Thank you for completing this Resilient Rural America Project (RRAP) survey. Your input is vital to guide the RRAP Training Module Series, designed to accelerate rural resilience to extreme weather risks with practical action strategies.  

This survey focuses on identifying the priority training topics for taking action on resilient land use strategies for rural communities and landscapes. Your responses guide the module content and delivery methods that meet rural needs.  This module is the action step that follows RRAP Training Module #1,  focused on integration of extreme weather resilience into rural comprehensive plan updates. 

Please allow at least 30-40 minutes for the survey process. At the end  there is an opportunity to participate in the project as a rural community beta tester and/or as an expert project advisor.

Please see more about this collaborative project and the RRAP training module series at http://www.mfpp.org/rrap.  

Project collaborators: Model Forest Policy Program, EcoAdapt, and NOAA Climate Program Office.  

Project Funded by the Climate Resilience Fund and NOAA Climate Program Office.

Please BE SURE TO CLICK the "OK" BUTTON wherever it appears to record your answers. And BE SURE TO CLICK "DONE" AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE SURVEY. 
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT 

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* 1. Where are you located?

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* 2. What is the population of the jurisdiction covered under your local Comprehensive or General Plan?

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* 3. What is the approximate land area of the jurisdiction covered under your local Comprehensive or General Plan?

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* 4. Do you consider your jurisdiction or community to be primarily rural in nature?

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* 5. Which description best fits your primary interest in rural resilience? (Select one)

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* 6. How did you learn about the RRAP project and this survey? (Check the main source.) 

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* 7. What's the best website, reference, or information source you've found so far on rural resilience and/or  rural climate issues?

PLEASE NOTE:
If you are a LOCAL RURAL LEADER, STAKEHOLDER, or LOCAL PARTNER Please Answer Questions 8, 9. & 10. 
If you are a RESILIENCE PROFESSIONAL or SERVICE PROVIDER please skip down to answer Questions 11, 12, & 13 instead. 
If you fit BOTH CATEGORIES then answer all questions #8-13. Thank you! 

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* 8. For local rural  leaders and stakeholders, which best describes your professional role or affiliation? (Select one)

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* 9. If you are a local or Tribal government partner, which of the following best fits your affiliation? (Select one)

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* 10. For rural leaders and partners, about what percentage of time do you spend on resilience to weather-related hazards in your professional role?

FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE PROFESSIONALS OR SERVICE PROVIDERS Answer Questions 11,12, & 13. All others please skip to Question 14)

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* 11. If you are a sustainability or resilience expert in government, nonprofit, education, or private consulting what are your primary areas of professional expertise? Select up to three.

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* 12. Do you work directly with rural communities (government, landowners, organizations, businesses)?

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* 13. About what percentage of time do you spend on resilience to  extreme weather-related hazards or resilient land use in your professional role?

EXTREME WEATHER AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STATUS

Rural leaders, please answer for your local community or jurisdiction.
Professionals, please answer based on the communities you primarily serve. 

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* 14. Based on your experience, to what degree is your rural or small community (or communities you work with) currently experiencing more extreme weather or other rapidly changing conditions? Select the best answer.

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* 15. Which of these hazards pose the most immediate or important impact to your community (or communities you work with)? Select up to three.

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* 16. What year was your comprehensive or general plan last updated?

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* 17. Does your current comprehensive or general plan include specific goals and provisions for resilience to extreme weather impacts?

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* 18. For the same list of hazards above (Q15), to the best of your knowledge, select the current level of activity for each hazard  that your community has engaged in for that hazard to date. 

  Not Active Assessed Vulnerability Have Plan or Strategies Implementing Resilience Strategies Now Not Sure
Extreme weather wet (mainly wind, rain, snow)
Extreme weather dry (mainly heat, drought)
Flooding (seasonal, riverine, canals)
Flooding  (stormwater driven, built environment)
Erosion / Landslides 
Cold weather (cold snaps, blizzard, polar vortex)
Drought (prolonged, intense, flash drought)
Water resource degradation (water quality, supply)
Water habitat degradation (aquatic habitat, fisheries)
Damage to infrastructure (stormwater, roads, bridges)
Catastrophic wildfire
Public health impacts (heat, air quality, diseases, allergies/asthma)
Agricultural / forest decline (disease, pests, invasive species)
Wildlife stress (habitat, health, biodiversity)
Hunting / Fishing / Subsistence Challenges 
Sea level rise and storm surge

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* 19. Is your community interested in pursuing resilient land use strategies to address these hazards, with or without a resilience plan in place?

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* 20. If you are interested in taking action on resilient land use strategies, how would you prefer to pursue them? Select top 2.

EXPLORING TRAINING NEEDS FOR TAKING ACTION ON RESILIENT LAND USE STRATEGIES 

In this section, help us prioritize rural training needs for taking action on resilient land use  with policies, regulations, resource management, economics, and communications. 

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* 21. Please rank the following categories of tools for taking action on resilient land use strategies, according to the most useful for you to learn about and use in your community.  Rank 1 for most useful to 5 for least  useful. 

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* 22. Rank the importance of the following overarching strategies for resilient land use in your comprehensive plan or overall community resilience efforts.

