Brown pelicans cluster on a small sand bar island in Galveston Bay, Texas.

Coastal Resilience

Protecting America's shores for birds and people

Climate change threatens birds and people on our coasts.

Under Audubon’s coastal resilience initiative, we are working to protect and restore coastal habitat through natural infrastructure policies and projects to reverse the declines in shorebird populations and to protect coastal communities from the impacts of a changing climate. Natural infrastructure, including wetlands, living shorelines, eelgrass, and barrier islands, serve as the first line of defense for coastal communities facing stronger, more frequent storms and sea-level rise. 

Audubon works at the federal level to support and expand policies that preserve and protect undeveloped coastal ecosystems, like the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, and to ensure that the federal government includes natural infrastructure in annual spending programs meant to improve our country's infrastructure and recover from national disasters. We advocate for those investments to be prioritized in underserved communities that are overburdened by pollution and that face disproportionate risks from climate impacts.

Additionally, Audubon state offices are working to design and implement on-the-ground natural infrastructure projects in communities, including projects to rebuild barriers island in the Gulf of Mexico and South Carolina, build living shorelines and restore oyster reefs in North Carolina and Connecticut, restore marshes and beneficially use dredged sediments in Long Island Sound, and the San Francisco and Chesapeake bays.

Aerial view of the Donal C. O’Brien, Jr. Sanctuary and Audubon Center at Pine Island in Corolla, North Carolina. Justin Cook
Natural infrastructure policy platform

Building Resilience with Nature

Audubon's new suite of policy recommendations for Congress and the Biden administration will make our communities and birds more resilient to climate change. By restoring and protecting our natural landscapes like wetlands, beaches, and floodplains, we can we can shore up these first lines of defense that protect communities against storm surge and rising seas.

Conservation strategies for coastal resilience

News

Our Blueprint for a Resilient Lower Mississippi River

On World Water Day, Audubon has identified the most important places for birds and people from Missouri to the Gulf Coast.
Coasts

Our Blueprint for a Healthy, More Resilient Puget Sound

Audubon’s new conservation strategy identifies the most important places for birds and people in Puget Sound.
Coasts

A Blueprint for a Healthier Coast in New York and Connecticut

Audubon’s new conservation strategy will create a resilient future for the Long Island Sound area.

Coastal Resilience News

pipes lay across a partially constructed island of light-colored sand. the island is near shore, but surrounded by water.
Coasts

One Good Turn Deserves Another

A dredging operation provides material to restore Crab Bank, an important seabird sanctuary in Charleston Harbor.
Coasts

A Decisive Victory for the Most Important Coastal Law You’ve Never Heard of

Audubon won a lawsuit to prevent sand mining on protected beaches and plans to expand this powerful policy.
Aerial view of the Donal C. O’Brien, Jr. Sanctuary and Audubon Center at Pine Island in Corolla, North Carolina. Justin Cook
News

Putting Wetlands to Work for Disaster Recovery

Audubon's policy platform lays out the need for natural infrastructure to protect birds and people in the face of climate change.
Coasts

Creating a More Just Climate Future for Those on the Front Lines

The Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act accounts for the unjust burden that climate change poses to communities of color.
Coasts

King Tides Are a Sign of the Future for Oregon's Coast

Portland Audubon calls on Oregon's congressional delegation to champion the Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act.
Seas & Shores

New Legislation Taps into Coasts’ Potential to Store Carbon Pollution

Audubon supports the introduction of the Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act.

​Rebuilding and protecting our coasts for birds and people

 

Coastal Resilience and Disaster Recovery

Coasts

A Record-breaking Year of Storms Calls for Big Investments on Our Coasts

The Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act will restore and protect coastal areas that buffer communities and birds from climate change.
Coasts

We’re Just Now Figuring Out the Toll of Hurricane Laura

As Audubon Louisiana assesses damage to its coastal sites, including Rainey Sanctuary, people in Louisiana need help to recover from the storm.
Audubon in Action

How Hurricane Michael Affected the Florida Panhandle's Coastal Landscape

The devastation to human communities is overwhelming, but the story for birds is more complex.
Conservation

On the Ground with Audubon Texas After Hurricane Harvey

A tour of some of the affected islands shows the storm’s impacts, but also the surprising resilience of coastal ecosystems.
Conservation

Five Things We Learned in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Audubon’s assessment of the effects of hurricanes will inform restoration efforts that can protect our coasts in the future.
News

Tropical Storm Cindy Just Wiped Out Most of the Shorebird Chicks in the Gulf

Without coastal restoration that makes beaches less vulnerable to storm surges, climate change will be a threat, and not just from sea level rise.

Birds That Depend on Resilient Coasts