State Resilience Planning Group Works to Reduce Climate Impacts

Pew-led network brings together leaders from across the U.S. to share strategies, lessons

State Resilience Planning Group Works to Reduce Climate Impacts
An aerial view shows a residential neighborhood with a waterway on the left and a large park, with a lake, trees, and several grassy areas, to the right. Developed areas surround the other sides of the park, and a city skyline rises in the distance.
Louisiana leveraged $7 million in federal resources and nature-based solutions to upgrade Gretna City Park, at right, with new features that allow the park to absorb an additional 6.5 million gallons of stormwater—equivalent to 130,000 bathtubs. The project, completed in 2023, will reduce flood risk in the surrounding community.
Rami Diaz Waggonner & Ball

In 2019, The Pew Charitable Trusts formed the State Resilience Planning Group (SRPG), the nation’s premier peer network of chief resilience officers, agency directors, and state resilience officials from coastal and inland states. The SRPG provides a space for members to exchange practices and learnings related to the development and implementation of comprehensive state-level hazard resilience plans.

As increasingly extreme weather events drive states to address current and future severe flooding, heat waves, wildfires, and other disasters, communities need access to planning, design, and engineering expertise to help them develop long-term resilience strategies. The group holds quarterly virtual and periodic in-person meetings to discuss the latest advancements and emerging developments in states throughout the U.S.

OUR WORK

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December 20, 2024

State and Local Governments Use Innovative Financing to Build Disaster Resilience

Rising costs and threats from extreme weather in the U.S. have prompted historic government investments in hazard mitigation and disaster resilience—including more than $50 billion cumulatively from the...

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In the Nation’s Capital, a Neighborhood Leans on Nature-Based Solutions to Manage Stormwater

It started more than 10 years ago with a phone call: A homeowner in Washington, D.C.’s Hillcrest neighborhood, concerned about what she thought was a sinkhole in the parkland behind her house, called the...

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September 17, 2024

State, Federal Officials Work to Measure Progress in Fight to Limit Climate Impacts

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May 8, 2024

Change in Federal Protections for Wetlands Poses Resilience Challenge for States

As the frequency and severity of wildfires, floods, and droughts intensify across the U.S., scientists have long pointed to the climate resilience benefits of healthy, intact freshwater systems, including...

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January 16, 2024

Rising Wildfire Risks Prompt States to Look for New Approaches to Resilience

In recent years, wildfires in the U.S. have grown larger and more intense, with many sweeping through communities, putting lives at risk, and imposing profound and long-lasting impacts on natural ecosystems.

Article

November 28, 2023

Washington State Takes New Approach to Help Locals Boost Climate Resilience

With its mix of bustling metro areas and varied topography—from rugged coasts and snowcapped mountains to major rivers and expansive semi-arid plains—Washington state is particularly vulnerable to the...