This is historical material “frozen in time.” The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.

Home
Agencies
Goals
Initiatives
Programs

API
About
FAQ

You are hereHome

Primary tabs

View(active tab)
Show Changes

Strategic Objective

Strengthen the resiliency of communities and regions by delivering targeted services to build capacity. (NOAA, NIST, EDA)

Strategic Objective

Strengthen the resiliency of communities and regions by delivering targeted services to build capacity. (NOAA, NIST, EDA, Census)

Themes:

Natural Resources and Environment

DOC.gov

Facebook Twitter Linkdin Mail RSS

XML

CSV

Overview
Progress Update

Overview

Many U.S. communities face significant environmental changes, natural disasters, or economic disruptions. They need plans to reduce the effects, adapt to future changes, and support long-term recovery efforts. A key component of these plans should be actionable information to aid in managing risk and in developing and evaluating options to adapt to and mitigate future environmental and economic change. The Department has been an essential source of information needed to invigorate communities, ecosystems, and economies.

The Department will strengthen community-based

Progress Update

During FY 2014, the Department of Commerce (DOC) made progress in strengthening the resiliency of communities and regions through steady execution toward several key strategies supporting this objective: building partnerships to produce and deliver climate information services; enhancement of coastal intelligence; leadership in development of a Disaster Resilience Framework; and helping communities leverage assets to build capacity for resilience. NOAA, NIST, EDA and ESA/Census have demonstrated their ability to collaborate productively around the topic of Resilience. A DOC-wide Resilience Summit is planned for January 26, 2015 for each of these bureaus and other Department contributors to discuss what can be done to bolster resiliency in communities around the country. This Objective met or exceeded its performance indicator targets in FY 2014.

Accomplishments include:

A new tool, the Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper, was developed to provide coastal New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania with easy access to community-level flooding information. The tool displays county-level data about shallow coastal flooding, flood zones, storm surge, sea level rise, and a composite view of flood hazards.
In response to early input from the State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, the Administration has developed the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, a website that provides centralized, authoritative, easy-to-use information, tools, and best practices to help communities prepare for and boost their resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Toolkit’s initial focus is helping the nation address challenges in the areas of coastal flood risk and food resilience and will expand to additional topics including human health, ecosystem vulnerability, water resource risks, energy supply and infrastructure, and transportation and supply chain risks.
The 23rd PORTS® (Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System) system in the nation was made operational this year on the St. John’s River, in Florida. PORTS® provide mariners with accurate and reliable real-time information about environmental conditions in a seaport, greatly enhancing the safety and efficiency of maritime commerce. With 47 sensors located on 18 water level stations, the Jacksonville PORTS® is the second largest PORTS®.
Active participation at NIST resilience workshops have resulted in a draft framework document that is 50% complete, with continued vetting and writing planned through 2015 to meet planned deadlines.
NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center (DRC) sponsored or hosted 21 different meetings, workshops, and training events for over 4,500 state, regional and international participants in FY 2014. These included a Federal Regional Response Team meeting, a Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation class, a tropical storm preparedness exercise co-sponsored by the National Weather Service and DRC, and NOAA’s Science of Oil Spills class.
EDA invested approximately $53M in 108 economic development projects to help communities and regions build the capacity for economic resilience, including infrastructure and resilience planning.
EDA completed an initial draft of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Content Guidelines. In response to a new regulatory requirement, the Guidelines provide recommendations on how to integrate economic resiliency into the development of a CEDS.
In FY 2014, the cumulative number of coastal, marine, and Great Lakes issue-based forecasting capabilities developed and used for management was 69, vs. 63 in FY 2013 and 58 in FY 2012.
By the end of FY 2014, 5249 communities were using NOAA’s Digital Coast platform, a significant increase over 2900 at the end of FY 2013.
In FY 2014, the percentage of U.S. coastal states and territories demonstrating annual improvements in resilience capacity to weather and climate hazards was 54%, vs. 57% in FY 2013 and 46% in FY 2012.

Next Steps in FY 2015:

