Cape Romain Resilience Initiative

Our Coastal Program’s goal with the Cape Romain Resilience Initiative is to weave together several important pieces of an overall resilience tapestry by focusing on both small-scale and large-scale natural solutions that will benefit birds and people. We are doing this by co-creating nature-based solutions with local communities and by working with partners to advance large-scale habitat restoration in the refuge. This is an imperative area of focus because it was identified as important for birds and communities in Audubon’s Coastal Carolinas Blueprint. 

We are leading a project working with communities around Cape Romain to co-create nature-based solutions that will help address local flooding challenges while also benefiting coastal bird species. Additionally, we aim to increase community capacity to engage in resilience planning work and elevate community voices and concerns. We are doing this work in consultation with specialized contractors, including Surculus, The Asiko Group, and Robinson Design Engineers. The project is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), and The Donnelley Foundation. 

We are working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and several other partners to advance habitat restoration in the refuge at prioritized locations, such as through beneficial placement of dredged sediment. It is critically important to restore the barrier islands and salt marshes within Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge because they are vital to nesting, migrating, and overwintering coastal birds, and they act as the first line of defense against flooding and storms to nearby communities. These habitats are also valuable culturally, economically, and recreationally. Our role in this work is to provide ecological expertise, convene partners, and obtain and manage funding for restoration design and implementation. Restoration work is currently in the initial planning phase.