Shona K. Paterson Arleen O’Donnell

Relevant literature found

Most literature specific to the Gulf of Mexico region focused on the loss of wetlands due to both natural and anthropogenic shoreline change. This loss has occurred through a combination of human activities and natural processes, with specific causes varying throughout the Gulf states. Urban and suburban growth and cumulative development pressures are the greatest contributors to direct coastal wetland loss in states such as Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida, whereas in Louisiana structural controls on the Mississippi River for navigation and flood control are the primary contributors to wetland loss. Louisiana alone is losing about 25 to 35 square miles per year of coastal land, which makes up 80 percent of coastal wetland loss throughout the United States (Caffey & Schexnayder, 2002).

Wetlands provide a variety of ecosystem goods and services including storm protection, shoreline buffering, and sediment stabilization (Costanza, Perez-Maqueo, Martinez, Sutton, Anderson, & Mulder 2008). The loss of shoreline buffers such as wetlands increases the risk of major, rapid shoreline change due to storm damage, ultimately resulting in infrastructure damage to households and business in the region. One study of property damage and the value of protecting shoreline wetlands was undertaken in the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuarine System (BTES), which lies at the mouth of the Mississippi River (Caffey, Breaux, & Shultz, 1995). Data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on past hurricanes was analyzed and the authors calculated that the loss of a one-mile strip of wetland along the coast in the BTES resulted in an estimated $5,752,816 (1995 U.S. dollars) average annual increase in property damage. The estimated value of this protection per wetland acre was calculated to be between $6,879 and $8,020 annually. However, this region is losing coastal wetlands more rapidly than anywhere else in the country (Stedman & Dahl, 2008).

Wetlands are a critical link to a healthy fishery, providing nursery grounds for many commercially viable species (Bonds & Pompe, 2003). Therefore, the loss of these ecosystems can have major economic impacts on the region and country. Statistics from the National Marine Fisheries Service indicate that the Gulf states contributed about 15 percent of the nation’s total commercial fisheries harvest in 2008 (http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/commercial/landings/annual_landings.html). According to the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, in 1995 alone the gross commercial value of coastal fisheries and wildlife production exceeded $300 million (Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority, 1998). Value-added activities, such as processing, wholesaling, transporting, retailing, and services, provided an additional $900 million to the state’s economy. As wetlands are lost, economic losses result from lower catch levels; and these effects are felt throughout the region due to a reduction in income and employment levels, which in turn reduces the social resilience of coastal communities in the region (Boruff, Emrich, & Cutter, 2005).

As mentioned above, oil and gas production plays a very important part in the state’s economy. Louisiana’s coastal zone and outer continental shelf are among the most intensively developed oil and gas zones in the world. As of 2006, the Gulf of Mexico supplied 20 percent of natural gas and 30 percent of the crude oil produced in the United States (Austin, 2006). Environmentally, petroleum industries have left their mark on the region’s shoreline through dredging activities, the use of shallow pits as waste disposal sites, and subsequent waste pollution. As well, channels and pipelines must be laid to access and transport these resources. It is difficult to determine the amount of wetland destruction due solely to the construction of these structures, but it has been estimated that the total wetland loss for 1955 through 1980, due in part to the industry, was approximately 250,000 hectares (Foy, 1990). Note that the industry does provide vital social services such as employment and infrastructure development. This highlights the tradeoffs that must be considered at every level of government when making decisions that guide shoreline change policies in the Gulf of Mexico region.

The Gulf of Mexico region is very prone to severe devastating hurricanes. Examples in recent times include Katrina, Rita, and Ike, which cause rapid shoreline change and exacerbate erosion in the region (Waugh, 2006). Such catastrophic events have stimulated discussions of how best to protect the coastline and the people living there from not just the storms themselves but the subsequent storm surges as well. One such solution—still in its conceptual stages—has been dubbed the Ike Dike. The $2–4 billion project is a proposed coastal barrier that, when completed, would protect Galveston Bay in Texas. The barrier would supplement the existing Galveston Seawall; complete with floodgates, it would protect more of Galveston, the Bolivar Peninsula, the Galveston Bay area, and Houston. The barrier would extend across Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula and would provide a barrier against all Gulf surges into the bay. However, the local popular press has demonstrated how controversial this project will be, with beachfront property owners complaining that the dike could block their ocean views and environmentalists fearing that the dike could disturb the fragile ecology of Galveston Bay (Casselman, 2009).

VI. Conclusions

The main social and economic impacts of shoreline change across the four regions examined in this report have been categorized as a series of social variables that are relevant across the range of social and physical environments present. With shoreline change affecting ecosystem services across the regions and user conflict becoming prevalent, it is justifiable to say that shoreline change should be a management priority across all levels of government in every region studied. The overarching categories of impacts associated with shoreline change are generally similar across the regions examined. However, the degree of intensity and, therefore, the effects of the change are notably different. These differences are often rooted in changing social and economic circumstances across the regions, highlighting vulnerability as a key consideration in management action planning. Any reduction of social resilience, caused by impacts such as loss of livelihood as a result of major shoreline change, will compound the vulnerability of communities affected and exacerbate the issues discussed in this report. Research shows that the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico regions are currently the most socially vulnerable and so are most likely to be more greatly impacted by shoreline change, irrespective of whether the rate of change is more rapid in the more northern regions.

In the shadow of the current economic and environmental climate, shoreline change that greatly affects property values, land use, and recreational access is beginning to register in the minds of voters, suggesting a change in social attitudes toward shoreline change mitigation. Management must reflect those social values by balancing the biophysical, social, and economic priorities at all scales.

VII. General References

1 Heinz produced important national-scale socio-economic information; region-specific information was not available.

2 New York and Pennsylvania are included in state totals for both the North Atlantic and Great Lakes regions. However, data for shore-adjacent counties in those states include only counties in the Great Lakes region.

3 Virginia is also included in state totals for the South Atlantic region. Similarly, New York and Pennsylvania are included in state totals for both the North Atlantic and Great Lakes regions. However, data for shore-adjacent counties include only those counties that lie in the North Atlantic region.

4 Virginia is also included in state totals for the North Atlantic region. Similarly, Florida is included in state totals for both the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions. However, data for shore-adjacent counties include only those counties that lie in the South Atlantic region.

5 Florida is included in state totals for both the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions. However, data for shore-adjacent counties include only those counties that lie in the South Atlantic region.

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