Project
Coastal Resilience Solutions for San Diego State Parks
Location: San Diego, California (Southern California)
Why It Matters
The 128 coastal parks managed by the California State Parks are valuable lands, spreading across nearly one-fourth of California’s coastline and visited by 50 million people annually. These include 11 coastal park units in the San Diego Coast District on the ancestral lands of the Luiseño and Kumeyaay peoples, visited by more than 2.8 million people per year.
These parks and others face significant climate-related impacts, from bluff erosion and storm damage to beach loss and sea-level rise. One study projects that one-third to two-thirds of Southern California’s beaches may be completely eroded within the next century. Left unchecked, these trends threaten not only the parks themselves but the people that enjoy them and the surrounding communities, too.
The state agency and local communities want to restore and adapt these coastal parks, but they need support to raise and target funding toward these projects and to take smart, coordinated action.
What We’re Doing
Coastal Quest has helped the San Diego Coast District research and take action toward protecting its coastal parks by convening stakeholders to discuss needs and priorities and conducting visitation and assessment reports, and helping the district to prioritize and plan adaptation and restoration projects alongside its local communities.
This work is allowing San Diego’s county agency and its citizens – including tribes, governments, community organizations, and members of underserved groups – to work together to strengthen their coastal parks. For example, at South Carlsbad State Beach, we are working with the parks department to restore dunes and vernal pools to prevent further beach erosion and protect the land.
Project Resources
The strategy, visitation, and assessment reports created for this pilot project by Coastal Quest are shared publicly to help inspire and inform other county park districts and communities in taking action toward improving their coastal parks.
Project Partners
Coastal Quest is helping us engage the community and find practical solutions to protect public access, recreation, facilities, and natural and cultural resources at some of San Diego County’s – and California’s – most beloved coastal parks.