Rebecca L. Kihslinger

Rebecca L. Kihslinger

Rebecca L. Kihslinger

Senior Science and Policy Analyst; Director, Wetlands Program
(202) 939-3812

Dr. Rebecca Kihslinger, Science and Policy Analyst and Director of the Wetlands Program, has worked at ELI since 2006. Rebecca directs ELI’s work on climate adaptation and community resilience, naturally green planning, and wetlands issues. She has led projects and written on opportunities for wildlife conservation in natural hazard areas, nature-friendly land use planning, the ecological success of wetland compensatory mitigation, and local and state wetland protection programs. She is currently working with partners in the Upper Mississippi River Basin to bring together hazard mitigation planners, emergency managers, and wetland and wildlife managers to identify opportunities to collaborate on projects that yield both flood hazard mitigation and habitat conservation benefits. Rebecca is also a key member of the ELI’s Ocean Program team working on aquaculture, and has written on aquaculture certification programs and the federal regulation of offshore aquaculture.  

Media Guide
Expertise
  • Biodiversity: conservation planning—approaches for integrating biodiversity protection principles into land use planning, policies, and regulations
  • Water: wetlands—compensatory mitigation; federal, state, and local policy
  • Natural Hazards: identifying opportunities to improve community resilience through inter-agency collaboration
Education
  • Ph.D. in Animal Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA, 2006
  • M.S. in Animal Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA, 2002
  • B.S. in Marine Science, University of South Carolina Honors College, Columbia, SC, 1998
Selected Publications

Kihslinger, R.L., D. Salvesen, E. Thomas. Wetlands, Wildlife Habitat, and Flood Hazards in the Cedar River Basin, Iowa. (Envtl. L. Inst. 2013)

Sweeney, E., P. Womble, J.B. Wilkinson, R.L. Kihslinger and J. Amsalem. A Handbook for Prioritizing Wetland and Stream Restoration and Protection Using Landscape Analysis Tools. (Envtl. L. Inst. 2013)

Kihslinger, R.L. and Gaudioso, L. Delaware Wetland Protection Vision and Strategic Plan. Interview Results and Assessment. (Envtl. L. Inst. 2013)

Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Environmental Law Institute, and The Ocean Foundation. 2013. Offshore Aquaculture Regulation Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

Wilkinson, J.B., R.L. Kihslinger, C. Kolman. 2012. Wetland and Stream Mitigation: A Handbook for Land Trusts. (Envtl. L. Inst. 2012)

Womble, P., Kihslinger, R.L., McElfish, J.M., & Sweeney, E. 2011. America’s Vulnerable Waters: Assessing the Nation’s Portfolio of Vulnerable Aquatic Resources since Rapanos v. United States. National Wetlands Newsletter 33(5).

Kihslinger, Rebecca L., David Salvesen, and Tessa Lee. 2010. Combining Habitat Conservation and Natural Hazards: Issues and Opportunities. National Wetlands Newsletter. 32(3): 12-15.

McElfish, James M. Jr., Rebecca L. Kihslinger, Michael Ng. 2009. Conserving Landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay – A Special Report. Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail Report.

Rebecca L. Kihslinger & James M. McElfish, Jr., Nature-Friendly Land Use Practices at Multiple Scales. (Envtl. L. Inst. 2009).

Rebecca L. Kihslinger, Success of Wetland Mitigation Projects, Nat’l Wetlands Newsl., 30 (2): 14-16 (2008).

Michael Bean, Rebecca L. Kihslinger, & Jessica Wilkinson, Design of U.S. Habitat Banking Systems to Support the Conservation of Wildlife Habitat and At-Risk Species (Envtl. L. Inst. 2008).

James M. McElfish, Jr., Rebecca L. Kihslinger, & Sandra Nichols, Planner’s Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments, (Envtl. L. Inst. 2008).

Rebecca L. Kihslinger, Jessica Wilkinson, & James M. McElfish, Jr., Biodiversity Corridors in Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature, (John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 2007).

Rebecca L. Kihslinger & Jessica Wilkinson eds., Lasting Landscapes: Reflections on the Role of Conservation Science in Land Use Planning (Envtl. L. Inst. 2007).