“Thank you for listening to us”: Incorporating community context and perspectives into sea-level rise adaptation planning for Fields Landing & King Salmon, California

Author

• Clara RiggioFollow

Graduation Date

Summer 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources: option Environmental Science and Management

Committee Chair Name

Laurie Richmond

Committee Chair Affiliation

Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Erin Kelly

Second Committee Member Affiliation

Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff

Third Committee Member Name

Joice Chang

Third Committee Member Affiliation

Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff

Fourth Committee Member Name

Holly Caggiano

Fourth Committee Member Affiliation

Community Member or Outside Professional

Keywords

Sea-level rise, Humboldt Bay, King Salmon, Fields Landing, Co-production, FLKS Living with Water, Community, Adaptation

Subject Categories

Environmental Science and Management

Abstract

Fields Landing and King Salmon, California are two low-lying, coastal communities on Humboldt Bay (Wigi). These communities already experience coastal flooding during the highest astronomical tides each year, and flood conditions are expected to worsen as sea levels continue to rise. The Fields Landing & King Salmon (FLKS) Living with Water Project was created as a partnership between Humboldt County departments of Planning & Building and Public Works, along with support from social science researchers at Cal Poly Humboldt, including the author. In Chapter 1, I describe the co-production approach used throughout the project, including analysis of four dilemmas that occurred during this research. I also describe the complexity of co-producing “up” with local government partners and “down” with affected communities. Chapter 2 focuses on the social science research that I conducted within this larger project, including results from 107 household surveys and 25 semi-structured interviews. Results indicate that both communities have strong place and community attachment, though King Salmon residents were significantly more attached than those in Fields Landing. The two communities also preferred different adaptation styles, with Fields Landing residents preferring “resist” while opposing “no change”. King Salmon residents preferred “accommodate” and equally opposed “retreat” and “no change”. Survey respondents identified themselves as having more elderly, more low-income, and more residents with disabilities than the majority of Humboldt County. These sociodemographic and social contexts ought to be considered in future adaptation planning and decision making for the FLKS area.

Citation Style

APA

Recommended Citation

Riggio, Clara, "“Thank you for listening to us”: Incorporating community context and perspectives into sea-level rise adaptation planning for Fields Landing & King Salmon, California" (2026). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2612.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2612