Sea Level Rise Planning with David Loya

Join Arcata’s Community Development Director David Loya to hear about City initiatives to address sea level rise planning. The presentation is part of the First Wednesday Lecture Series sponsored by Friends of the Arcata Marsh. His 1-hour talk will be held at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center starting at 7 p.m., followed by a Q&A session.

The City of Arcata, situated on geologically active Humboldt Bay, is experiencing one of the highest rates of sea level rise on the West Coast. In Arcata, sea level rate of change is the combination of tectonic land motion and climate change-induced sea level rise. The City has a legacy of land use planning and an emphasis on natural habitat restoration and conservation that has limited its vulnerability to sea level rise. Despite this, there are critical facilities, homes and businesses, recreational amenities, and potential hazardous contamination sites that the community needs to plan to defend, modify, or move to address sea level rise.

Arcata is working on several initiatives to address sea level rise planning. Central to these efforts is the Local Coastal Program (LCP). The LCP outlines the policy and practice intended to address the complex, multi-sector challenges presented by climate change in our region. David will describe the background and status of adaptation planning in the City, cover ongoing projects and planning efforts, and the regional collaboration taking place to address these challenges with participation of partners throughout the region.

David’s presentation will be simulcast via Zoom at the following link:

https://humboldtstate.zoom.us/j/81043250844?pwd=ckRndFlHbWh0QTBHVXZ4Vk5sNGx5UT09 and uploaded afterward to the FOAM YouTube channel.