5Q: Grover Fugate

As executive director of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, Grover Fugate is charged with preservation, protection, development and restoration of coastal areas. His efforts to identify and deal with the effects of climate change yield more universal truths.

1 Do you think people’s perception of what’s needed along the coastline has changed in recent history?

I think people in Rhode Island have become more accepting to the terms that climate change is occurring here. It’s happening and people are seeing it. So I think there’s more acceptance there. What people have had trouble getting their minds around [are] the rates that we’re seeing this happen. We’ve had the sea level rise about 10 inches since 1929. We’re expecting about a foot in the next 20 years, 2 to 3 [feet] by 2050 and 7 feet by 2100.

2 Can you give us a picture of what a 7-foot rise in sea level would look like in Rhode Island?

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At 7 feet, certain areas of Oakland Beach in Warwick are gone. If you’re in downtown Wickford [in North Kingstown], that’s gone, along with the downtown area of Providence. Even a foot [increase] takes out the Providence Place Park boardwalks.

3 Is developing along the coastline becoming a practice in futility?

I think people have to be cognizant of these issues and try to develop with those in mind. There may be some areas where they are not going to [develop], but it depends on how they deal with those issues.

4 How has our response to the rise in sea level compared with other coastal areas in the country?

I think the tools we’re building right now will make us very proactive. We’re giving every community the capability to look at this issue and to build that into their capital-planning process. That’s a very important first step. If they’re going to build a new school or fire station, they can look at this and make a decision about how and where they want to build.

5 What’s the most important thing Rhode Islanders should be thinking about as it relates to our shorelines?

Climate change is the single biggest issue that the coastal environment and coastal development will be facing for the next several decades. We’re losing salt marsh at an alarming rate, we’re seeing our species shift and our ecosystem is completely changing on us right now. [Ocean] acidification could cause problems here in the coming years. n

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