Ocean City Comprehensive Back Bay Adaptive Management Plan

Project Description

Originally envisioned as a plan to anticipate and manage long range dredging needs, the scope of the plan was modified to address comprehensive back bay management; this includes the function and health of the back bay including: navigability and recreational value of all waterways, ecological health and habitat value of the ecosystem and storm resiliency provided by the back bay systems. ACT Engineers, along with our leading industry partner, developed the Comprehensive Back Bay Adaptive Management Plan to provide the framework for managing the function, value and health of Ocean City’s back bay ecosystem and to strengthen the City’s resiliency to coastal threats.
The Plan anticipates that adaptive management will be a central component of the long-range management strategy for Ocean City’s back bay ecosystem.  Adaptive management is a decision-making process in which a system is managed variably over time, based on defined goals and objectives, with the flexibility to adjust operations due to contributing factors such as: improved design methodology, environmental and resource conditions, monitoring results, redefined goals and needs, construction methodologies and regulatory oversight. In the face of economic, environmental and climatic uncertainties, adaptive management improves the effectiveness of management strategies by using rigorous monitoring and evaluation methods in a continual learning process.