McAllister Pitches Retreat As Erosion Strategy At Defend H2O Presentation On Saturday

The president and founder of the Sag Harbor-based environmental organization Defend H20 argued in a presentation last week that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should spend federal funds on a “strategic retreat” from the ocean rather than focusing the money on “Band-Aids” such as sand bypassing, beach nourishment, and the elevation of roads and houses.

Kevin McAllister spoke on Saturday at the South Fork Museum of Natural History in Bridgehampton, a presentation that focused on climate change, coastal issues and coastline management.

He said the common stabilization processes utilized by the Army Corps, a key part of the proposed Fire Island to Montauk Point Reformulation Study, or FIMP, only temporarily solve the problems caused by erosion without addressing the real issue. He noted that nourished beaches have a life expectancy of only five to seven years, and elevating roads and homes, and pumping sand, all come with steep price tags.

Mr. McAllister instead suggested that federal funds would be better spent on buying and preserving oceanfront structures and homes, and those in flood prone areas along the coast, to minimize the infrastructure in vulnerable areas. He noted that beachfront structures support a certain lifestyle, and can bolster tourism, but they also further degrade coastlines and create a need for stabilization.

“The notion that air, falling water, and shorelines are publicly held―and I subscribe to that myself―I think with respect to management activities, we need to always keep that in mind,” he said. “We want our beaches to remain beaches.”

Coastlines have their own dynamic equilibrium, he noted, in which they adapt to natural erosion. But man-made structures are inhibiting that natural process, he said.

Over the course of his two-hour talk, Mr. McAllister presented photos of local coastlines and commonplace coastal preservation practices that illustrated his discussion of the topic. “My experience runs deep, and particularly my field experience,” he said. “Coupled with that is certainly my own lifestyle as a surfer, involved in ocean rescue for many years. I live around beaches, so I see all the nuances and the subtle changes.”

After serving as the founder and head of the Peconic Baykeeper organization for 16 years, Mr. McAllister created Defend H2O in 2014 to “restore and protect the environmental quality of groundwater and surface waters on and around Long Island.”

His talk was recorded and will be broadcast on Connecticut radio station WPKN-FM’s show “Sustainable East End” on November 16 at 7:30 p.m.