dr. kelly burks-copes · ® slide 12 of 36 innovative solutions for a safer, better world case...

US Army Corps of Engineers

BUILDING STRONG®

Dr. Kelly Burks-Copes1

Dr. Todd S. Bridges1

Dr. Burton Suedel1

Dr. Jennifer Wozencraft1

Dr. Bruce Pruitt1

Dr. Christy Foran1

Ms. Ondrea Hummel2

Ms. Alicia Austin-Johnson2

Ms. Susan Bittick2

Ms. Ariane Pinson2

Dr. Paul Wagner

Dr. Michael Deegan3

Dr. Jae Chung3

1 US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) 2 USACE – Albuquerque District

3Institute of Water Resources (IWR)

NESP Webinar 4 November 2015

BUILDING STRONG® Slide 2 of 36 Innovative solutions for a safer, better world

• USACE operates and maintains: – 692 dams

– 25,000 miles of waterways are operated and

maintained for commerce

– ~12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal

shallow-draft waterways (9- to 14-foot draft)

– ~13,000 miles of greater than 14-foot deep

channels

– 926 coastal, Great Lakes and inland harbors

– And dredges 222 million cubic yards of

material out of these channels each year.

• The Problem: – These USACE projects produce an array of ecosystem services - only a portion of which

are characterized

• Our R&D Focus: – Develop an understanding of ecosystem services produced by USACE projects

– Generate accessible techniques to identify, measure and communicate these services

Problem Statement with R&D focus

Graphic courtesy of Dr. Kate White, IWR


Our Research and Development Approach

Recursive and Reflective Investigation

1) Define the problem context

2) Set goals and objectives

3) Convene a transdisciplinary team of experts

4) Generate lists of relevant features and associated EGS

5) Prioritize EGS using expert elicitation strategies

6) Create the Feature-to-Metrics Matrix

7) Map the causal relationships

8) Pilot Test (3 options – tiered hierarchy)

9) Monitor and adaptively manage


Performance can be characterized by the production of goods and services . . . .

Ecosystem

Service Provision

Human Well-being

Driving Forces Societal Response

Structure & Composition

Processes & Functions

Goods and Services

Benefits

Values

Value Perceptions Policy & Decision Making

Natural and Nature-based Features

Structural Features


Feature-to-Metrics Matrix

Component 1 Function 1

Function 2

Service Benefit 1

Benefit 2

Benefit 3

Metric 1

Metric 2

Metric 3

Metric 4

Component 2 Function 3 Service 2

Benefit 4

Metric 5

For a Given NNBF Feature or Complex

What are we looking at? What components comprise the feature?


Causal Mapping

BUILDING STRONG® Slide 7 of 36

Project Goals: 1) Explore the potential opportunities to measure and analyze

environmental conditions and benefits (i.e., ecosystem goods and services) to support the USACE Navigation mission

2) Develop strategies, methodologies and tools to efficiently and effectively measure and analyze ecosystem condition and response to USACE O&M activities

Approach: – Incorporate a broad range of socially responsive goods and services metrics

aligned with the values, interests, objectives and priorities of USACE, its partners and stakeholders

– Take a systems-based approach to operate and manage projects balancing environmental, economic and societal considerations

– Use science to inform the process

– Promote transdisciplinary collaboration

– Devise innovative, adaptive solutions that promote sustainability and resilience of projects and benefit streams.

– Concentrate on providing straightforward and simple solutions that reduce the burdens placed on O&M while exercising available technological advances in visualization to best communicate benefits streams to stakeholders.

Case Study #1: Measuring and Analyzing Environmental Condition and Benefits

PIs: Kelly A. Burks-Copes

and Jennifer Wozencraft

Funded through the Dredging Operations and

Environmental Research (DOER) Program







Metrics extracted from high-resolution coastal data


Coastal Engineering Index

Geomorphology Dune height

Beach width

Shoreline change

Inlets Ebb shoal volume change

Structure dimensions relative to design

Navigability

Environment Dune vegetation density

Wetland density

Submerged aquatic vegetation density

Human use Impervious surface density

Parameters provide:

