MENDOCINO CO., 9/25/26 – Mendocino County’s Department of Planning and Building Services is inviting residents to a series of public workshops on how the county should prepare for rising seas.
With 129 miles of Pacific coastline, stretching from Gualala River to the Lost Coast, Mendocino County’s harbors, fisheries, tourism and natural landscapes depend on assets the county says are increasingly at risk of sea level rise, erosion and other climate change impacts.
To address those risks, the county’s Planning and Building Services and its consulting partner, Environmental Science Associates, will hold six workshops on the county’s Sea Level Rise Resiliency Strategy.
Each session will open with a short presentation on the findings of the county’s Sea Level Rise Analysis & Risk Assessment, published in May, and on draft resilience strategies. An interactive open house with maps and information will follow.
Workshop schedule
- Tuesday, Sept. 29, 6 p.m.: Fort Bragg Town Hall
- Wednesday, Sept. 30, 6 p.m.: Westport Community Center
- Thursday, Oct. 1, 6:30 p.m.: Platt Room, Gualala Coast Life Support District, during the Gualala Municipal Advisory Council meeting
- Friday, Oct. 2, 6 p.m.: Mendocino High School Performing Arts Center
- Saturday, Oct. 3, noon: Point Arena Community Chest
- Monday, Oct. 5, 5 p.m.: Virtual workshop on Zoom, available to access here.
The Sea Level Rise Resiliency Strategy
The California Coastal Commission awarded the county $342,736 in January 2024 to fund the strategy and an accompanying update to its Local Coastal Program, the set of land-use plans and policies that govern coastal development, according to the county’s website.
The Sea Level Rise Resiliency Strategy is a community-driven effort to identify risks to coastal infrastructure, communities and ecosystems, as well as plan for future flooding, erosion and storm events.
The report found infrastructure and built assets face the highest risk, since they’re hard to relocate and critical to daily life, while public access, recreation, habitat and farmland face a slower, ongoing loss of usable land. In areas with steep terrain or existing development, the report finds there’s often little room to adapt by moving inland.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates sea level rise near Arena Cove in Point Arena as 1 foot by 2050.
Residents are encouraged to get involved to help shape the county’s preparation for rising seas and the accompanying economic and environmental stressors.