The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Dear Loyal Supporters,

As Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts continue across our region, our thoughts and concerns remain with those who have suffered devastating losses.

Much of the post-Sandy conversation has focused on the “new normal"; we know that we will be facing fiercer and more frequent storms, flooding, and other extreme weather events. Many are asking what we should do now to protect ourselves in the future. There is no silver bullet. But there are bold actions that we should take to reduce the risks to lives and property. These include focusing on smart solutions that use the strength of nature to our advantage, and reducing the manmade carbon pollution that is driving the warming of our planet.

In New York, your support enables the Conservancy to provide science, on-the-ground knowledge and conservation tools to help with recovery and show how the right investments in nature can reduce the impacts of future storms. For example, we are:

• Using our Coastal Resilience tool to help New York City and communities on Long Island and in Connecticut map the impacts of sea level rise and incorporate it into their long-term planning;
• Working in all five boroughs and throughout Long Island to study our wetlands and explore ways to keep them healthy and resilient to storm surge and sea level rise;
• Protecting low-lying and coastal lands on Long Island, as functional, resilient coastlines can protect upland areas from erosion and flooding;
• Bringing our scientific expertise and hands on experience to the table to engage with policy makers to ensure that natural systems and other “soft” solutions are as much a part of the conversation as “built” infrastructure;
• Working with partners to keep New York City’s trees healthy. Urban forests help reduce flooding by slowing water as it runs down to lower points and into over-burdened sewer systems. 

As Governor Cuomo has stated, we need to re-build smarter, especially in risk-prone areas like along our coasts. Wetlands can slow waves, slow erosion and reduce storm surges; forests buffer winds and green roofs absorb rain. These natural defenses are often more flexible, more cost-effective, and more sustainable over the long-term than built solutions like surge barriers at the mouth of the NYC Harbor. And they provide innumerable benefits to both people and wildlife.

You can help us continue our work to create natural infrastructure in New York, when you make an online gift.

We must rely on an array of solutions, both "built" and "natural," if we are to succeed in this new normal. Not only will we make ourselves safer from the impacts of our changing climate, we will have a better quality of life.

Sincerely,

Bill Ulfelder, Executive Director