1) Variability in scaling to either a region or project-level, and

2) Data using remote sensing image and elevation products

that do not require ground based sampling


Coastal engineering indices

co

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ined

en

vir

on

men

tal

ind

ex

co

mb

ine

d c

oasta

l en

gin

eeri

ng

geo

mo

rph

olo

gy in

dex

32% 90%

72%

60% 94%

The CEI provides

comparable combined

indices for engineering,

environmental, human use,

and the inlets that provide a

snap shot of coastal

conditions


Short List of EGSs: 1) Storm risk reduction

– Reduce storm surge and related flooding,

– Reduce wave attack

– Reduce the peak height and lengthen the peak flood)

– Provide property value protection

– Provide erosion protection and control (water and wind, any source)

2) Provide opportunities for tourism and recreational

activities

1) Facilitate navigational activities

2) Provide habitat and promote biodiversity – Provide T&E species requirements

– Provide habitat for fish and wildlife

– Promote landscape-level functionality and ecosystem integrity

3) Provide groundwater recharge

4) Now exploring a suite of socioeconomic parameters

based on demographics and critical infrastructure

• Test on 3+ case studies – Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and Gulf Coast (FY16)






2 ERDC Tech Reports and 1 JA coming out this year!


Case Study #2: Realizing a Triple Win in the Desert: Systems-level Engineering With Nature on the Rio Grande

PIs: Kelly A. Burks-Copes,

Bruce Pruitt, Michael Deegan, Ondrea Hummel,

Alicia Austin-Johnson, Susan Bittick, Ariane Pinson

Funded through the Engineering

with Nature (EWN) Program

Problem – Three constructed projects on the

Middle Rio Grande: • Ecosystem Revitalization @ Route 66 Project

• Middle Rio Grande Bosque Ecosystem Restoration Project

• Albuquerque Biological Park Wetland Restoration Project

– All 3 deployed EWN strategies

– Ops needs an approach that promotes transparency

and collaboration to adaptively monitor, evaluate and

enhance the returns on these investments as well as a

means to tactically and strategically capture the broad

range of ecological, social and economic benefits

arising from these features


• What is Engineering with Nature

(EWN)? – EWN is the intentional alignment of natural

and engineering processes to efficiently and

sustainably deliver economic,

environmental and social benefits through

collaborative processes.

– Examples include:

• Using engineering features to focus natural

process to minimize navigation channel infilling

and to transport and focus sediments for positive

benefits.

• Optimizing the use of natural systems, such as

wetlands and other features, to reduce the effects

of storm processes and sea level rise on

shorelines and coasts.

– The use of ecosystem goods and services

affords the EWN program a scientifically-

based approach to efficiently and effectively

integrate ecologic, social, and economic

values into the decision-making process.

These triple-win outcomes seek

to develop innovative and resilient solutions that are more socially

acceptable, viable and equitable

Website: http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/ewn/

http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/ewn/


EWN Strategies


What does success look like?


2014 High Flows


Benefits

Services

Features

S6 Community

building and

involvement

S8 Cultural

heritage and

identity

S3 BiodiversityS17 Habitat for

flora and fauna

S24 Native riparian plant

species conservation

restoration and preservation

S39 Threatened andEndangered species andhabitat protection and

enhancement

Fuel reduction and exotic treatment

Improve variety of plants and

animals

Improved

socio-economic valueculture and spirituality tied to nature,

religion that supports nature

Improve viewing of native wildlife species

including birds, bats, reptiles and amphibians;

Reduce wildfire risk

Provides water quality buffer to

adjacent open water including

streams

Provides educational and

scientific opportunities;

maintains species of special

concern

Education, scientific,

and spiritual

opportunities

Revegetation

Maintain diversity and life

support cycles

J-Jacks Removal

Provision for engaging

partnerships with local

residents and stakeholders

Increases historic diversity and

places of solitude

Improves fisheries, nutrient

and labile carbon exchange,

and habitat for feeding,

breeding and escape

Improves nutrient and labile carbon

exchange, and carbon storage in

native riparian vegetation

Restores natural range of T&E

species; Supports nongame

programs

Wetlands

culture and spirituality tied to nature,

religion that supports nature; Environmental

Stewardship

High Flow Channel

increased habitat

diversity, seed bank

develops and fosters

relationships between

agencies and public

Provides culturally significantlandscapes and places of solitude for

humans

Aquatic animal habitat for breeding, resting,

and escape from high water events; Plant

diversity as an expression of hydric regime

variability and topographic gradients

Sustains topographic and hydrologicdiversity conducive to endemicvegetation and associated fauna

