Description: Across Texas, communities are increasingly challenged by recurring floods, aging infrastructure, and evolving climate extremes. With over 4,600 solutions recommended by the first State Flood Plan and a total estimated implementation cost of more than $54 billion, the severity of flood risk in Texas necessitates innovative approaches to flood risk mitigation. The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), with support from Freese & Nichols Inc. and the Nature Conservancy, is developing a Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) for Flood Resilience Guidance Manual to equip practitioners, policymakers, and local leaders with practical tools to plan for, regulate, implement, and manage NbS strategies across Texas communities. The manual provides a practical, science-based framework for evaluating, planning, and implementing NbS that mitigate flood risk while delivering ecological and social co-benefits.

This 15-minute presentation will highlight the manual’s core framework, which is focused on translating NbS concepts into actionable, locally relevant practices for Texas’s various geographics and ecosystems. Key topics include approaches for ordinance and policy alignment, funding mechanisms, procuring technical services, and maintenance and monitoring protocols for long-term performance. Audience members will be encouraged to complete a poll to assess barriers they have experienced implementing NbS.

By drawing from statewide research that engaged stakeholders across Texas’s diverse ecoregions and sharing case-study success stories and practical insights, this presentation aims to inspire and equip stakeholders with the knowledge to effectively mitigate flood risks in Texas communities while also enhancing natural systems and community well-being with NbS solutions.

Presenters: George Fowler (Freese and Nichols, Inc.)

Description: The widespread disaster caused by the Great Floods of 2016 revealed how susceptible Louisiana’s landscape is to flooding. In 2018, the state launched the Louisiana Watershed Initiative (LWI), a $1.2B, HUD-funded program, introducing a new watershed-based approach to reducing flood risk in Louisiana, guided by the principles of using scientific tools and data; enabling transparent, objective decision-making; maximizing the natural function of floodplains; and establishing regional, watershed-based management of flood risk. The LWI allocated $995M to flood mitigation projects, with $899M of that allocation awarded to 127 projects throughout the state. In addition, seven regional HUC-8 models have been developed, calibrated, and validated.

The Program has been working with technical experts, federal partners, academic institutions and local stakeholders to create models of Louisiana’s watersheds. This investment in modeling has been game-changing for managing flooding in the State.

Like many similar programs, there is a difference between the typical projects proposed by local government, and the nature-based service approach promoted by the Program. Despite extensive capacity building and tool development in nature based solutions (NBS), most of the capital projects have not incorporated NBS features. Following an overview of the program, the implementation of NBS will be critically explored, with recommendations for future improvements.

Presenters: Derek Chisholm (AECOM on behalf of OCD-DR Louisiana)

Description: The Barataria Basin provides storm surge benefits to the Greater New Orleans Area and has experienced sever land loss. The Barataria Landbridge, a critical natural feature, plays a serious role in the overall resiliency of the State and its protection needs are well documented in Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan and Jefferson Parish’s Coastal Strategic Action Plan.

Jefferson Parish has been on the forefront of seeking system-wide restoration and adopted a multiple lines of defense strategy. Many project types have been identified, from a levee and floodwall system to marsh and ridge restoration. Each project comes at a different cost and qualifies for different funding, with varying levels of required match.

One of the identified projects in the Parish Coastal Strategic Action Plan consists of the construction of earthen terraces immediately south of the Barataria Landbridge. This area has been identified as having experienced a high rate of marsh fragmentation and shoreline erosion, and much of the emergent marsh has been converted to open water. Marsh terracing would restore degraded remnant marsh by reducing the rate of erosion and allowing for sediment accretion.

This presentation will discuss how this project fits into the state and Parish’s storm risk reduction strategy, best practices for selecting location and designing a terracing project, and the iterative process to identify and successfully obtain grant funding to achieve construction.

Presenters: Ryan Fikes; Matthew Salmon, PE; Kiara Horton, PE (Freese and Nichols, Inc.)

Description: Tidal wetlands are valuable coastal ecosystems, providing nursery habitat for commercially and recreationally important fisheries species, refuge for threatened and endangered species, and critical storm surge and flood protection benefits to communities. Despite numerous efforts by partners to protect and restore tidal wetlands in Texas, they have been disappearing due to subsidence, sea level rise, erosion and coastal development. To minimize further tidal wetland loss in Texas, The Nature Conservancy and a broad coalition of 34 partner organizations are working together to implement the Texas Wetland Action Mapping (Texas WAM) project. This collaborative, science-based initiative coordinates statewide action and aims to catalyze collaboration and funding opportunities for tidal wetland restoration and conservation. A Texas Wetland Action Mapping Plan was developed in coordination with this working group and is the first statewide plan focused on tidal wetland conservation and restoration developed in recent decades. During a series of regional workshops and targeted planning sessions conducted over two years, the working group developed a shared set of goals and strategies and prioritized locations where working group members and partners could implement action. These action areas were selected using a participatory mapping process and planning tools developed by the Texas WAM project team to help guide wetland restoration and conservation investments across the coast.

Presenters: Charlotte Nash; Lauren Williams; Christine Shepard; Jacqueline Ferrato; Karrie Arnold (The Nature Conservancy)

Description: This presentation will discuss how the barrier island community of Port Aransas built its reputation as a thriving tourism destination based on the strength of its natural assets. Highly vulnerable to hurricanes and rising seas, this session will review how the City prepared its Parks and Recreation plan. It will touch on topics like the city and county's carefully maintenance of a natural beach and robust dune system on the Gulf that protects the residential and business community from storm surge and king tides. This session will also discuss how the City's parks system was planned to include hundreds of acres of nature preserves that protect the city on its eastern and northern border along the ship channel and Corpus Christi Bay. Strategically located nature preserves also protect residents and businesses, while strengthening native wetlands, salt marsh and flats habitats. Together, the City's strategic preservation efforts creating a sustainable tourism destination for beachgoers and birdwatchers along the Central Flyway of the United States. Finally, the presentation will discuss how the city uses nature-based tourism fuels investment that reduces the community's vulnerability to storms and sea level rise by continuing to invest in critical coastal habitat.

Presenters: Kimberly Miller (Black & Veatch

Description: Mitchell Lake Audubon Center, located in south San Antonio, is a vital sanctuary along the central Flyway for over 300 bird species, including migratory shorebirds and waterbirds that depend on its basins, mudflats, and wetlands for survival. Through a longstanding partnership, the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) and the Texas state office of the National Audubon Society are launching a new water delivery strategy to enhance waterbird and shorebird habitat across the center’s diverse habitats.

The project responds to long-standing challenges with drought, infrastructure, and variable water availability that have impacted bird habitat quality. By upgrading aging infrastructure and implementing monthly water management strategies based on needs of migrating bird species, the plan will work to ensure reliable, shallow-water conditions tailored to the needs of birds during critical migration and breeding periods.

The project reflects a shared commitment to sustainability, balancing ecological restoration with urban water stewardship. SAWS brings technical expertise and infrastructure support, while Audubon leads ecological data analysis and community engagement aspects of the work.

Beyond ecological benefits, the plan will improve public access to birding, educational programming, and recreational opportunities at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center. It also serves as a model for collaborative conservation in urban settings where water, wildlife, and people intersect. Together, Audubon and SAWS are creating a future where birds thrive, communities connect with nature, and water is managed wisely for generations to come.

Presenters: Lisa Gonzalez (National Audubon Society, Audubon Texas); Gregg Eckhardt (San Antonio Water System)