Scientists and managers have long recognized the utility and efficiency in connecting floodplain management, flood hazard mitigation, and wetland management, but government resources are not allocated in such a manner as to foster collaboration among these institutions. Funding is often tied to specific agency priorities and hazard mitigation and habitat conservation staff rarely collaborate. The goal of the Wetlands, Wildlife Habitat, and Flood Hazards in the Rock River Basin webinar series is to identify opportunities for emergency, floodplain, and wetland management agencies to work together to maximize the flood control and ecosystem service benefits of our wetlands, thereby saving financial and environmental resources and building community resilience to climate change.
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Buyout Program
Local, state, and federal emergency managers and hazard mitigation planners are primarily tasked with reducing or eliminating the effects of natural hazards such as flooding. Property acquisitions (or ‘buyouts’) through the Hazard Mitigation, Pre-Disaster Mitigation, Flood Mitigation Assistance, Repetitive Flood Claims, or the Severe Repetitive Loss grant programs are long-term hazard mitigation measures that can help to reduce or eliminate the adverse effects of a disaster.
For this webinar, Roxanne Gray from Wisconsin Emergency Management, discussed the Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs. Then, Donna Haugom, Jefferson County Emergency Management Director, discussed the Jefferson County Emergency Management Office’s acquisition program. The program has purchased, acquired, and razed approximately 75 properties located within the floodplain; saving the County approximately $4 in emergency response and environmental mitigation costs for every $1 expended on this program.
SPEAKERS:
- Roxanne K. Gray, Mitigation Section Supervisor, State Hazard Mitigation Officer (pdf)
- Donna Haugom, Jefferson County Emergency Management Director (pdf)
WEBINAR RECORDING:
Recording of the event