Provides opportunitiesfor observating unique

species; Indicatescondition or health of

the ecosystem

Backwater Channel

provides ecological values

for humans

Bank TerraceWillow Swale Debris Removal Bendway Weirs

improved acquaticmacroinvertebrate and

fish habitat

Provides habitatcomplexity for diversevegetation growth and

development

Capturing Stormwater Runoff

Establish and sustains plant and

animal diversity

Economic Benefits







5 ERDC Tech Notes and

2 JAs coming out this year!


See Bridges et. al., 2015

http://www.nad.usace.army.mil/CompStudy

PIs: Todd S. Bridges, Paul Wagner, Kelly A. Burks-Copes,

Jennifer Wozencraft, Jae Chung, and Mike Deegan

Funded through the Reimbursable

from NAD

• Combine traditional structural flood damage reduction measures with Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF) to provide multiple lines of defense against future storms and sea level rise, generating a full array of relevant economic, environmental and social goods and services.

Case Study #3: North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS)


Key Definitions and an Implementation Framework

Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF) those features that define natural

coastal landscapes, and either naturally

occurring or have been engineered to mimic the

natural conditions. Examples of NNBF include

beaches and dunes; vegetated environments

such as maritime forests, salt marshes,

freshwater wetlands, and seagrass beds; coral

and oyster reefs, and barrier islands.

Ecosystem Goods and Services - tangible items or intangible commodities

generated by self-regulating or managed

ecosystems whose composition, structure, and

function are comprised of natural, nature-based

and/or structural features that produce socially-

valued benefits that can be utilized either

directly or indirectly to promote human well-

being (aka System Goods and Services).


Plan Comparisons

SB1 NNBF 1 NNBF 2 NNBF 3 ALL

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

Bulkhead

(B1)

Serv

ices

Plans

Bridges et al. 2014 (in press)



S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

Bulkhead

(B1)

Emergent

Herbaceous

Marsh

(GI 1)

Serv

ices

Plans Plan Comparisons




S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

Submerged

Breakwater

(Nearshore

Berm/Oyster

Reef/Sill)

(GI 2)

Submerged Aquatic

Vegetation (GI 3)

Serv

ices





S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

Bulkhead

(B1)

Emergent

Herbaceous

Marsh

(GI 1)

Submerged

Breakwater

(Nearshore

Berm/Oyster

Reef/Sill)

(GI 2)

Submerged Aquatic

Vegetation (GI 3)

Serv

ices




Goods and Services Generated by NNBF • Aesthetics

• Biological diversity

• Carbon sequestration

• Clean water provisioning

• Harvestable fish and wildlife production

• Cultural heritage and identity

• Education

• Erosion protection and control

• Habitat provisioning

• Increase/maintain land elevation

• Maintain background suspended sediment

• Nutrient sequestration

• Property value protection

• Groundwater provisioning and storage

• Raw materials production

• Recreation

• Reduce hazardous or toxic materials

• Reduce storm surge

• Reduce the peak floods

• Reduce wave attack

• Threatened and Endangered species protection


PIs: Todd S. Bridges, Paul Wagner,

Kelly A. Burks-Copes, Jennifer Wozencraft,

Jae Chung, and Mike Deegan

• Level 1 – Qualitative

characterization of performance or identify a subset of services of primary interest to stakeholders

Metric Average Stdev Max Min

Relative

Mean Median n

Reduce storm surge and related flooding 81.2 25.9 100 0 7% 95 47

Reduce wave attack 80.0 26.8 100 0 7% 90 47

Erosion protection and control 78.6 24.7 100 15 7% 85 47

Reduce the peak flood height and lengthen the time to peak

flood

75.9 29.3 100 0 7% 90 47

Habitat for fish and wildlife provisioning 69.9 32.4 100 0 6% 90 47

Threatened and Endangered species protection 66.6 32.4 100 0 6% 80 47

Clean water provisioning 64.7 31.3 100 0 6% 75 47

Biological diversity 64.3 32.0 100 0 6% 70 47

Recreation 61.2 27.4 100 5 5% 60 47

Property value protection 56.8 33.3 100 0 5% 70 47

Reduce hazardous or toxic materials in water or landscape 55.9 32.3 100 0 5% 60 47

