LEGAL 



TIDES 



For modern day evidence of coastal 

 dynamics at work, Riggs points to the Outer 

 Banks, where large segments of the barrier 

 island already are collapsing. This is 

 demonstrated, he says, by the lack of space to 

 maintain a viable roadway along certain 

 sections of N.C. 12. 



North Carolinians also might look to the 

 slow and steady migration of the shoreline at 

 Cape Hatteras. Extensive shoreline change 

 in 1 13 years ultimately led to the decision 

 to move the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse 

 nearly 3,000 feet away from the advancing 

 sea in 1999. 



No solitary voice 



Riggs is no solitary scientific voice in 

 the wilderness. 



In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on 

 Climate Change, a United Nations scientific 

 body on global warming, reported that an 

 increased rate of sea-level rise would 

 adversely impact coastlines in North 

 Carolina, Maryland, Florida and Louisiana 

 with accompanying: 



• accelerated rates of coastal erosion and 

 land loss 



• increased economic losses due to flooding 

 and storm damage 



• total collapse of some barrier island 

 segments 



• increased loss of estuarine wetlands 



• saltwater intrusion of groundwater supplies 



Scientists on the panel, including Jim 

 Titus, the director of EPA's Sea-Level Rise 

 project, warned that elsewhere, some small 

 island nations and countries close to sea level 

 would be most vulnerable. 



The scientific community is grappling to 

 understand the connections and controls 

 between an increase in global warming and 

 the rate of sea-level rise. Some scientists say 

 that pollutants that trap the sun's heat in the 

 Earth's atmosphere contribute to global 

 warming. 



While scientists are discerning cause 

 and effect, Clark sees room for citizens, state 

 agencies and elected officials to begin develop- 

 ing strategies to deal with sea level rise. 



"What is hotly debated is whether 



human activities are accelerating the 

 processes, and whether a reduction in so- 

 called greenhouse gas emissions can slow 

 down the effects of global warming. This is a 

 likely stepping-off place for discussion," he 

 observes. 



Accommodating sea-level rise 



Clark believes that long-range planning 

 holds the key to mitigating the negative 

 effects of natural forces. He looks to the 

 DCM land-use planning process as an 

 opportunity to move the sea-level issue to a 

 higher priority in considering development 

 near ocean or estuarine shorelines. 



Along with required CAMA county 

 planning, local governments can be proactive 

 in adopting land-use ordinances that take into 

 account the long-range effects of sea-level 

 rise on lands adjacent to wetlands, rivers or 

 estuaries. 



Scientists say that global 

 warming is causing expansion 



of ocean waters and glacial 

 melting — factors contributing 

 to the rising sea levels. But, the 

 scientific community itself is 

 divided about the rate seas will 



rise over the next century. 

 There seems to be consensus, 

 however, that sea level will 

 have to be accommodated — 

 one way or another. 



The Coastal Resource Commission's 

 setback requirements protect oceanfront 

 structures. In 1999, the CRC established a 

 30-foot vegetated buffer requirement along 

 some nonocean shorelines to protect the 

 estuarine water quality. 



Unlike the oceanfront management 

 regulations that are based upon the dynamic 

 interplay of land and water, current estuarine 

 shoreline guidelines presume that these 

 shorelines and their natural systems are 

 basically static, and not responding to sea- 

 level change. Consequently, Clark points out, 



the CRC rules provide little protection to fringe 

 estuarine wetlands migrating upland. 



Now, DCM is taking a closer look 

 inland to begin planning for changes that will 

 occur due to sea-level rise. Audra Luscher, a 

 Coastal Management/Sea Grant fellow, is 

 working with division staff, other state 

 agencies, and a team of scientists to gather 

 information. 



Among other things, she will help 

 identify low-lying coastal land that could be 

 established as wetland migration corridors. 

 The ability of a wetland to migrate upland 

 with a rise in sea level depends on shoreline 

 development. 



Recommendations from Luscher' s study 

 could provide scientific justification for 

 revising estuarine shoreline stabilization rules 

 to protect the public from risks of flooding. 



But state rules and regulations and local 

 ordinances are not the only methods to 

 consider, Clark says. 



For example, The Nature Conservancy 

 of North Carolina is working with EPA to 

 develop models to manage preserves and 

 other conservation lands that are likely to be 

 impacted by future sea-level rise effects, from 

 strong tides and salt spray to submersion. 



Land protection strategies include 

 rolling easement and timber management 

 easement agreements with landowners, says 

 the Conservancy's Sam Pearsall. With a 

 rolling easement, the landowner may agree to 

 maintain a natural shoreline to help absorb 

 the energy of rising water levels. 



With a timber management easement, 

 the landowner may agree to manage the 

 timber crop until the rising water level 

 reaches the trees. In addition, the landowner 

 may agree to replant with species, such as 

 bald cypress, that are resilient to salt water. 

 The cypress also would help hold soil in 

 place as water levels advance. 



While there are no one-size-fits-all 

 strategies, Clark is optimistic that "the 

 collective wisdom of citizens, government 

 and nonprofit agencies can work toward 

 preventing a collision between rising sea 

 level and the public good." □ 



COASTWATCH 25 



