to $1.5 million for fiscal year 2016.  NOAA officials said that many of the applications they received in 2015  and 2016 were for projects that were intended to directly or indirectly  address climate risks and enhance the resilience of states’ coastal  ecosystems. For example, in 2015, NOAA awarded one grant for about  $200,000 to a state to undertake a mapping study to identify vulnerable  habitats along its coastline and use the results of the study to prioritize  those habitats considered most vulnerable to climate change for the  state’s restoration and resilience efforts.
In addition, starting in fiscal year 2015, NOAA initiated a Regional Coastal  Resilience Grant Program to fund projects that focus on regional  approaches to helping coastal communities address vulnerabilities to  extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing ocean conditions  using resilience strategies. State and local governments, nonprofit  organizations, and others are eligible to apply for these grants. NOAA  awarded six applicants grants totaling $4.5 million in each of fiscal years  2015 and 2016, according to NOAA officials. Projects eligible for grants  may be targeted to a variety of efforts that support resilience, including  actions focused on marine coastal ecosystem resilience. For example, in  2016, NOAA awarded one grant for nearly $900,000 to a regional  partnership of state governments, nonprofit organizations, and academia  involved in a project aimed at mitigating the impacts of weather events on  natural resources, among other things. Specifically, the project intends to  assess potential coastal storm impacts and increase the implementation  of nature-based infrastructure approaches to buffer the effects of coastal  storms, among other things.
Officials from all 25 state coastal zone management programs said that  financial assistance provided by NOAA has been critical for planning  projects designed to enhance marine coastal ecosystem resilience and  reduce the potential impacts of climate change. Officials from nearly all  state coastal zone management programs expressed concern, however,  that the amount of financial assistance available is insufficient to address  states’ needs in implementing projects. For example, officials from 15 of  the 25 state programs said that coastal zone management grants have  been the primary source of funding from NOAA that they have used for  efforts related to ecosystem resilience. However, these grants generally  cannot be used to purchase land or for construction projects—activities  the states identified as important for improving the resilience of their  coastlines. In addition, officials from 20 of the 25 state programs said  that they have had to leverage funds from multiple sources, such as state  funds, nonprofit organizations, or other federal agencies, to implement  projects aimed at enhancing ecosystem resilience. NOAA officials agreed  that there is a high demand for funding for these types of projects, noting,  for example, that the Regional Coastal Resilience Grant Program  received 132 qualified applications requesting a total of $105 million  during its first application period in fiscal year 2015, when a total of $4.5  million was available for the grants.
section_title: Technical Assistance
paragraphs: Through its administration of the National Coastal Zone Management  Program, NOAA has also provided technical assistance to coastal states  to help them understand and address the potential impacts of climate  change on marine coastal ecosystems. NOAA officials said they work  regularly with state coastal zone managers and they look for opportunities  to provide assistance to help the states take actions designed to enhance  resilience. For instance, through their reviews of states’ 5-year coastal  zone enhancement assessment and strategy reports, NOAA officials said  they identify information needs and priorities of state coastal zone  management programs. For example, NOAA officials said they found that  states had a common interest in knowing more about valuing the  economic benefits of coastal ecosystems, such as estimating the financial  benefit that ecosystems provide for flood control. As a result, NOAA  officials said they presented information on this topic at a 2016 annual  meeting with state coastal zone managers. This type of information can  help states develop cost-benefit analyses that may more accurately  capture the value of services provided by coastal ecosystems—as  opposed to man-made infrastructure such as seawalls and levees—when  states are exploring options for coastal projects, according to the officials.  NOAA officials also said they share the states’ needs and priorities that  they identify with other NOAA offices, as well as with external partners  such as other federal agencies and nonprofit organizations, to increase  the awareness of state program needs and priorities and facilitate  coordination and the alignment of resources across programs.
NOAA provides a wide range of technical assistance in the form of  technical information, guidance, and training related to better  understanding and addressing the potential impacts of climate change on  marine coastal ecosystems, including:
Technical information. NOAA has provided various types of  technical information to states to help them understand and  incorporate climate information into their state coastal zone  management programs. For example, in 2007, in partnership with  nonprofit entities, NOAA helped develop a publically available  repository of information—called the Digital Coast—to help state  coastal zone managers and others analyze potential climate risks and  determine how to address those risks. The Digital Coast provides  information and tools on such topics as climate models and statistical  analyses that coastal managers can use to incorporate climate  information into their management activities. For instance, the Digital  Coast contains an interactive tool that allows users to estimate sea  level rise and simulate different sea level rise scenarios using  elevation and surface data to help identify coastal areas that may be  affected by rising sea levels in a changing climate. Coastal zone  managers from one state said they used this tool to determine the  vulnerability of their state’s shoreline to potential sea level rise, which  has helped them better target financial assistance to areas they  identified as most vulnerable.
Officials from all 25 state coastal zone management programs said  that the technical information NOAA provides has generally helped  them incorporate climate information into their state programs.  However, officials from 20 of the 25 state programs said they often  need more local or site-specific information for planning and  implementing projects. The information NOAA provides is mostly at a  national or regional scale, given staffing and resource levels,  according to NOAA officials. These officials added that data available  through the Digital Coast may be used as a starting point for coastal  managers to modify and build in more site-specific elements. For  example, one state customized a Digital Coast tool for estimating sea  level rise to create a map outlining potential coastal flooding areas  under various sea level rise scenarios at a site-specific scale within its  state.
