Coastal relocation gives nature room to breathe and protect

This Retreat Isn’t a Sign of Weakness

By Frank Carini / ecoRI News staff

When it comes to climate change and southern New England’s eroding coastline, managed retreat is an unpopular choice. But there likely will come a time, perhaps sooner than we think, when it becomes the only option.

The climate crisis is altering human reality and the world in which we live. Many coastal policy experts in the region believe managed retreat needs to be part of this new reality.

Emma Gildesgame, climate adaptation scientist for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Massachusetts, believes honest conversations about managed retreat, also known as coastal relocation, are a must. She said the goal is to “work with nature to keep people safer from climate change.”

“This is the home that you bought, that you plan to live in for the rest of your life,” Gildesgame said, “but it’s going to be underwater more often than is sustainable for you to live in … that’s at the heart of the conversation.”

Managed retreat is about giving the shore room to breathe. Measures include voluntary buyouts, razing of buildings, easements, zoning changes, and moving structures.

To help raise awareness about rising coastal waters and to educate people living in places that routinely flood, TNC and Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW) are hosting a series of events in Bay State coastal communities to share information about climate preparedness strategies. Their work is supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management.

Gildesgame said they are specifically interested in hearing from people about their perspectives on managed retreat and other relocation strategies as tools to adapt to significant flood risk.

“I think it was like 2022 that I started having these conversations [about managed retreat],” she said. “People were like, ‘Oh, we can’t talk about that. It’s too complicated.’ Governments don’t want to be in the business of telling people where they can and can’t live. There’s deep, deep, deep trauma around government relocation in a lot of communities.”

More frequent and intense coastal and inland flooding, however, is making these conversations easier. People are beginning to realize we can’t build our way around this problem.

“We’re tough New Englanders. We’ll be fine. We’ll just build stronger,” Gildesgame said. “But we’re dealing with something completely unprecedented.”

TNC and CREW were joined by the Taunton River Watershed Alliance on June 24 for a “coastal resilience and relocation” event in Dighton. The event attracted about 20 local property owners. Similar events have been held in Winthrop and Gloucester, with more to be scheduled. Representatives from the two organizations are also tabling at coastal events, including the June 8 Taunton River Festival.

“One thing that people brought up that they were concerned about was heritage and history of their town and their neighborhood,” said Andrew Laquerre, a University of Massachusetts Boston graduate student and TNC intern, who attended last month’s Dighton event. “Otherwise, I think people are generally open to the idea, especially once they realize the necessity of dealing with flooding and then what’s kind of available to them post-retreat.”

The same coastal concerns and possible solutions also exist in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Gildesgame participated in a May 29 webinar titled “Exploring Managed Retreat in Rhode Island” with the Narragansett Bay Research Reserve.

Nineteen homeowners in Johnston and Cranston who live in the Pocasset River watershed have made it know they are interested in the voluntary buyback program being run by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District. Another 18 East Providence residents who live near the Runnins River accepted a federal buyout in 2022 because of repeated flooding.

As sea levels rise, it no longer takes a strong storm or a hurricane to cause coastal flooding, according to MyCoast, which has the pictures to prove it. Flooding now occurs with high and king tides in many locations because of sea level rise, land subsidence, and the loss of natural barriers.

Nuisance flooding, which causes public inconveniences such as frequent road closures, overwhelmed stormwater systems, and compromised infrastructure, has increased along U.S. coasts from between 300% and 925% since the 1960s.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that sea level rise could increase along the Massachusetts coast by 1.2 feet by 2030, 2.4 feet by 2050, and 4.2 feet by 2070.

Gildesgame noted coastal relocation is a way for municipalities and homeowners to adapt to rising sea levels and persistent flooding.

“Coastal relocation is a politically charged, emotional issue, but it is also a necessary opportunity to prevent losses and protect our coastlines and communities,” she said. “We can proactively reshape communities so we can live better with water. We’re not going to sandbag our way out of this. Reimagining our relationship with the coast is hard.”

To help make the transition easier, TNC, CREW, and their partners are building networks, gathering information, and having community conversations to support proactive planning.

While protective measures are being employed, from seawalls and levees to living shorelines, Gildesgame noted these solutions will be effective, at least for the short term, in some areas. But where flood risks are too great for these measures, she said, moving people and buildings away from the coast is the only safe solution.

Managed retreat allows residents and communities to shape the future of the coastline by restoring natural barriers of sand dunes, beaches, and salt marshes to help mitigate rising waters and protect from storm surge, according to Gildesgame.

In the United States annually, floods cause about $8 billion worth of damage and kill 100 people, according to TNC. The organization said managed retreat can be done equitably with programs that are voluntary, fair, and timely; that engage affected parties in planning and implementation; and that provide equitable support for underprivileged people, including rental tenants.

“We kept having conversations about, OK, this solution will protect this neighborhood for, like, 25 years at a cost of many zeros,” Gildesgame said of climate adaptation/mitigation work. “It’s really important to do some of that work, and some of it is really meaningful protection.”

But.

“How do we protect an existing salt marsh and give that salt marsh space to survive with sea level rise? And how do we protect the houses there, some of which already have salt marsh vegetation growing in the backyard,” she continued. “To have salt marsh vegetation, you need regular tides touching that space. Like those plants need regular salt water baths, so if your house already has salt water vegetation growing in the backyard, you’re really close to the high-tide line.”

That means flooding isn’t far behind. Hardening the shoreline will buy, likely at a considerable expense, maybe 20 years of protection. It also can exacerbate coastal problems.

Gildesgame noted oyster reef projects, marsh and dune restoration, and the rehabilitation of natural systems all play an important role in limiting flooding and slowing storm surge. To do these measures properly, however, can mean making space in a human-built environment.

“One of the big things that I’ve seen is that people are really concerned about development. What they don’t want is for somebody to buy out their home and then put a fancier home there,” Gildesgame said. “People tend to be much more comfortable when they are assured their property will be permanently protected open space for nature and restoration.”