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The Co-Chairs of the Congressional Estuary Caucus, Representatives Bill Posey, Suzanne Bonamici, Frank LoBiondo, and Rick Larsen, invite you to a luncheon briefing to hear several examples of ongoing efforts to enhance the resilience of ecosystems and communities of highly vulnerable, but economically important, bays and estuaries.

By 2025, 75% of Americans will live within 50 miles of a coast. Within this narrow band are estuaries, some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet as well as home to many major cities and Ports. These vital gateways to our oceans are also highly vulnerable to sea level rise, storm inundation and erosion, and loss of critical fish and wildlife habitats. Understanding the risks estuaries face, and the proactive steps being taken to enhance the resiliency of these special places, will be the topic of this briefing.

Come join us on Monday, July 16th to learn more about efforts underway to enhance resiliency in our bays and estuaries. Afternoon snacks provided by a Capitol Hill favorite: We, the Pizza. We’ll have experts on estuarine resilience to speak, including:

Panel Moderator: Michael De Luca, Manager, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Panel:
• Tim Dillingham, Executive Director, American Littoral Society, Examples of nature-based defenses to enhance community resilience during Post Sandy recovery in New Jersey.
• Jennifer Hecker, Executive Director of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Assessing vulnerability and building resilience of coastal Southwest Florida communities.
• Jennifer Raulin, Manager of Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Maryland, Helping communities achieve resilience through local Estuarine Research Reserves.
• Larry Goldzband, Executive Director, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Planning for sea level rise in San Francisco Bay.



Date: July 16, 2018
Time: 12:00 – 1:30pm
Room: 2325 Rayburn House Office Building (SST Committee)