Nutrient sequestration or conversion 52.6 31.2 100 0 5% 60 47

Increase or maintain land elevation and land-building 52.2 32.6 100 0 5% 50 47

Education and scientific opportunities 49.1 31.3 100 0 4% 50 47

Commercial harvestable fish and wildlife production 48.7 32.8 100 0 4% 50 47

Aesthetics 47.6 28.8 100 0 4% 50 47

Provision and storage of groundwater supply 47.4 31.2 100 0 4% 50 47

Carbon sequestration 46.8 30.1 100 0 4% 50 47

Maintain background suspended sediment in surface waters 45.0 26.6 80 0 4% 50 47

Cultural heritage and identity 44.3 29.1 100 0 4% 50 47

Raw materials production 22.3 25.6 100 0 2% 10 47





• Level 2 – Semi-quantitative

characterization of performance








• Level 2 – Semi-quantitative


• Level 3 – Quantitative


Ecosystem Service Values Based on Peer-Reviewed Original Research in Temperate North America/Europe (2012 $/(ac*yr))

Coastal Shelf Beach Estuary

Saltwater Wetland Forest

Grass/ Rangelands Cropland

Freshwater Wetland

Open Fresh Water

Riparian Buffer

Urban Greenspace

Urban/ Barren

Gas/Climate Regulation n/a 72 6 404

Disturbance Regulation 32794 1 106

Water Regulation 7162 7

Water Supply 745 59 11 1396 492 2310

Soil Formation n/a n/a 7 n/a

Nutrient Cycling n/a

Waste Treatment n/a 7322

Pollination n/a n/a 195 10 n/a

Biological Control n/a

Habitat/Refugia 438 277 1110 6

Aesthetic/Recreation 17851 364 31 156 1 18 1889 428 1647 2562

Cultural/Spiritual 29 216 5

Ecosystem Service Values Based on Peer-Reviewed Original Research, Grey Literature, and Meta-analysis Studies in Temperate North America/Europe (2012 $/(ac*yr))

Coastal

Shelf Beach Estuary Saltwater Wetland Forest

Grass/ Rangelands Cropland

Freshwater Wetland

Open Fresh Water

Riparian Buffer

Urban Greenspace

Urban/ Barren

Gas/Climate Regulation n/a 65 4 161 404

Disturbance Regulation 32794 344 373 4397 106

Water Regulation 2 3590 7

Water Supply 626 59 196 1856 492 2310

Soil Formation n/a n/a 6 4 n/a

Nutrient Cycling 869 n/a 12814

Waste Treatment n/a 6508 53 53 1008

Pollination n/a n/a 195 16 10 n/a

Biological Control 24 n/a 47 2 14 14

Habitat/Refugia 378 242 1110 999 136

Aesthetic/Recreation 17851 351 31 147 1 18 1690 428 1647 2562

Cultural/Spiritual 42 29 18 216 1 1070 5

Option 1: Value Transfer ($ Value per acre)

Option 2: Ecosystem Production Functions

30 NNBFs

21 EGS

72 Metrics





3 JAs under development


Case Study #4: Using Dredged Material Best Practices and Nature to Create River Island Habitat in Coastal Louisiana, USA



PIs: Burton Suedel,

Kelly Burks-Copes, and Christy Foran

Study Site: Horseshoe Island - Strategic placement of dredged material upriver of the naturally occurring island has produced a greater array of ecosystem goods and services than would otherwise be produced by more conventional placement practices.

1. Storm risk reduction • Reduce storm surge and related flooding,

• Reduce wave attack, and

• Reduce the peak height and lengthen the peak flood)

• Provide property value protection

• Provide erosion protection and control (water and wind, any source)

2. Provide opportunities for tourism and recreational activities

3. Facilitate navigational activities

4. Provide habitat and promote biodiversity • Provide T&E species requirements

• Provide habitat for fish and wildlife

• Promote landscape-level functionality and ecosystem integrity

5. Provide groundwater recharge


Case Study #4: Using Dredged Material Best Practices and Nature to Create River Island Habitat in Coastal Louisiana, USA

PIs: Burton Suedel,

Kelly Burks-Copes, and Christy Foran

Approach 1) Generate a short list of EGS

2) Develop metrics to quantify the EGS benefits using readily available data

- Species-based

- Hydrological

- Landscape-level

3) Calculate and compare benefits from Horseshoe Island vs. control sites (both natural and artificial)

4) Develop and apply a tool to perform tradeoffs transparently

Ecosystem Goods

and Services Description Potential Metrics

Habitat Value

The maintenance of ecosystems’ structural and functional

qualities and resilience to adapt to change over time.

