Leaning Into Taking a Step Back: Shoreline Retreat in California with Charles Lester and Gary Griggs

On this episode, hosts Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham welcome Dr. Charles Lester and Dr. Gary Griggs to the show to discuss one of the most contentious issues on the American Shoreline: coastal retreat. Charles and Gary were joined by Dr. Kiki Patsch and Dr. Ryan Anderson in the development of a new paper that seeks to provide texture to the complicated story of retreat along the California coast by compiling a range of cases in which development or development potential has been moved back from the shoreline. The cases stand in contrast to the overly simplified debate about managed retreat and show that retreat has been happening on California’s coast for decades. We talking about the complexity and multiple dimensions of shoreline adaptation over long periods and concludes with some observations in hopes of shedding light on and opening more reasonable discussion of pathways to shoreline retreat and resilient communities.