  Low importance Medium importance High importance
Land Use Designations for Growth Management, (zoning, urban growth boundaries, conservation lands)
Land Use Designations for Resource Protection Areas  (sensitive / critical areas or hazardous zones, floodplains, wetlands, steep slopes, wildland urban interface)
Land Use Policy for Site-Scale Development Controls  (smart growth, rural clusters, conservation subdivisions, low impact development, green building)
Water Management Strategies (stormwater control measures, green infrastructure plan, source water protection / recharge zones)
Natural Resource Management  (sustainable forestry, regenerative agriculture, watershed management, wildlife habitat conservation )
Nature-Based Solutions (green infrastructure for stormwater, urban forestry, biodiversity, wildlife, living shorelines, watershed restoration)
Engineered Solutions (gray Infrastructure for transportation, stormwater, water supply, wastewater treatment)
Hazard Mitigation Programs and Practices (floods, heat, drought, wildfire, sea level rise)

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* 23. What general skills or process training would be most useful to support taking action on land use strategies?  Select top 3.

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* 24. Please identify the methods of self-guided  virtual training or tools that would be the most useful to support taking action using land use strategies to address extreme weather and other rapidly changing conditions? Select top 3.

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* 25. For each of the following Land Use Designation Strategies for Growth Management and/or Resource Protection, rank the importance of each strategy to your jurisdiction.

  Low importance Medium importance High importance
Zoning Regulations
Smart Growth / Cluster Development 
Urban Growth Boundaries 
Conservation Lands (e.g. forests, farms, wetlands) 
Regional Planning 
Watershed Sensitive Area Designations (floodplains, riparian zones, and wetlands, and source water protection)
Shoreline/ Marine Sensitive Area Designations (shorelines, estuaries, and sea level rise zones) 
Terrestrial Sensitive Area Designations (steep slopes, forests, wildland urban interface)
Cultural and Historical Resource Area Designations 
Regional Green Infrastructure and Open Space Designations

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* 26. For your Land Use Designation priorities ranked as high importance in Question #25, what type of training and implementation support would be the most beneficial to help implement those land use designation strategies for your team or jurisdiction? Select the top 3. 

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* 27. Which topics related to land use for the protection of sensitive area designations are the most important and most likely to benefit from training in your jurisdiction? Select top 3.

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* 28. For the following resilience strategies using Natural Resource Management Options that complement land use designations, rank the importance of each strategy to your jurisdiction

  Low importance Medium importance High importance
Watershed stewardship - source water protection
Integrated water resource management (supply, stormwater, wastewater)
Sustainable / regenerative / low carbon agriculture 
Sustainable / certified forestry practices 
Stormwater management with nature-based green infrastructure solutions
Stormwater authority - how to establish and manage stormwater fee programs  
Drought mitigation - best practices to prepare and respond 
Managing water withdrawals 
Flood mitigation - best practices to prepare, prevent, and respond 
Green infrastructure & open space management 
Low impact development practices / green building certifications
Conservation subdivisions

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* 29. For the Natural Resource Management Options ranked as high importance in Question #28 above, what type of training and implementation support would be the most beneficial for you, your team or jurisdiction? Select top 3.

IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION STRATEGIES

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* 30. What is your current stage of implementation of your current or updated comprehensive or general plan?

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* 31. Which of the following challenges or obstacles are you facing in implementing your comprehensive or general plan? Select top 3.

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* 32. What three topics relating to potential funding sources or revenue mechanisms for resilient land use implementation would you most like to learn more about. Select top 3.

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* 33. Which of the following topics would you like to learn about for creating resilient land use initiatives with co-benefits that are mutually beneficial for other public interests, such as social cohesion, public health, economic development, or environmental justice. Select top 3.

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* 34. As part of this project, EcoAdapt is developing a Rural Landing Page for the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange information clearinghouse. What source(s) of information on rural resilience would you recommend for this curated resource page?  What types of rural information have been the hardest for you to find? 

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* 35. Please share any additional thoughts about taking action on resilient land use strategies. What else should we have asked you about?

IMPORTANT!
WHEN YOUR SURVEY IS COMPLETE, SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM AND CLICK "DONE" TO SAVE YOUR RESPONSES 

Additional Resilient Rural America Project (RRAP) details at http://www.mfpp.org/rrap  

OPPORTUNITIES FOR RURAL BETA TESTERS AND PROJECT ADVISORS  ARE ALSO BELOW 

The Resilient Rural America Project Training Module #2  support effective implementation of resilient land use strategies to address extreme weather impacts. Producing an effective training module depends on input from those who are on-the-ground  in the community doing this work every day. 

BETA TESTERS: We are inviting individuals and local teams to participate as rural beta testers for this training module to contribute to the development process. We need your input. If you are interested, please provide your name and Email below and we will contact you with next steps.

PROJECT ADVISORS: We are also looking for expert project advisors to participate in the development process. Together, beta testers and advisors will help select priority training topics, shape content and delivery methods, and advance resilience for rural communities nationwide. Time commitments will be modest and the training and networking value will be beneficial to all participants. 

If you are interested, or just want to be kept informaed about the project, please complete the questions below. 

ALL SURVEY TAKERS BE SURE TO CLICK THE "DONE" BUTTON  BELOW!  THANK YOU! 

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* 36. Are you interested in participating in the development and beta testing of the new training module? Please check the role that best fits your  role and interest.

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* 37. Please provide your contact information to participate or to be kept informed about the survey results and project opportunities:

Thank you very much for taking the time  to complete this survey. Your insights are very valuable and we appreciate your time and effort very much!

BE SURE TO CLICK THE "DONE" BUTTON BELOW TO SAVE YOUR RESPONSES. 

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