Habitats: Restoration and Planning
Monarch Conservation in America’s Cities: A Solutions Guide for Municipal Leaders
National Wildlife Federation's Monarch Conservation in America's Cities: A Solutions Guide for Municipal Leaders is for mayors, local government chief executives, municipal staff and others that want to take action to help save the declining monarch butterfly in their community. This guide provides case studies and shares innovative best practices that can be replicated by municipalities across the nation. It includes model language for proclamations, ordinances and other best practices. By learning from one another and understanding what has worked (and what hasn’t) cities can more effectively and more quickly take action and make a difference for the monarch. If your municipality has a model monarch butterfly conservation program or initiative, please contact NWF at mayorsmonarchpledge@nwf.org. For local government executives interested in pledging their commitment to monarch butterfly conservation, check out and sign NWF's Mayors' Monarch Pledge.
Milwaukee’s Comprehensive Sustainability and Water Plan
“The City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s…”ReFresh Milwaukee” program covers eight issue areas (buildings, energy, food system, human capital, land & urban ecosystems, mobility, resource recovery and water) and identifies two catalytic projects where adaptation and resiliency are at the core of the projects (“Inner Harbor 2020” economic and ecological redevelopment of Milwaukee’s inner harbor and the Milwaukee estuary; and HOME GR/OWN which increases access and demand for local healthy food). Across the eight issue areas there 25 goals and 53 targets for the City and its partners to achieve in the next 10 years.”
Visit site Milwaukee’s Comprehensive Sustainability and Water Plan
Climate Considerations for Management of Natural Areas and Green Spaces in the City of Chicago
Managing natural resources in an effective and cost-efficient way requires responding to changes that are occurring in the climate system. This guide focuses on adaptation, with the aim of helping resource managers in the Chicago Wilderness region jump-start the process of updating approaches to management to better incorporate, and reduce the rate of, climate change. Specifically, the goal is to help resource managers identify options that can reduce the exposure of key species or systems to change, reduce their sensitivity to change, or increase their ability to adapt to change.
Forest Floor Mat Transplanting in Sudbury (2012)
Since 1978, the City of Greater Sudbury, Ontario, has undertaken re-greening efforts to replace tree and vegetation cover on 82,000 ha that had been historically denuded by smelter emissions. To further these efforts, and protect the fragile new growth from anticipated climate change impacts, the City initiated a program to transplant forest floor mats from old growth forest areas scheduled for depletion to accommodate the widening of Highway 69, to the newly planted areas. The forest floor mats add plant and micro-organism diversity promoting healthy trees and help to protect the new vegetation from climate impacts such as extreme heat, wind or precipitation events.
The case study reviews the details of the program and highlights the challenges and lessons learned that have emerged from this endeavour.
A Practitioners Guide to Climate Change Adaptation in Ontario’s Ecosystems
This guide was developed to help practitioners respond to and prepare for climate change. It introduces the concepts of climate change adaptation, vulnerability, and risk. It also describes vulnerability and risk assessment tools and techniques, and a framework that can be used to support adaptive management in a rapidly changing climate. Ultimately, the guide seeks to assist natural resource managers to identify ways that climate change vulnerabilities and risks can be integrated into decision-making processes that include adaptation action plans, strategies, and policies.
Toronto Beaches: Bluffer’s Park
The City of Toronto, Toronto Water, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority assessed and rehabilitated the Bluffer's Park beach to reduce contamination from E. coli bacteria. The restored beach is now a high-quality habitat, and water quality has improved dramatically. The Bluffer's Park beach recovery is one of the best examples of beach restoration; pre-restoration, the beach was in a health advisory 80% of the time. Post-restoration, the beach has been open 85% of the time and is now a Blue Flag beach.
Climate Change Adaptation Options for Toronto’s Urban Forest
This case study presents some of the expected climate change impacts challenging Toronto's urban forest as well as a number of adaptation options that can be undertaken to protect these vulnerable species.
Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Communities: Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Response to Adaptation Strategies
A collaborative research project that assessed the vulnerability to climate change of wetlands in the Great Lakes area. The report explores human-directed adaptations and responses to climate change.
The Marquette Plan – Improvements along Northwest Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline
The Marquette plan is a comprehensive land use vision intended to achieve tangible quality of life improvements along Northwest Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline and beyond. “At the heart of this planning initiative is the creation of a green ribbon of connected dune and swale landscapes, river corridors, lakes, beaches, reclaimed industrial canals and a range of diverse habitat that provides the natural counterpart to the industrialized setting that has dominated Northwest Indiana for the past century.” 2005.
Green Bay Smart Growth 2022 – Natural Resources
“The Smart Growth 2022 Natural Resources Plan provides guidance to the City in the management of wetlands, floodplains, woods and natural areas. […] Water is the focus of the plan since the city is at the
foot of a major bay and the mouth of several rivers or creeks.
Goal: Improve wetlands, streams and wildlife habitat in Green Bay for the sake of sustainable development, ecological responsibility, quality of life and economic development.”
For more information, visit the website.