This project focuses on chapter four of the State of the Salish Sea report, which addresses how the global issue of climate change is presenting itself locally and will continue to have damaging effects on the Salish Sea. Focusing even further, this analysis investigated how rising sea levels might affect the regions' commercial shellfish growing areas, Indigenous-owned lands and coastal wetlands.
Rising sea levels will have tangible impacts on many parts of everyday life, including impacts we both can and cannot predict. Transportation systems, structural integrity inspections, coastline development and environmental quality analysis will all need to adapt to a world with higher tides. This analysis is only a beginning when it comes to understanding some of the broader impacts a higher coastline will have on three integral features of the Salish Sea coast, and there will be room and need for further research, analysis and monitoring on how those impacts will arrive and be addressed.