In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Matt Chambers, a researcher at the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems at the University of Georgia, about managing floods with nature-based solutions. Chambers discusses the history of levee systems in the United States, the challenges that the widespread use of levees have presented, and approaches to floodplain management that help restore ecosystems while improving community resilience to flooding. He also discusses the economic analysis that informs floodplain management and the evolution of the US Army Corps of Engineers as a key decisionmaker in the management of US rivers.

References and recommendations:

“Nature-based solutions for leveed river corridors” by Matthew L. Chambers, Charles B. van Rees, Brian P. Bledsoe, David Crane, Susana Ferreira, Damon M. Hall, Rod W. Lammers, Craig E. Landry, Donald R. Nelson, Matt Shudtz, and Burton C. Suedel; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213305423000504

“Engineering with Nature” podcast; https://ewn.erdc.dren.mil/podcasts/

“The Control of Nature” by John McPhee; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374522599/thecontrolofnature

“An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; https://www.beacon.org/An-Indigenous-Peoples-History-of-the-United-States-P1164.aspx

“The Gift of Good Land” by Wendell Berry; https://www.counterpointpress.com/books/the-gift-of-good-land/

“The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise” by Michael Grunwald; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Swamp/Michael-Grunwald/9780743251075

Making Room for the River with Nature-Based Solutions, with Matt Chambers

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.