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Managed retreat is a climate adaptation strategy involving government buyouts of at-risk properties that is currently underutilized in coastal areas of the United States. These programs often require both voluntary homeowner applications and municipal government support for a successful buyout. We use a conceptual framework and a set of empirical models with data from a buyout program in a coastal state to develop descriptive evidence on potential barriers to successful managed-retreat policies in high-risk coastal areas. Key factors influencing buyout success can be associated with municipal budgets, including revenues, expenditures, debt, and government transfers. Importantly, revenue impacts related to property taxes appear to contribute to fewer buyouts, suggesting a potential principal-agent problem related to climate resilience in high-value coastal housing markets. Recognition of the combination of factors that may represent barriers to adoption may help the design and implementation of future programs and improve coastal climate adaptation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Krivova, M.; Olsen, M.; Allan, J.; Parrish, C.; Leshchinsky, B.; Senogles, A.; Herrmann, J., and Dundas, S., 2024. Vulnerability assessment of risk for a coastal highway in Oregon, U.S.A. Journal of Coastal Research, 40(4), 714–739. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. Threading its way through Oregon, U.S. Highway 101 operates as a crucial conduit, intertwining functional necessity with the aesthetic appeal of sweeping coastal vistas. Unfortunately, many locations along this vital route are under constant threat from coastal hazards, such as seacliff erosion, landslides, and recurrent wave runup leading to overtopping and flooding. Given the daunting challenges associated with maintaining functional infrastructure in such rugged, dynamic terrain, as well as the balance between the preservation of the natural state of the coastline and the infrastructure providing access, sites must be prioritized for mitigation. Using quantitative assessment methods, such as the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI), can play a pivotal role in systematically identifying high-risk sites in need of remediation. Based on the findings of previous studies, the CVI was tailored to assess the vulnerability of the highway system to coastal geologic hazards. In this study, 71 hazardous sites were pinpointed for evaluation and possible remedial action. To capture the spectrum of hazards faced at each site, 26 parameters were used and classified into three primary categories, namely inundation, erosion, and landslides. This study presents a unique approach in implementing the CVI by considering the potential uncertainties in the calculations. The novelty lies in the usage of a Monte Carlo simulation to assign weights based on the uncertainties of each parameter. This innovative simulation approach enables assessment of the sensitivity of the overall CVI estimation based on the influence of parameter uncertainties. Ultimately, this approach provides a more robust, less subjective, and comprehensive vulnerability assessment process than current implementations of CVI that do not incorporate uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public lands in the United States have recently experienced significant increases in visitation. Journalists and park managers suggest Instagram is a primary reason. We explore this issue in the Oregon state park system by combining visitation data with park-specific georeferenced content and engagement indicators from Instagram. Using several empirical specifications, we show suggestive evidence that Instagram is not likely correlated to increased visitation everywhere; rather, it is only in a few locations generating high user participation within the app. We find no contemporary effect and a positive association with cumulative Instagram engagement indicators on visits at this subset of parks. (JEL Q26, Q56) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]