FY2015 Q1-Q4 – Participate in 2 response drills, exercises or coordination activities per quarter.
FY2015 Q1 – Complete internal and external prioritization efforts to increase community focus on priority (i.e., update and better define relevant grant-tracking codes; inform/train regional staff on priority; modify and disseminate externally-focused grant priority information).
FY2015 Q2 – NIST will hold a 4th Disaster Resilience Workshop (February 18-19 in San Diego, CA) in order to engage a wide community of stakeholders in discussions and improvements and to the latest draft of the Framework document, which is planned to be 75% complete by the time of the workshop.
FY2015 Q2 – Award and administer EDA grants that reflect priority; undertake end-of-year status review of grants by analyzing estimated impacts of grants made in FY 2014 and adjust grant priorities and project definitions for FY 2015 to reflect lessons learned and to focus on high-potential impact grants.
FY2015 Q2 – Publication of new CEDS Content Guidelines (January 2015).
FY2015 Q3 – Post Disaster Resilience Framework Version 1.0 complete draft for public comment, as originally targeted as an action in the President’s Climate Action Plan, in order to provide an opportunity for communities to provide input and recommendations for the full Framework (April 2015)
FY2015 Q4 – Provide accessible planning tools from NOAA partners by publishing narratives and data visualizations on NOAA’s Climate.gov website showing how NOAA advances understanding of Earth's climate, and how those advances benefit society. Target: publish 15 articles, 26 images, and 15 videos in Climate.gov in FY15.
FY2015 Q4 – Establish one new PORTS® (location TBD).
FY2015 Q4 – Increase NOAA Electronic Nautical Charts from 200 charts to 400 charts.
FY2015 Q4 – Annual forecast and operational Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) bulletins for Lake Erie.
FY2015 Q4 – Establish the Disaster Resilience Standards Panel, a diverse group of experts, to further improve and expand the Framework document and put it into practice in communities across the U.S. (July 2015).

Expand All

Strategic Goals

Strategic Goal:

Ensure communities and businesses have the necessary information, products, and services to prepare for and prosper in a changing environment

Statement:

Ensure communities and businesses have the necessary information, products, and services to prepare for and prosper in a changing environment

Strategic Objectives

Foster healthy and sustainable marine resources, habitats, and ecosystems through improved management and partnerships. (NOAA)

Statement:

Foster healthy and sustainable marine resources, habitats, and ecosystems through improved management and partnerships. (NOAA)

Description:

The ocean economy contributes more than $250 billion annually to the Nation’s economy, supports approximately 44 million jobs in coastal counties, and enhances diverse ocean-based communities. The many economic, social, and environmental benefits that ocean ecosystems provide are jeopardized by global demands for seafood and energy, coastal development, increased tourism and recreational use. Threats from climate change, ocean acidification, coastal wetland loss, and other environmental stressors are even more ominous. They threaten human health and the domestic food supply. They place greater stress on overexploited fish stocks, iconic marine species, and their habitats, and reduce ecosystem sustainability, biodiversity, and resilience.

Effective policy and management of human activities, based on strong science, partnerships, and technology, are essential to sustain healthy ocean resources, habitats, ecosystems and coastal communities. The Department has strong legislative mandates and a pivotal role in sustaining marine fisheries and ecosystems, protecting sensitive areas and cultural heritage, and limiting the consequences of cumulative impacts.

Learn More

FY 14-15 Priority Goal: Confirm elimination of Overfishing

Statement:

By September 30, 2015, the Department of Commerce will confirm the elimination of overfishing on all 21 U.S. domestic stocks identified as subject to overfishing as of June 30, 2013 by comparing catch data relative to overfishing limits (OFLs).

Description:

The purpose of this goal is to show that by implementing rigorous limits on annual catch, the U.S. can end and prevent overfishing. This is a key step to ensuring the sustainable management of our nation’s fisheries. Federal fishery management is based on the concept of maximum sustainable yield, which is the largest long-term average catch that can be taken from a stock under prevailing environmental and fishery conditions. A stock that is subject to overfishing has a fishing mortality (harvest) rate higher than the rate that produces maximum sustainable yield. The amount of catch equivalent to this harvest rate is the overfishing limit (OFL).

The Magnuson-Stevens Act is the primary law that governs how fisheries are managed in U.S. federal waters. When the Magnuson-Stevens Act was reauthorized in 2007, it mandated that annual catch limits (ACLs) be put in place for all federally managed domestic fish stocks, with certain exceptions. ACLs are set at a level below the OFL to account for scientific uncertainty and to reduce the risk of overfishing. ACLs are in place for all fish stocks as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. These catch limits should keep catch below the OFL and prevent overfishing on these stocks. Preventing overfishing should increase the long-term economic and social benefits of the nation’s fisheries.

Learn More

Improve preparedness, response, and recovery from weather and water events by building a Weather-Ready Nation. (NOAA, Census)

Statement:

Improve preparedness, response, and recovery from weather and water events by building a Weather-Ready Nation. (NOAA, Census)

Description:

Weather affects almost every endeavor in the Nation. Major industries and small businesses alike depend on weather, water, and climate information to make informed decisions and plan for the future. Extreme events are becoming the norm. Winter storms, flooding, drought, hurricanes, wildfires, extreme temperatures, and tornados can cost lives and billions of dollars in damage. The steep increases in damaging weather-related events and associated societal impacts highlight the growing importance of weather, water, and climate information. Urbanization, migration to coastal communities, and a growing population also increasingly put people and businesses at greater risk.

