Understanding community perceptions on sea level rise adaptation

Increased population growth in our region coupled with the flood and erosion hazards posed by a changing climate will increase demand for hard shoreline armoring across the Salish Sea. Decisions by waterfront property owners, shoreline land managers, and coastal communities about how to adapt to the impacts of rising seas will affect how marine shorelines look and function for generations to come. Understanding landowner and community perspectives on sea level rise adaptation strategies is an essential element of both resiliency planning and efforts to protect and restore marine ecosystems. As part of ongoing work to advance habitat friendly adaptation actions in the San Juan Island archipelago, Friends of the San Juans has completed vulnerability assessment mapping, developed outreach materials, hosted workshops and conducted surveys in multiple vulnerable coastal communities. Survey results show strong support for long-term solutions and recognition of habitat processes and values. These findings are often inconsistent with what elected officials and other mangers assume their constituents want and may offer the public support required to promote the implementation of multi-benefit projects and help reduce the proliferation of new hard armor. Survey results offer important insights for elected officials, shoreline managers, and marine ecosystem recovery science and policy practitioners on public and stakeholder perceptions on the best ways to plan for and manage impacts to both public infrastructure and private property. Friends of the San Juans will share the primary engagement components utilized, key findings from the survey, and potential applications to advance on-the-ground adaptation actions