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<b style="font-weight:normal" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-fcb2c5fb-06ec-95ce-149d-0f22a48fbfaf"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">SAN FRANCISCO BAY, Calif. — A new study published Wednesday in Science Advances introduces an innovative tool to help resource managers preserve Pacific coastal wetlands from rising sea levels.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">According to the <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaao3270">article</a>, even the lowest predicted rates of sea level rise could cause significant losses of Pacific tidal wetlands by the end of the century. Tidal wetlands provide many services for growing coastal communities. Their habitats filter water, sequester carbon, provide habitat for endangered species, protect communities from storm surges, and support local fisheries. To measure the vulnerability of these environments to sea level rise, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, University of California, Los Angeles, Oregon State University, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and Queen’s University led a comprehensive study along the Pacific coast. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“This study is powerful because it brings together data from multiple experts to predict how different rates of sea level rise could affect tidal wetland habitats across the Pacific coast. It’s unique because it takes modeling results and translates them into possible scenarios for resource managers to evaluate and take action with,” says Dr. Karen Thorne, a USGS research ecologist and the paper’s lead author.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">NOTABLY: "Efforts to restore wetlands affected by human development may promote long-term marsh persistence and could mitigate the loss of important habitats in wetlands with higher initial elevations, high sediment supply or space to migrate upland."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> </p><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(34,34,34);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Full article: </span><a href="https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/content/new-usgs-led-study-could-help-pacific-wetlands-adapt-sea-level-rise" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/content/new-usgs-led-study-could-help-pacific-wetlands-adapt-sea-level-rise</span></a></b>

<br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font color="#0c343d" style="font-size:12.8px">Leah Prescott</font><div style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="color:rgb(12,52,61);font-size:12.8px">Bureau of Land Management</span><br></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="color:rgb(12,52,61);font-size:12.8px">Plant Conservation Program Data Coordinator</span><span style="color:rgb(12,52,61);font-size:12.8px"><br></span></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#0c343d">202-912-7232</font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><br></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/national-seed-strategy" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-size:12.8px" target="_blank">National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration</a><br></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><a href="http://www.plantconservationalliance.org/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-size:12.8px" target="_blank">Plant Conservation Alliance</a><br></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-size:12.8px"><a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/native-plant-and-seed-material-development/collection" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Seeds of Success</a></span></div></div></div></div></div>
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