Protecting Our Shorelines
Beaches are a unique and dynamic landscape that should be protected for the future. The Surfrider Foundation is leading efforts at the state and local levels to protect our shorelines on every coast. Our efforts are focused on establishing appropriate setbacks for development, opposing shoreline structures, and placing coastal lands in public trust.
Shrinking Beaches And Rising Seas
Surfers cheer the waves generated by big storms, whether from North Pacific winters on the West Coast, hurricanes during the summer and fall, or Nor’easters along the Atlantic seaboard. But of course the best surf often comes with a price, eroding the shorelines and shrinking our beaches that offer a buffer between the powerful ocean and the land that we live on.
There is a constant struggle in many places to keep the sea at bay, whether building concrete seawalls or dredging up sand from the seafloor to dump on beaches. The wrong choices can lead down a path where beaches disappear, coastal tourism and recreation suffer or where billions of dollars are lost to storm-damaged and flooded properties.
This is especially true in light of climate change and sea level rise. We cannot let our beaches and natural shorelines vanish before our eyes.
