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Blue Carbon National Working Group In-Person Meeting
Restore America’s Estuaries, with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, will host an in-person meeting of the Blue Carbon National Working Group on May 21-22 in Washington DC. This meeting builds on the fruitful discussions of our January 31 virtual meeting, and will include opportunities to discuss priorities with other researchers and practitioners, and state and federal policymakers, and determine future roles and action items for this Working Group.
Date: May 21-22, 2024
Location: Americas Room, The Pew Charitable Trusts – 901 E St NW, Washington DC
Meeting Goal
Identify ways to coordinate and advance priorities around three areas of focus previously identified in the January 2024 National Blue Carbon Working Group virtual meeting: (1) funding and financing blue carbon; (2) improving blue carbon mapping and data; and (3) advancing blue carbon action at the federal level.
Agenda
| Time | Topic | Details |
| 8:30 | Arrival, coffee and light breakfast | |
| 9:00 | Welcome and overview
Keynote Address |
Welcome – Sylvia Troost
Introduction from RAE – Daniel Hayden Keynote Speaker: Chris Kinkade, Research Lead for NERRs, NOAA |
| 9:30 | Presentations on progress on blue carbon mapping and data collection | Speakers:
Phil Colarusso, Environmental Protection Agency · Blue carbon data and error analysis Katie Warnell, Duke University · Modeling sea level rise impacts on blue carbon ecosystems Jaxine Wolfe, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center – Advances and Applications of Open Blue Carbon Data |
| 10:15 | Coffee Break | |
| 10:30 | Table Discussion of mapping and data needs for various applications | What exists and what’s needed for:
· Blue carbon offset projects? · State/national greenhouse gas inventories? · Integrating conservation/restoration into nature -based solutions initiatives? How can the National Working Group support these needs? |
| 11:20 | Report back to full plenary, group discussion | |
| 12:00 | Lunch | |
| 1:00 | Presentations on funding conservation and restoration of blue carbon habitats: conservation finance and public funding | Speakers:
Ryan Moyer, TerraCarbon · Financing Conservation and Restoration of Blue Carbon Landscapes Ellen Herbert, Ducks Unlimited · Carbon Programs on Private Lands: Lessons Learned Stefanie Simpson, The Nature Conservancy · Seagrass Restoration in Virginia’s Eastern Shore, a Case Study Rachel Lamb, Maryland Department of the Environment · Innovation in Financing- Updates from the State of Maryland |
| 1:45 | Discussion/Q&A | |
| 2:15 | Table Discussion on funding and finance | Needs and opportunities related to leveraging funding to support research, conservation and restoration
|
| 2:45 | 15-minute break | |
| 3:00 | Presentation on federal blue carbon action | Speakers:
Tiffany Turner, Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership · Promoting Bipartisan Action on Nature-Based Solutions Daniel Friess, Tulane University/ Blue Carbon Inititative · The International Landscape Additional Speakers TBC |
| 3:45 | Discussion and Q&A on federal action | Panel of presenters take questions, including discussion of role of National Working Group in facilitating progress on national goals. |
| 4:15 | Closing | |
| 4:30 – 6pm | Reception | Networking and nosh, on the rooftop deck if weather permits. |
Wednesday, May 22
9am Load buses and depart for Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
4pm Return to Washington
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If the registration fee or travel costs would prevent you from attending, please contact the event organizer Hilary Stevens at hstevens@estuaries.org.
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