Includes all non-use or passive use services (existence,

intergeneration bequest, or altruistic values) derived from

the diversity or condition of species, or ecosystems.

acres of habitat added

Water Treatment &

Purification

The filtration and removal of excess nutrients or pollutants

by ecosystems from inland, coastal or marine waters.

mass of nitrogen absorbed

by the created landscape,

that would otherwise pass

downstream

Carbon

Sequestration

Ecosystem moderation of adverse climate effects through

sequestration of greenhouse gases.

difference in kg of carbon

contained at the site before

and after placement

Recreation

Opportunities Quantity and quality of recreational opportunities.

annual visits for fishing

opportunities

Natural Hazard

Mitigation

Ecosystem reduction of risk of or vulnerability to natural

hazards that threaten property, infrastructure, human safety,

or natural resources. Threats include storms, floods,

landslides, fires and droughts.

incremental difference in

property risk from flooding

Human Health

Ecosystem reduction of the risk of or vulnerability to health

hazards other than water quality. Includes changes in air

quality, environmental stressors, and animal or insect

disease vectors.

value of incremental

change in health for people

benefitting from hazard

mitigation

Cultural, Spiritual &

Educational Support

Maintenance of opportunities arising from sites and

landscapes that have spiritual or religious significance,

contribute to a ‘sense of place,’ or sustain cultural heritage,

including traditional ways of life. Also includes opportunities

for scientific discovery and education.

number of classes visiting

the site annually

Navigation

Maintenance

Ecosystem maintenance and regulation of unobstructed

transport of goods and people provided by water bodies.

change frequency of

necessary dredging

Raw Goods &

Materials

Provisioning

Provisioning of or contribution to raw goods and materials. value of annual harvest

Food Provisioning

Provisioning of or contribution to commercial or subsistence

production of food and the ecosystem conditions that

support it.

value of additional fish

resulting from creating of

spawning grounds



1 ERDC Tech Report due out in early 2016


PIANC – Envicom Working Group 176: Working with Nature (WwN)

• International team of scientists and engineers led by ERDC

• Objectives – Provide technical information regarding the

WwN approach for navigation infrastructure projects by drawing from existing approaches and best practices worldwide.

– Give guidance to important relevant PIANC and other entities on the integrating of WwN philosophy into engineering and design - including the use of EGS metrics to assess benefits and concepts of risk quantification, resilience, and sustainability with respect to impending climate change concerns.

– Describe the differences and relationships between various so-called “with nature” initiatives (WwN vs. EwN vs. BwN).

Final Report

due out in

early 2016


Natural and Green/Gray Infrastructure (NGGI) Working Group

• Co-led by USFWS & NWF

• NGGI WG Goals: - Develop core metrics that cut across agency

missions, supporting efficiencies and knowledge base that prove that NGGI are:

Effective Resilient Cost Effective

• Approach 1) Convene multi-agency/organization team 2) Compile a list of intermediate and final

services per organization 3) Compile list of metrics per organization 4) Identify and fill knowledge gaps 5) Select a common core set of metrics and

test on demo sites 6) Develop a web-based database

White Paper coming soon (early 2016)


Caveats & Considerations O&M activities and the R&D activities surrounding the goods and services they might provide operate at the frontiers of science and engineering experience.

Several questions still remain:

• How do we establish goals and objectives using EGS within a given setting, site, and application where O&M is concerned?

• When and where can or should EGS be deployed?

• Must we monetize, or can we consider using non-monetized strategies such as ecosystem production functions?

• Will EGS performance metrics adequately measure the O&M?

• Are there identifiable dependencies or associations amongst features (both built and natural) that affect their performance from a systems perspective, and can EGS capture these sufficiently?

• Are O&M activities (particularly those that include NNBF) truly adaptive and can EGS be used to prove cost effectiveness?

• At what scale do we prove their demonstrable, measureable, and meaningful contribution to the ecosystem’s function, integrity and resilience?

Stakeholder perceptions and values will play a significant role in O&M and the accounting of their

benefits to the society at large.


Point of Contact

Dr. Kelly Burks-Copes US Army Engineer Research and Development Center

(ERDC)

3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180

Office: 601-634-2290, Mobile: 601-618-5565

Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




Questions?

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