A Weather-Ready Nation is about building community preparedness in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events. The Department will continue its critical role in protecting the lives, property, and the economy by providing valuable weather, water, and climate products and services. This role will be expanded to embrace collaboration and seek new ways to create value beyond traditional forecasting activities. Delivering enhanced weather, water, and climate information will help communities and businesses to be ready, responsive, and resilient. Refining how the information is shared and ultimately used will make the U.S. that much more weather ready.

Learn More

FY 14-15 Priority Goal: Improve Forecasting Accuracy and Lead Times for Severe Weather

Statement:

By September 30, 2015, the Department of Commerce will improve its overall weather forecast model accuracy to 9 days which will enable more accurate, consistent, longer lead time for specific weather event forecasts and warnings.

Description:

Major weather events demonstrate the importance of hazard preparedness and response in the United States. Improved weather forecast accuracy, combined with enhanced decision support services, allow emergency management and the American public more time to prepare for high-impact weather events. This enables protection of life and property and enhancement of the U.S. economy.

A key way to measure improvements in model performance is to examine how far into the future Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) guidance demonstrates skill. Model output ceases to have useful skill at predicting the weather at longer forecast lengths. Large scale weather patterns that affect the local weather that each of us experience on a daily basis, are driven by features in the mid-levels of the atmosphere. During the past 20 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Weather Service (NWS) has seen its ability to provide useful predictions of future high-impact weather events extend from 6 days to 8 days.

This goal focuses on improving the Global Forecast System model 2013 that currently has useful skill at forecasting the mid-levels of the atmosphere across the globe out to 8.0 days. Upon completion of forecasting upgrades over the next two years, the NWS expects to extend this out to 9 days.

Improving global weather prediction facilitates improvements to regional, local scale models that provide accurate information about the formation and movement of high impact storms in the right place at the right time. Knowing with a good level of confidence that the storm is coming 5 days in advance enables for significantly improved response. Evacuations from hurricanes require 3 full days, and thus accurate, consistent forecasts 4-7 days in advance are invaluable to people who have to make these critical decisions. Increased lead time means lives saved and property protected. NWS will also continue efforts to support the use of improved weather forecast data by emergency managers through better impact-based decision support services. Achieving this priority goal will allow NWS to predict farther into the future and enable the American public to make the right choices when extreme weather threatens.

Learn More

Enable U.S. businesses to adapt and prosper by developing environmental and climate informed solutions. (ITA, ESA, NIST, NOAA)

Statement:

Enable U.S. businesses to adapt and prosper by developing environmental and climate informed solutions. (ITA, ESA, NIST, NOAA)

Description:

To survive and flourish, businesses must be able to adapt to the changing environment by balancing environmental, social, and economic concerns. When businesses adopt processes and solutions that recognize the importance of the environment and climate, the results can include cost savings and new commercial products and services that improve profitability and competitiveness. At the same time, the positive power and reach of business and markets will further our shared environmental, social, and economic goals for the health of the Nation.

The Department is uniquely equipped to develop and provide new environmental and climate informed services that help businesses enhance their value. The Department’s capabilities in this area span a range of activities that help create new businesses, improve competitiveness, promote environmental goals, and provide important environmental information for decision making. Ultimately, the Department’s programs in this area can be leveraged to empower US companies and foster environmental and climate business solutions that benefit the Nation.

Learn More

Strengthen the resiliency of communities and regions by delivering targeted services to build capacity. (NOAA, NIST, EDA)

Statement:

Strengthen the resiliency of communities and regions by delivering targeted services to build capacity. (NOAA, NIST, EDA, Census)

Description:

Learn More

Advance the understanding and prediction of changes in the environment through world class science and observations. (NOAA, NIST)

Statement:

Advance the understanding and prediction of changes in the environment through world class science and observations. (NOAA, NIST)

Description:

In order to meet the needs of communities and businesses in a changing environment, comprehensive and integrated observations and an improved understanding of the Earth system are needed. To make this improved understanding useful to society, it must be employed in models and applications that are used in planning and decision making.

The Department has a tremendous diversity of world-leading capabilities supporting the research, development, and observations required for state-of-the-art models and applications critical to national well-being. NOAA’s Five-year Research and Development Plan will advance innovative research that pushes the boundaries of scientific understanding, integrates information across scientific disciplines, and transitions new information and technology into improved products and services. NOAA will strive to modernize observation systems of satellites and ships and maintain core observation system infrastructure. Also, NIST is working to develop reliable, internationally-accepted measurement standards and methodologies that are the basis for future-generation measurement and monitoring capabilities. The Department will continue to work closely with its scientific partners to advance R&D to support the lives and livelihoods of the Nation’s citizens.

Learn More

Download
Featured Report

Agency Plans and Reports

Agency Strategic Plan

Accessibility
Privacy Policy