Guidance. NOAA has developed several guidance documents to help  state coastal zone managers and others identify specific ways marine  coastal ecosystems may be used to help withstand the potential  impacts of climate change and enhance the resilience of coastal  areas. For example, in 2015, NOAA developed its Guidance for  Considering the Use of Living Shorelines to provide information on  how to use natural ecosystems, such as oyster reefs or marshes, to  reduce coastal erosion caused by intense storms, wave erosion, or  sea level rise. In addition, in 2016, NOAA issued a Guide for  Considering Climate Change in Coastal Conservation. The guide  provides coastal managers a step-by-step approach to considering  climate change in coastal conservation planning, with links to relevant  tools, information, and other resources.
Officials from 19 of the 25 state coastal zone management programs  said NOAA’s guidance was generally useful, but officials from 14 of  these programs said that NOAA’s guidance alone is not sufficient to  plan or implement actions that enhance ecosystem resilience and  address climate change risks. Officials from one state, for example,  said that NOAA’s guidance on using living shorelines is helpful for  general purposes such as educating the public on the benefits of this  technique, but that the guidance does not cover all shoreline types,  such as gravel beaches, exposed rocky shores, or tidal flats. NOAA  officials said that using living shorelines as a strategy to enhance  coastal resilience is a relatively new technique, and as coastal  managers gain more experience with its use on different types of  shorelines, NOAA plans to incorporate this information into the  assistance it provides to coastal states. NOAA officials also said that  the guidance was not intended to be a comprehensive source of  technical information on living shoreline techniques, but rather to  provide information on key technical and policy considerations in  planning and designing shoreline management projects.
Training. NOAA has developed instructor-led and online training on  topics such as the use of marine coastal ecosystems for improving  community resilience and understanding how to use the tools found in  the Digital Coast as a way to plan for and take action to address the  potential impacts of climate change. For example, from 2014 to 2016,  NOAA provided training to over 250 state coastal zone managers and  other state practitioners across the country on identifying various  types of flooding in coastal areas and methods for mapping potential  flooding scenarios. Similarly, during the same time period, NOAA  officials said they offered 11 3-day climate adaptation workshops  across the country that covered a variety of climate-related topics  including methods for assessing the vulnerability of coastal areas and  options for using ecosystems, such as wetlands, to provide flood  protection.
Officials from 16 of the 25 state coastal zone management programs  told us that they viewed the training provided by NOAA on topics  related to climate change and ecosystem resilience as helpful. NOAA  officials said they take steps to ensure their training topics meet  states’ needs by discussing potential training topics with state coastal  zone managers before developing courses and by collecting  participant feedback after training courses are provided. For example,  NOAA officials said they reach out to all training participants after  each course to ask the participants the extent to which they believe  they will be able to apply the training to their work.
section_title: National Estuarine Research Reserve System
paragraphs: NOAA officials said that the National Estuarine Research Reserve  System is important for marine coastal ecosystem resilience, in part,  because the reserves serve as “living laboratories” for the study of  estuaries and natural and man-made changes, including the impacts of  climate change. For example, in 2014, coastal zone managers from one  state partnered with the state’s research reserve staff, along with NOAA  and others, to study and map marsh migration patterns across the state’s  coastline to determine how marsh ecosystems may respond to rising sea  levels. The study results were then incorporated into state efforts to help  local communities plan for and take action to adapt to the effects of  climate change, according to a state coastal zone manager. In the  research reserve system’s 2011-16 strategic plan, NOAA and the states  identified climate change as one of three strategic areas of focus and  investment for the 5-year period. Activities identified in the plan include,  among others, generating and disseminating periodic analyses of water  quality, habitat change, and the effects of climate change and other  stressors at local and regional scales.
Officials from 19 of the 25 state coastal zone management programs said  that the work carried out through their respective research reserves plays  an important role in furthering their understanding of how climate change  may affect the structure and function of estuarine ecosystems. NOAA  officials agreed that this research plays a critical role in supporting states’  efforts to enhance coastal resilience to climate change. The officials said  they are updating the reserve system’s strategic plan for 2017, which they  expect to complete in January 2017, and plan to continue highlighting  climate change and resilience as key issues to focus their research at the  reserves.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We provided the Department of Commerce a draft of this report for review  and comment. NOAA provided technical comments, which we  incorporated as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional  committees, the Secretary of Commerce, and other interested parties. In  addition, the report is available at no charge on the GAO website at  http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff members have any questions about this report, please  contact me at (202) 512-3841 or fennella@gao.gov. Contact points for  our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found  on the last page of this report. GAO staff members who made key  contributions to this report are listed in appendix I.
section_title: Appendix I: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
paragraphs: Anne-Marie Fennell, (202) 512-3841 or fennella@gao.gov.
section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Alyssa M. Hundrup (Assistant  Director), Michelle Cooper, John Delicath, Cindy Gilbert, Jeanette M.  Soares, and Rajneesh Verma made key contributions to this report. Also  contributing were Michael Hill, Armetha Liles, Christopher Pacheco,  Janice Poling, Steve Secrist, and Joseph Dean Thompson.