FACA Climate Change Presentation Oct 2021

Climate Change

• Why would NPS make or authorize investment in historic structures at Sandy Hook?

• What guides resilient rehabilitation of historic structures within a coastal National Park?

• How does GATE evaluate management alternatives and investments when it is clear that it is not "forever"? (a case study from GATE Jamaica Bay Unit)

Why would NPS make or authorize investment in historic structures at Sandy Hook?

• Organic Act, 1916

• National Historic Preservation Act, 1966

• Public Law 92-592, 1972

• NPS Policies, 2006

• GATE General Management Plan, 2014

Organic Act, 1916

"[P]romote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments, and reservations... by such means and measure as conform to the fundamental purpose of said parks, monuments and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

National Historic Preservation Act

"The law is perhaps the nation's most important advocate for the past. Buildings and landscapes that serve as witnesses to our national narrative have been saved. The quality of life in our cities and towns has been improved by a greater appreciation - reflected in the law - of such intangible qualities as aesthetics, identity, and the legacy of the past."
National Historic Preservation Act - Historic Preservation (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

National Historic Preservation Act, 1966

• Provides a clearly defined process for the preservation and management of historic resources to ensure that preservation is fully considered in federal actions
• Requires Federal agencies to establish preservation programs for the identification, evaluation and nomination of historic properties to the National Register of Historic Places
• Requires consultation to identify, assess and seek ways to avoid, minimize or mitigate adverse effects of proposed federal actions on historic properties
• Does not require preservation of historic properties

Public Law 92-592, October 27, 1972, Gateway National Recreation Area Enabling Legislation Section 3 (g)

"In the Sandy Hook and Staten Island Units, the Secretary shall inventory and evaluate all sites and structures having present and potential historical, cultural, or architectural significance and shall provide for appropriate programs for the preservation, restoration, interpretation, and utilization of them."

NPS Policies, 2006, Section 5.3.3

The National Park Service may permit the use of a historic property through a lease or cooperative agreement if the lease or cooperative agreement will ensure the property's preservation. Proposed uses must not unduly limit public appreciation of the property; interfere with visitor use and enjoyment of the park; or preclude use of the property for park administration, employee residences, or other management purposes judged more appropriate or cost effective.

If a lease or cooperative agreement requires or allows the lesee or cooperator to maintain, repair, rehabilitate, restore, or build upon the property, the work must be done in accordance with applicable Secretary of the Interior's standards and guidelines and other NPS policies, guidelines, and standards.

GATE General Management Plan, 2014

Fundamental Resources and Values
"Fundamental resources and values are the park's attributes - it's features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, opportunities for visitor enjoyment, or others - that are critical to achieving the park's purpose and to maintaining its significance. These fundamental resources and values provide Gateway managers and staff with a focus on what is truly most important about this park. They help focus efforts and funding on the resources and experiences that matter most."

Fort Hancock's coastal defense fortifications and military areas are fundamental resources:
- Endicott/Taft-era batteries
- Parade Ground, including Officer's Row, barracks, and cultural landscape
- Nike Missile Launch and Radar Sites

Historic Preservation Banding
"Using a variety of information sources, a group of park and NPS staff with expertise in history, historic architecture, conservation, cultural landscapes and business services, created a process to evaluate over 330 structures and associated landscapes that are contributing resources to the park's nine National Register Districts" to prioritize preservation investment in the park's historic resources.

Eight Factors are used to evaluate and prioritize historic structures:
- Fundamental Resource
- National Register Status
- National Register Level of Significance
- Condition
- Uniqueness to Gateway
- Visibility
- Potential Use
- Vulnerability to Future Storm Events

Preservation Bands:
- Preserve: Maintain these structures in their current condition or move these structures into good condition through preservation or rehabilitation by NPS or partners to support visitor programs, interpretation, operations and appropriate commercial uses.
- Stabilize: Make unsafe, damaged, or deteriorated property stable. Unless a use and/or funding is found, the structure may fall into disrepair.
- Ruin: Structures in poor condition without viable reuse options. Safety hazards may be mitigated but won't actively invest to better the condition of the resource.

 

From NPS Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy, 2016

GATE banding system for prioritization of historic structures has been recognized as an effective tool for adaptation planning.

 

What guides resilient rehabilitation of historic structures within a coastal National Park?

