Tribal Coastal Resilience Index Tool Now Available
Along the coast, tribal communities have thrived for countless generations, guided by tradition, self-sufficiency and a deep relationship with the natural world. But today, the threats of stronger storms, rising sea levels and other environmental change demand a new kind of preparation. As a result, the Tribal Coastal Resilience Index (TCRI) has been developed by Louisiana Sea Grant (LSG) in collaboration with the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe (PACIT) and other partners, with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Gulf of America Division and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Gulf of America Regional Collaboration Team.
The self-assessment tool – which can be downloaded from https://tinyurl.com/msbtc3jy – is designed to help tribal leaders and community members evaluate their disaster preparedness and resilience using existing community information. The goal is to identify vulnerabilities, guide resource allocation and ultimately strengthen the community’s ability to recover from future disasters. Central to this process is the Resilience Index, which measures how quickly a community can restore basic services and functionality after a disaster, rated as low, medium or high.
Communities are asked to define two storm scenarios: a past severe event (“Bad Storm”) and a hypothetical event 50 percent more intense (“Future Storm”). These scenarios help assess the impact on critical infrastructure, such as utilities, emergency facilities and transportation systems. The tool also prompts users to consider the location of these assets in flood-prone areas and their functionality post-disaster. Regular updates to the assessment — annually or biannually — are encouraged as conditions evolve.
In addition to infrastructure, the assessment explores community self-sufficiency, the protection of historic and cultural sites, the resilience of natural resources and the role of social and economic systems. It allows tribes to document strengths, identify areas for improvement and outline barriers – such as funding or regulatory and permitting processes for potential projects. The final Resilience Index serves as an internal planning tool and is not designed to be used for comparing communities.
“Resilience isn’t just about surviving the storm; it’s about coming back stronger. This assessment helps communities understand where they stand today and where they can focus their time and financial resources to strengthen their community for future generations,” said Melissa Daigle, research attorney with LSG.
As part of the process of developing the TCRI tool, the collaboration team conducted a pilot TCRI workshop with the PACIT last fall. Based on the findings from that workshop, a community-based resilience project was identified and implemented with project funds in early 2025 that focused on strengthening a bulkhead boat dock used during storms, and retrofitting homes to better withstand wind impacts – all of which were damaged during hurricane Ida. This work enhanced the tribe’s capacity to protect critical infrastructure and housing against future storms, safeguarding community livelihoods and safety. The project benefited tribal members who rely on boats for fishing and vulnerable homes facing wind damage. The developed TCRI tool can be applied to resilience efforts in similar communities around the region.
For more information or assistance, contact her at mtrosc2@lsu.edu.