by Finn Johnson, Coastal Tourism Resiliency Coordinator, Oregon Coast Visitors Association

Being on the coast includes ups and downs, those are called tides. It also brings challenges and opportunities. Of opportunities, there are plenty. We have, locally, innovative forward-thinkers working to make the coast more resilient and sustainable. Seaweed farmers, as one example, are piloting what I would call the future of food—a seaweed that tastes like bacon, is a complete protein, requires no fertilizer herbicides or pesticides, and reduces cow flatulence (the gas part of cow farts & burps, methane, is 20x more potent than CO2). At the same time, they’ve started harvesting kelp-destroying sea urchins (which are bad for both ocean habitats & carbon sequestration). Those farmers are exploring jointly growing them in the same tanks used to farm the seaweed (fun fact: sea urchin uni can sell for >$100/lb). On the central coast, Yachats Brewing is using biodiesel to fire their kettle to make beer—they’re one of the only breweries doing that in the country. Also in Yachats, the Fireside Motel & Overleaf Hotel has donated more than $30,000 annually to a marine reserve and coastal trail maintenance. That $30,000 is made up of $1/night donations from their guests. On the north coast, Buoy Brewing is capturing the carbon emitted from their brewing process and injecting it into their beer—versus releasing the carbon from the brewing process into the atmosphere then buying more (it’s expensive…) to carbonate beers at the tap. These are what I would call opportunities on the coast. They’re examples of coastal leaders setting examples that others can follow.

Which brings us to the challenges… All those are examples of what some businesses are doing but others are not. It’s sort of the nature of innovators and forward-thinkers to come before everyone else. The question is how everyone else learns about all the innovations innovated by the innovators. It’s challenging, particularly in rural places to share information between those who have it to those who should have it. Which is why it’s helpful to have someone with a job dedicated to doing just that. Which is why it’s my job. A lot of the work I’m doing is connecting people to the information that makes their world more efficient and resilient, and the coast more sustainable. For example, I’ve written newsletters with grant information, met business owners one-on-one, presented at chambers of commerce, jointly ran a sustainable business strategies workshop, and was even featured on the news sharing EV tax rebates. In other words, we’ve strategically employed multi-modal content distribution to target key stakeholders. Or, in better ‘other words,’ we’ve met people where they’re at. I’ve connected with some of the folks on the coast doing really cool stuff (stuff that’s good for the coast, and also the world); my job is sharing those stories and working to help others follow suit.

The reception to these conversations, from a distinctly rural place in the world, has been overwhelmingly positive. My work is on sustainability. Sustainability, unfortunately, is a polarizing word. However, the actions, at least here on the coast, are rarely polarizing. Putting in EV chargers is a response to market demand in an economy that runs on tourism. People understand that. Similarly, directing tourism dollars towards restoration work simultaneously restores the local beauty and ecological health of the coast and sequesters carbon from the atmosphere. When talking about sustainability as sacrifice, everyone who does good for the environment does bad for themselves. Sacrifice is a hard sell for that reason. That said, there’s another way to talk and act about sustainability: one that looks for actions that provide ‘co-benefits.’ The difference is a win-win framework versus a lose-win. We’re at the point in the conversation where co-benefits are becoming easier to identify making the discussions we’ve had more productive. I think people, generally, are more receptive to ideas than they may have been even a few years ago. In other words, the conversation has shifted some. Restoration—rather than just being a threat to logging–is good for salmon fishing & the industry that supports (coincidentally, a healthy salmon habitat is good for the global environment). Electric Vehicles are more eco-friendly than internal combustion cars, yes, but they’re also cheaper to operate—and with federal and state tax credits, they’re often cheaper to own too. These are ‘co-benefits.’ Overwhelmingly, with some exceptions, people on the coast have been excited to receive information on how to make their businesses or organization more efficient and sustainable when we’ve outlined the ‘co-benefits.’ Not to mention the bottom-line appeal of attracting an increasingly eco-conscious customer base.

The coast is big and we cover all 363 miles of it. That makes comprehensive work hard but it also means that we have room to find partners that share our enthusiasm. Those partnerships are the pathways towards really taking advantage of ‘co-benefits.’ My role will continue to be focused on building partnerships to create win-wins and sharing how others can join in or support those processes. In all, there’s a lot of good work to be done and that work continues!

About the author, Finn Johnson: While not a native Oregonian, Finn is working on his transplant credentials. Coming from a small town in Washington, he grew up exploring the Pacific Northwest before moving to Minnesota to receive his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Political Science from St. Olaf College. During his undergraduate, he spent a fall semester outside of Ashland studying sustainability and community. That semester coincided with the Talent and Phoenix fires and, for him, cemented the proximity and reality of climate change, particularly in the West. Coming from a tourist destination in Washington, he also grew up watching the complex but important relationship between tourism and rural communities. His broad focus this year is on coastal resiliency with projects directed toward environmental stewardship, sustainable tourism, business networking and public transit. Finn is excited to spend a year learning from coastal communities and working to create positive change in ways that reflect the unique needs and realities of the coast. After work you can find him surfing, biking, hiking or reading a book along the 363 miles of the beautiful Oregon coast.

Interested in gaining community and economic development experience of your own? Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon? Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program. Applications for Year 30 (2023-24) due April 30, 2023 by 11:59pm PDT.