Tools | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Tools are available to help you manage your climate-related risks and opportunities, and to help guide you in building resilience to extreme events. Browse the list below, or filter by topic and/or tool functionality in the boxes above. To expand your results, click the Clear Filters link.

A Guide to Assessing Green Infrastructure Costs and Benefits for Flood Reduction

Communities can use this six-step process as a framework—and to spark discussion—when assessing the costs and benefits of green infrastructure projects.

AdaptMap Jamaica Bay

This online mapping tool for New York's Jamaica Bay allows users to compare and contrast historical, present day, and potential future landscapes against an array of sea level and storm tide scenarios.

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Aquatic Connectivity Assessment and Prioritization Tool

Users in the North Atlantic—from Maine to West Virginia—can access this database and these tools to help identify bridges and culverts that impede aquatic connectivity.

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Being Prepared for Climate Change: A Workbook for Developing Risk-Based Adaptation Plans

Organizations that manage environmental resources can use this guide to prepare a broad, risk-based adaptation plan.

Building America Solution Center - Disaster Resistance Tool

Builders, remodelers, restoration contractors, and home occupants can find guidance to make homes more resistant to natural disasters.

Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE)

Access adaptation case studies, virtual library resources, a directory of adaptation practitioners, and a database of relevant tools on this comprehensive website. Users can also participate in community forums or contribute resources.

Climate Resilience Evaluation & Awareness Tool (CREAT)

Owners and operators of drinking water and wastewater utilities can use this web-based tool to assess potential climate change threats and evaluate adaption options at their sites.

Coastal Restoration Toolkit

This web-based toolkit offers a wealth of tools and resources to help coastal residents address flooding, coastal erosion, water quality, invasive species, and wildlife habitat restoration.

Creating Resilient Water Utilities

Drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utility professionals can access the resources on this website to find tools, training, and technical assistance to help them increase resilience to extreme weather events.

Data Basin

Diverse collaborative groups can use this mapping and analysis platform to support environmental stewardship projects. The platform enables citizens, students and educators, natural resource practitioners, and scientists to visualize, draw, comment, and discuss aspects of their project.

Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters (DWMAPS)

Community members can use this online mapping tool to find information about drinking water in their communities; professionals and planners can use the tool to update source water assessments and prioritize source water protection measures.

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Environmental Resilience Tools Wizard

This online tool was created to help state and local emergency managers, environmental or health agencies, and anyone who may not be familiar with EPA resources that help build community resilience to disasters.

Extreme Event Game

Is your community ready for an extreme event? In one hour, groups of 12-48 players learn how important it is to build coalitions across all sectors of a community and invest in short-term and long-term resources to make their city more resilient.

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Flood Resilience: A Basic Guide for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Water utility personnel can work through this straightforward guide to document the threat of flooding at their utilities, identify specific vulnerabilities and potential mitigation options, and develop an implementation plan to increase their resilience to flooding.

Green-Gray Analysis (GGA)

This methodology facilitates objective comparison of the costs and benefits of water management options that utilize green (natural) and gray (conventional) infrastructure.

Gulf TREE (Tools for Resilience Exploration Engine)

This site walks Gulf Coast users through a decision-support tree framework to match them with relevant climate resilience tools.

Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch

This planning guide for Great Plains ranchers provides information on how to manage drought.

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National Stormwater Calculator—Climate Assessment Tool

This desktop application provides estimates for the amount of rainwater and frequency of runoff anywhere in the United States. Its primary use is to inform site developers on how well they can meet a desired stormwater retention target with and without the use of green infrastructure.

Thin layer of dredged sediment being spread to raise the target elevation for vegetation in this marsh

Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Highway Resilience: An Implementation Guide

This Implementation Guide is designed to help transportation practitioners understand how and where nature-based and hybrid solutions can be used to improve the resilience of coastal roads and bridges.

NEWA—Network for Environment and Weather Applications

Growers in the Northeast can use this website to help make planting, pest management, and a range of other weather- and climate-based agricultural decisions.

Peril of Flood | Florida's Coastal Resiliency Portal

Planners in Florida can find best practice approaches along with resources and tools for building coastal resilience.

Planning Framework for a Climate-Resilient Economy

Municipal officials interested in improving the resilience of their economy can use this flexible tool to get a "big picture" assessment of their climate vulnerabilities or to dive deeper and map out specific economic impacts or threats and business opportunities.

Resilient Strategies Guide for Water Utilities

Utilities identify their climate concerns and describe their assets and priorities, and the interactive site helps them select adaptation strategies and funding sources.

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Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) Program

This FEMA program helps communities identify, assess, communicate, and mitigate their flood risk through more precise flood mapping products, risk assessment tools, and support for planning and outreach.

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Southeast Conservation Blueprint

This living spatial plan identifies priority areas for a connected network of lands and waters across the Southeast and Caribbean. It is helping organizations bring in new funding and inform their conservation decisions.

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Storm Water Management Model

Urban planners and landscape designers use this downloadable program to simulate the quality and quantity of rainfall over urban and suburban areas.

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Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX)

This program matches volunteer scientists with community leaders across the globe to advance local projects related to natural hazards, natural resources, and climate change.

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USFS Climate Gallery - Changing Wildfire, Changing Forests StoryMap

This StoryMap provides information for management groups on the impacts of wildfires and hydrologic systems due to projected temperature increases as a result of climate change.

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USFS Climate Gallery - Climate Vulnerability Assessment in the Northern Rocky Mountains StoryMap

This StoryMap provides an understanding of the largest climate change adaptation effort on public lands to date, including participants from federal agencies and stakeholder organizations interested in a broad range of resource issues.

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USFS Climate Gallery - Francis Marion National Forest: Adapting to Climate Change StoryMap

This StoryMap describes first, how climate change is transforming the Francis Marion National Forest; second, how land changes and urbanization are affecting the area; and third, how land managers can improve the resilience of these lands to changing conditions.

Vermont Transportation Resilience Planning Tool (TRPT)

The Vermont Transportation Resilience Planning Tool (TRPT) is a web-based application that identifies bridges, culverts, and road embankments that are vulnerable to damage from floods.