A Salt Marsh Advancement Zone Assessment of West Haven, Connecticut
The Coastal Resilience Program supports Connecticut communities by modeling sea level rise, flooding, and salt marsh advancement to guide planning and reduce risk. This report identifies future marsh migration in West Haven and highlights key parcels that support natural infrastructure and long term resilience.
Subject Tags
- Climate resilience
- Coastal
- Conservation Planning
Introduction
The Coastal Resilience Program, established by The Nature Conservancy in 2006, supports decision making that reduces ecological and socio economic risk from coastal hazards. Using locally relevant models of sea level rise, storm surge, and flooding, this report evaluates how habitats in West Haven, Connecticut are likely to shift over time. It identifies areas where salt marsh is expected to advance upslope and examines current land use and priority parcels that support long term conservation. Natural infrastructure such as wetlands, forests, and floodplains plays a key role in buffering hazards, improving water quality, and sustaining wildlife habitat. The findings support planning, restoration, and land use strategies that protect these systems while improving resilience. This work also highlights opportunities to integrate natural infrastructure into development and management practices.
Citation
Ryan, A. and A. W. Whelchel. 2014. A Salt Marsh Advancement Zone Assessment of West Haven, Connecticut. The Nature Conservancy, Coastal Resilience Program. Publication Series #1-R, New Haven, Connecticut.