The project site is an area HIT hard by catastrophic, repetitive flooding (six federal disaster declarations between 2012 and 2022) affecting local communities and an extensive network of state,…

The $1,451,065 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Office for Coastal Management (CFDA 11.473) program will fund a project led by the Northwest Regional Planning Commission (NWR) to address repetitive flooding issues in an area across multiple states, counties, cities, and tribal lands. The project aims to 1) identify how the loss of headwater wetland storage and floodplain connectivity is contributing to the flooding, and 2) implement high-impact, nature-based solutions to restore the natural hydrology and combat the flooding. The project will utilize new approaches that integrate spatial and field-based assessments to investigate the root causes of the flooding and potential restoration opportunities. This four-year project, with an award period from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2028, is intended to leverage NWR's expertise in regional planning, flood mitigation, and environmental resilience initiatives to support local communities and critical infrastructure across the multi-jurisdictional area.

The project site is an area HIT hard by catastrophic, repetitive flooding (six federal disaster declarations between 2012 and 2022) affecting local communities and an extensive network of state, local, and tribally managed roads. Funding will be used to 1) identify how the loss of headwater wetland storage and floodplain connectivity is contributing to the flooding problem; and 2) implement high-impact, nature-based solutions to combat this flooding by restoring the natural hydrology. The project is led by the northwest regional planning commission, a cooperative of local governments and tribal communities. Road maintenance responsibilities stretch across three states, six counties, five cities, one village, 33 towns, and two tribes. The root causes of flooding and potential restoration opportunities will be investigated using new approaches that integrate spatial and field-based assessments.