MISSOURI Fall 2024 • nature.org/missouri
Conserving the habitats people and nature need to thrive requires a mix of strategies and tools. © Shaun Johnson/TNC Photo Contest 2017
Building a Climate-Resilient Missouri Three ways TNC is preparing for the challenges ahead
ever-climbing demand for energy affect wildlife and people. To meet the challenges, TNC is working with talented partners, using the lessons we’ve learned over the years and even building new tools needed to do the work. The punch list is long, but it’s doable. Take a look at three examples of how TNC is building toward a climate- resilient future for Missouri. Making the Transition Accessible: Solar for All Missouri’s plan to expand solar power in underserved communities was one of 60 selected for funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s $7 billion Solar for All program.
The selected applicants come from across the United States, territories and Tribal nations. Each will deploy local programs, cumulatively delivering residential and community solar projects that result in savings of at least 20% on utility bills. That will lower energy bills for people who most need it, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create an estimated 200,000 jobs. Missouri’s Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority (EIERA) was chosen for a $156,120,000 program focused on making solar affordable. TNC has committed to support EIERA in the development and implementation of a statewide Solar for All program.
The path to climate resiliency isn’t really a path at all. It’s more like rehabbing a house—upgrade that old kitchen, reglaze those leaky windows, reimagine the extra bedroom. The path is a punch list of adjustments and improvements, projects big and small that ultimately come together to create the place where you want to live. In Missouri, The Nature Conservancy has been in the restoration business for more than 60 years. Conserving the land and water that people and nature need to thrive requires a mix of techniques and strategies. That’s even more important as a changing climate strains Missouri’s foundational landscapes. Shifts in weather patterns, increasingly frequent floods, more days of extreme heat and
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Meet Our Community and Climate Resiliency Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Manager Anthony Kearney oversees progress on the L536 Levee Setback Project along the Missouri River bottomlands in Rock Port. © Dan Videtich
Policy: Securitization Three years ago, TNC was part of the effort in Missouri to create a new financial tool that would make it easier to transition toward renewable energy. Utilities are now using that tool— securitization—to decommission three coal-powered energy plants in the state. More are expected in the future. Securitization frees up capital to make such moves more affordable. That is speeding up Missouri’s shift to a more diverse mix of energy sources, a key target in TNC’s goals for 2030. The Conservancy supported the successful legislation that ultimately approved securitization, including testifying before state lawmakers. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2021. Closing outdated facilities is important for the environment and will lead to lower bills for customers. Climate Adaptation: Missouri River Levee Setback Flooded out again and again, people living and farming along the Missouri
River in Atchison County knew it would take more than grit to respond to progressively volatile waters. A ruinous flood in 2019 put 56,000 acres underwater, displaced nearly 300 residents and cost an estimated $25 million in agricultural revenue in Atchison County. TNC helped bring together local stakeholders and nearly a dozen partners to create a solution that would benefit people and nature. The locally led project ultimately moved 5 miles of a 71-year-old federal levee inland, creating more than 1,000 acres of floodplain along the Missouri River. The added floodplain is an adaptation to the changing conditions. It gives the river room to rise and recede naturally, provides wildlife habitat and protects people from increasingly common floods. The project is also a great model for the future. TNC is now supporting other new levee setback projects at key spots along the Missouri River. LEARN MORE about
Kristine Grace Cabugao. © Doyle Murphy/TNC
Kristine Grace Cabugao joined The Nature Conservancy in February and hit the ground at a sprint. The California native grew up running trails, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains, later pursuing a career in science and nature. Her doctoral research in plant traits and soil biogeochemistry took her through the tropics and helped to refine models used by the Department of Energy to predict climate change impacts on global ecosystems. Cabugao came to TNC from a California Sea Grant at University of California-San Diego, where she served with the Delta Independence Science Board as a climate mitigation and adaption scientist. In Missouri, she immediately began figuring out how TNC’s projects affect and benefit people living nearby. She’ll be a key part of carrying forward the region’s clean energy transition.
The Nature Conservancy’s climate work in Missouri at nature.org/moclimate.
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Missouri missouri@tnc.org nature.org/missouri
The Nature Conservancy P.O. Box 440400 St. Louis, MO 63144
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