About the event

Our webinar series concerning the future of Oregon’s beaches continues on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m., with “Building Climate Resilience for the Oregon Shore,” a presentation by Peter Ruggiero, a Professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. Dr. Ruggiero’s primary research interests include coastal geomorphology and coastal hazards, and he has over two decades of experience in assessing the impacts of storms and climate change to beaches and dunes. He will discuss how we can transform Oregon’s coastal communities to adapt to climate challenges and build resilience in an equitable way.

This online event, free and open to all, is co-sponsored by the Oregon Beaches Forever campaign (a partnership between Oregon Shores and Surfrider Foundation) and by the King Tides Project (a collaborative effort by our CoastWatch program and the state’s Oregon Coastal Management Program).

To meet the challenges of a changing climate and the rising severity and frequency of disasters impacting coastal communities, demand is growing for more equitable coastal natural hazard adaptation and mitigation approaches. Peter Ruggiero plays a leading role in a network of researchers who are advancing our knowledge of hazard assessment and mitigation and making this information available to planners and coastal communities.

The webinar will explore the ways in which climate-driven and plate tectonic geohazards are inextricably linked in the Cascadia region, as local sea and land level changes span time scales from millennia to minutes, and reflect complex layering of impacts from seismic shaking, tsunami inundation, landslides, coastal flooding, coastal erosion, and ecosystem change. Coastal communities within Cascadia are presently challenged by rapid erosion and flooding, the vulnerabilities associated with rural isolation, and other changes that are already threatening incomes, lifestyles, and coastal community traditions and identities.

Like many places in the U.S. planning for chronic and acute natural coastal hazards, Cascadia faces inherent barriers and institutional challenges that need to be overcome. In particular, those communities within Cascadia most at risk to hazards are likely the least prepared and the least likely to receive resources to increase resilience.

The webinar will consider how sustained, meaningful, multi-stakeholder community engagement through partnerships and the co-production of knowledge can help communities grow more resilient and bring together diverse resources, expertise, and vision.

For more information about this event, or about the Oregon Beaches Forever campaign, contact Phillip Johnson, Oregon Shores’ Shoreline and Land Use Manager, (503) 754-9303, phillip@oregonshores.org.

Event Location

Online

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