California loves its beaches. And according to a new report from the Surfrider Foundation, the state is doing a great job preserving them for future generations.
The national conservation group gave California the only A grade in its annual State of the Beach report card. Based in Southern California, Surfrider graded 30 states on the legislation they have in place to protect their beaches from things like sea-level rise, erosion and sediment management.
"One thing that California has done very well, and I think everyone can take a page out of our playbook on this, is planning for sea-level rise," said Stefanie Sekich-Quinn, coastal preservation manager with the Surfrider Foundation.
She said that the amount of political will that the state has thrown at the issue stands above the rest of the country. "California has every level of government firing on all cylinders from legislative, executive and administrative," she said.
She added that California's legislation has been actualized into a number of practices that have made a measurable difference.
"It hasn't been easy," Sekich-Quinn said. "But for all intents and purposes, when you look at our coastline and juxtapose it to coastlines on the east coast, we've done a remarkable job of keeping undeveloped open space and a rugged coastline that's not monopolized by giant buildings."