• DOI Climate Action Plan, 2021

• NPS Climate Change Response Strategies (2010 and 2016)

• DOI Guidelines on Flood Adaptation for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, 2021

DOI Climate Action Plan, 2021

The Department will integrate climate change risk, mitigation, adaptation, and reslience in its policies, planning, programs, and operations. The Department will prepare for the effects of climate change on its various responsibilities, which include the following themes:
- Promote Climate-Resilient Lands, Waters, and Cultural Resources
- Advance Climate Equity
- Transition to a Resilient Clean Energy Economy
- Support Tribal and Insular Community Reslilience
- Empower the Next Generation of Conservation and Resilience Workers

Action #1. Promote Climate-Resilient Lands, Waters, and Cultural Resources Outcome: Lands, waters, and cultural resources threatened by climate change are managed, protected, and/or preserved for current and future generations.

NPS Climate Change Response Strategy, 2010 (nps.gov)
NPS Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy, 2016 (nps.gov)

Flood Adaptation

 

From The Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation & Guidelines on Flood Adaptation for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, 2021

Technical and economic limitations must be considered when attempting to reduce flood risk and create greater resilience; changes must also respect the historic character of the property. This can be a challenging balance for a project to achieve.

 

- Planning and Assessment for Flood Risk Reduction
- Temporary Protective Measures
- Site and Landscape Adaptations
- Protect Utilities
- Dry Floodproofing
- Wet Floodproofing
- Fill the Basement
- Elevate the Building on a New Foundation
- Elevate the Interior Structure
- Abandon the Lowest Floor
- Move the Historic Building

*From The Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation & Guidelines on Flood Adaptation for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, 2021*

 

Map of FEMA Preliminary Work on Fort Hancock

NPS

Closeup of map

NPS

Height of Hurricane Sandy's Floodwaters

NPS

Height of hypothetical floodwaters

NPS

Building 104 - excerpt from plan set showing raised utility platforms for condenser and generator

NPS

Building 104 - excerpt from plan set showing raised utility platforms for condenser and generator

NPS

Fill Basement // Building 56 - currently under construction

NPS

Site and Landscape Adaptations // Drainage plan for NPS Sandy Hook Maintenance Facility

NPS

 

Temporary Protective Measures

GATE Jamaica Bay Unit, Jacob Riis Park Bathhouse - LOI holder has proposed and NPS has agreed to the use of temporary deployed flood wall for temporary flood mitigation.

 

temporary flood wall

AquaFence

Map of Jacob Riis wave activation zones

NPS

Temporary flood walls in storage

AquaFence

Temporary flood walls in use

AquaFence

 

Climate Related Stressors Identified and Discussed in 2016 NPS Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy:

• Temperature Change
• Precipitation Change
• Sea Level Rise
• Combined Stressors
• Increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Temperature Change:
- Increased Global Temperature
- Increase Freeze/Thaw Cycles
- Permafrost Melt
- Higher Relative Humidity
- Increased Wind
- Increased Wildfire
- Changes in Seasonality and Phenology
- Species Shift
- Invasive Species/Pests

Precipitation Change:
- Less Precipitation/Drought
- More Precipitation and/or Heavier Precipitation
- Increase of Flooding Events

Sea Level Rise:
- Inundation and Increased Flooding Events
- Increased Frequency and/or Severity of Storm Surge
- Increased Coastal Erosion
- Higher Water Table

Combined Stressors:
- Salt Water Intrusion
- Extreme Weather Events
- Pollution
- Development

Increased GHG Emissions
- Ocean Acidification

From NPS Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy, 2016

How Does GATE evaluate management alternatives and investments when it is clear that it is not "forever"?

 

Jamaica Bay Pre/Post-Hurricane Sandy

Pre-Sandy Conditions:

• Despite a long history of intense development, Jamaica Bay is rich in fish and wildlife communities, with large and diverse populations of resident and migratory species.
• Jamaica Bay is recognized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as valuable habitat for migrating birds along the Atlantic. Some of these species have special regulatory protections under the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and state-level protections.
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that nearly 20% of North America's bird species migrate through ot breed in the Jamaica Bay area.
• The West Pond freshwater wetland habitat of pre-Sandy conditions, unique and rare within Jamaica Bay, was a significant factor in the diversity of species.
• Average yearly visitation over 575,000 pre-Sandy. Over 5,400 school groups from 2010 to 2015.

Post-Sandy Conditions:

• Currently, due to the loss of the freshwater wetlands, the West Pond does not provide habitat that supports the diversity of species that existed pre-Sandy.
• Loss of the loop-trail affected the visitor use and experience.
• Although the West Pond area continues to provide excellent habitat for shorebirds, waterbirds and freshwater associations have declined.
• National Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology data from 2011-2014 show a decline in species since the breach to West Pond.
• Visitation numbers for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge have dropped significantly since Hurricane Sandy.
• A 37% reduction in visitation occurred between 2011 and 2014.

 

Jamaica Bay coastline

NPS

Jamaica Bay wildlife refuge

NPS