Abstract
Sandy beaches represent typical destinations for recreation and tourism worldwide, as well as being a lifestyle for people living along the shore. In the Northeastern United States coastal environments are build-up and overexploited, threatening both ecosystem integrity and coastal communities. Following hurricane Sandy, the US government funded a number of restoration projects aimed at increasing resiliency of coastal ecosystems and human communities. In light of this, research about human perceptions and concerns during a restoration project was conducted to assist in planning and decision making for continued beach restoration and management, including monitoring avian resources. Objectives were to determine if there were differences among permanent coastal residents, part-time residents (summer), and non-residents (tourists) concerning visitation to the beach, knowledge about the restoration project, birds using the beach, and ratings of ecological resources and beach management options. There were no differences in knowledge of the bird species that were endangered nor in the conservation projects aimed at protecting birds as a function of resident status. People were aware of the roped-off nesting areas, but less aware of the conservation areas or even stewards on the beach. However, permanent residents were significantly more aware of the protective signage and that dogs were not allowed on the beach than others. Less than half of the people knew about the recent restoration project, and part-time residents were more aware of building up the dunes and creating nesting habitat, and less aware of dredging, beach replenishment and habitat restoration than other types of residents. When asked to rate different protection values, there were no differences for protecting the environment, but non-residents rated protecting birds, protecting endangered species, and providing conservation information to the public higher than others, and part-time residents rated predator control higher than others. This information can be used to target different segments of the beach-using community, particularly to residents on the importance of their local beach to protection of the environment, endangered species, and birds.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) (2014) What we know; the reality, risks, and response to climate change. AAS Climate Change Panel, Washington, DC
Burger J (1989) Least tern populations in coastal New Jersey: monitoring and managing of a regionally endangered species. J Coast Res 5:801–811
Burger J (2015) Ecological concerns following superstorm Sandy: stressor level and recreational activity levels affect perceptions of ecosystem. Urban Ecosyst 18:553–575
Burger J, Gochfeld M (2014) Health concerns and perceptions of central and coastal New Jersey residents within 100 days of Superstorm Sandy. Sci Total Environ 481:611–618
Burger J, Gochfeld M (2016) Habitat, population dynamics and metal levels in colonial birds: a food chain approach. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Burger J, Gochfeld M, Pittfield T, Jeitner C (2016) Perceptions of climate change, sea level rise, and possible consequences relate mainly to self-valuation of science knowledge. Energy and Power Engineering 8(5):250–262
Burger J, Tsipoura N, Simnor A, Pittfield T, Jeitner C, Mizrahi D, Niles L, Ferguson L (2017) Perceptions of caucasian users about avian resources and beach restoration following hurricane Sandy. Urban Ecosyst 20:363–373
Casagrande DG (1996) A value based policy approach: the case of an urban salt marsh. Coast Manag 24:327–337
Crosset K, Cultiton T, Wiley P, Goodspeed T (2013) Population trends along the coastal United States 1980–2008. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/programs/mb/pdfs/coastal.pop.trends.complete.pdf Accessed 14 May 2013
Eisenman DP, Cordasco KM, Asch R, Golden JF, Glik D (2007) Disaster planning and risk communication with vulnerable communities: lessons from hurricane Katrina. Am J Publ Health Suppl 1(97):S109–S115
Erwin RM, Watts BD, Haramis GM, Perry MC, Hobson KA, editors. 2007. Waterbirds of the Chesapeake Bay and vicinity: harbingers of change. Vol 30 Special Publication 1
Freedman A (2013) Heeding Sandy’s lessons, before the next big storm. Climate Central. –www.climatecentral.org/news/four-lay-lessons-learned-from-hurricane-sandu-15928. Accessed 17 June 2013
Hess DB, Conley BW (2016). A tough move to make: lessons learned from emergency evacuations in coastal Connecticut during hurricane Sandy. Pp 44-64 in taking chances: the coast after hurricane Sandy (K. M. O’Neill and D. J. van Abs, eds). Rutgers University press: New Brunswick
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: synthesis report. Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. IPPC, Geneva 104 pgs
IPCC (2011) Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge 1075 pp
IPCC (2014) Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge 1783 p
Kharin VV, Zwiers FW, Zhang X, Hegerl GC (2007) Changes in temperature and precipitation extremes in the IPCC ensemble of global coupled simulations. J Clim 20:1419–1444
Lane LK, Charles-Guzman K, Wheeler Z, Abid N, Graber N, Matte T (2013) Health effects of coastal storms and flooding in urban areas: a review and vulnerability assessment. J Environ Public Health 2013:1–13
Marin V, Palmisani, Ivaldi R, Dursi R, Fabiano M (2000) Users’ perception analysis for sustainable beach management in Italy. Ocean Coast Manag 52:268–277
National Research Council (NRC) (2008) Panel on public participation in environmental assessment and decision-making. National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC
New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC2) (2013) Climate risk information 2013. NYC Mayor’s office, New York
Niles LJ, Sitters HP, Dey AD, Atkinson PW, Baker AJ, Bennett KA, Carmona R, Clark KE, Clark NA, Espoz C, González PM (2008) Status of the red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) in the Western hemisphere. Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey, p. 257 pp
NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration). 2012. Communities: the U.S. population living in coastal watershed counties. http://stateofthecoast.noaa.gov/population/welcome.html. Accessed 3 April 2012
O’Neill KM, Van Abs DR (2016) Taking chances: the coast after hurricane Sandy. Rutgers University press, New Brunswick
Russo S, Sterl A (2012) Global changes in seasonal means and extremes of precipitation from daily climate model data. J Geophysic Res 117:108
Safina C, Burger J (1983) The effect of human disturbance on reproductive success in the black skimmer. Condor 85:164–171
Sallenger AH Jr (2000) Storm impact scale for barrier islands. J Coast Res 16:890–895
Sallenger AH, Doran KS, Howd PA (2012) Hotspot of accelerated sea-level rise on the Atlantic coast of North America. Nat Clim Chang 2(12):884–888
Schlacher TA, Nielsen T, Weston MA (2013) Human recreation alters behavior profiles of non-breeding birds on open-coast sandy shores. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 118:31–42
Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS) (2005) Statistical Analysis. SAS, Cary
US. Geological Survey (USGS) (2013) Hurricane Sandy: updated assessment of potential coastal-change impacts. http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/sandy/coastal-change/initialassessment.php Accessed 22 July 2013
Zhang K, Douglas BC, Leatherman SP (2004) Global warming and coastal erosion. Clim Chang 64:41–58
Acknowledgements
We particularly thank the respondents who gave willingly of their time to be interviewed, and the many town officials and Wetlands Institute personnel who gave permission to interview people, aided logistically, and provided advice during this study. We especially thank D. Mizrahi, L. Niles, C. Davis, and Lisa Ferguson for their help and support, as well as April Simnor, T. Pittfield and C. Jeitner for help with the interviews, statistical analysis, and graphics. This research was funded by the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grants Program administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (# 41991). Partial funding was from Rutgers University, New Jersey Audubon, Wetlands Institute, NIEHS Center of Excellence (CEED, P30ES005022), and USDA NIFA Hatch Multistate project 1008906 through NJAES (Hatch NJ12233). This paper represents the views of the authors, and not the funding agency.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Burger, J., Tsipoura, N. Resident status influences perceptions about beach resource valuation and restoration. Urban Ecosyst 22, 785–793 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00860-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00860-y