Social Factors Key to Landscape-Scale Coastal Restoration: Lessons Learned from Three U.S. Case Studies

Bryan M. DeAngelis, Ariana E. Sutton-Grier, Allison Colden, Katie K. Arkema, Christopher J. Baillie, Richard O. Bennett, Jeff Benoit, Seth Blitch, Anthony Chatwin, Alyssa Dausman, Rachel K. Gittman, Holly S. Greening, Jessica R. Henkel, Rachel Houge, Ron Howard, A. Randall Hughes, Jeremy Lowe, Steven B. Scyphers, Edward T. Sherwood, Stephanie Westby and Jonathan H. Grabowski
Additional contact information
Bryan M. DeAngelis: The Nature Conservancy, URI Bay Campus, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA
Ariana E. Sutton-Grier: Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Allison Colden: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Annapolis, MD 21403, USA
Katie K. Arkema: Natural Capital Project, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Christopher J. Baillie: Department of Biology and Coastal Studies Institute, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
Richard O. Bennett: United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA 01035, USA
Jeff Benoit: Restore America’s Estuaries, Arlington, VA 22201, USA
Seth Blitch: The Nature Conservancy, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, USA
Anthony Chatwin: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Washington, DC 20005, USA
Alyssa Dausman: The Water Institute of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, USA
Rachel K. Gittman: Department of Biology and Coastal Studies Institute, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
Holly S. Greening: Coastwise Partners, St. Petersburg, FL 34219, USA
Jessica R. Henkel: Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
Rachel Houge: United States Environmental Protection Agency Gulf of Mexico Program, Gulfport, MS 39501, USA
Ron Howard: United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Team, Madison, MS 39110, USA
A. Randall Hughes: Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Marine Science Center, Nahant, MA 01908, USA
Jeremy Lowe: San Francisco Estuary Institute, Richmond, CA 94804, USA
Steven B. Scyphers: Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Marine Science Center, Nahant, MA 01908, USA
Edward T. Sherwood: Tampa Bay Estuary Program, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
Stephanie Westby: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Restoration Center, Annapolis, MD 21401, USA
Jonathan H. Grabowski: Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Marine Science Center, Nahant, MA 01908, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: In the United States, extensive investments have been made to restore the ecological function and services of coastal marine habitats. Despite a growing body of science supporting coastal restoration, few studies have addressed the suite of societally enabling conditions that helped facilitate successful restoration and recovery efforts that occurred at meaningful ecological (i.e., ecosystem) scales, and where restoration efforts were sustained for longer (i.e., several years to decades) periods. Here, we examined three case studies involving large-scale and long-term restoration efforts including the seagrass restoration effort in Tampa Bay, Florida, the oyster restoration effort in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia, and the tidal marsh restoration effort in San Francisco Bay, California. The ecological systems and the specifics of the ecological restoration were not the focus of our study. Rather, we focused on the underlying social and political contexts of each case study and found common themes of the factors of restoration which appear to be important for maintaining support for large-scale restoration efforts. Four critical elements for sustaining public and/or political support for large-scale restoration include: (1) resources should be invested in building public support prior to significant investments into ecological restoration; (2) building political support provides a level of significance to the recovery planning efforts and creates motivation to set and achieve meaningful recovery goals; (3) recovery plans need to be science-based with clear, measurable goals that resonate with the public; and (4) the accountability of progress toward reaching goals needs to be communicated frequently and in a way that the general public comprehends. These conclusions may help other communities move away from repetitive, single, and seemingly unconnected restoration projects towards more large-scale, bigger impact, and coordinated restoration efforts.

Keywords: coastal restoration; oyster; marsh; seagrass; restoration success; coastal habitat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
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