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Home > Journals > HJSR > No. 45 (2023)

 

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Laurie Richmond, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & Management and California Sea GrantFollow
Jeff Anderson, Northern HydrologyFollow
Josephine Archibald, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Resources of EngineeringFollow
Alec Brown, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Eileen Cashman, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Resources EngineeringFollow
Joice Chang, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of PoliticsFollow
Clancy De Smet, CaltransFollow
Yvonne Everett, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
James Graham, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Nayre Herrera, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Bente Jansen, California Coastal CommissionFollow
Jennifer Kalt, Humboldt Baykeeper and Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Aldaron Laird, Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute FounderFollow
Lonyx Landry, Cal Poly Humboldt Indian Natural Resource Science and Engineering ProgramFollow
Daniel Lipe, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Bonnie Ludka, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Resources EngineeringFollow
José R. Marín Jarrín, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Fisheries BiologyFollow
Jennifer Marlow, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Kristen Orth-Gordinier, GHD, Inc.Follow
Jason R. Patton, California Geological SurveyFollow
Frank Shaughnessy, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Biological SciencesFollow
Alyssa Suarez, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Alexandra Toyofuku, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Amelia R. Vergel de Dios, Cal Poly Humboldt Department of Environmental Science & ManagementFollow
Hilanea Wilkinson, Wiyot TribeFollow

Abstract

Sea-level rise (SLR) is and will continue to be a pressing issue in the rural, North Coast region of California, especially since nearby Wigi (or Humboldt Bay) is experiencing one of the fastest rates of relative SLR on the U.S. West Coast. In this paper, we argue that SLR presents a transformative opportunity to rekindle environmental relationships and reshape the future of the California North Coast and beyond. As the preeminent higher education institution of the region, Cal Poly Humboldt has the responsibility to be a leader in education, research, and planning for climate resilience. We describe efforts of the Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute to establish a university-Tribal-community partnership that braids together different approaches and ways of knowing to develop research and planning that supports a resilient California North Coast. Since Wigi is projected to experience the effects of SLR sooner than the rest of the state, the North Coast region is poised to act as an incubator for new ideas and solutions, including Indigenous knowledge systems, and to play a role in influencing equitable, resilient, and transformative SLR adaptation processes in other parts of the state and the world. This will require developing programming and expertise in specific disciplinary areas, but, more importantly, will require the development of opportunities and spaces for various disciplines, ways of knowing, and sectors (e.g. Tribal nations, academia, government, NGOs, private companies, and community groups) to converge and bring the best of what they have to address climate-induced challenges and opportunities.

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