Erin Hague is director of Tetra Tech’s Center for Coastal Services in southeast Florida and has more than 25 years of experience specializing in shoreline protection and coastal 恢复 projects.
She is a Certified 环境al Professional and Envision 可持续性 Professional. Erin’s expertise is in designing solutions for coastal and ecosystem protection, 恢复, 和弹性. She has served as a technical expert for numerous small- and large-scale projects in the coastal United States and is proficient in managing multidisciplinary projects involving geotechnical and biological field investigations, 沿海规划, 海洋生物多样性恢复，工程全球最大体育平台，利益相关者协调和许可.
艾琳还管理了重要的环境成分, 在北卡罗来纳州和佛罗里达州的屡获殊荣的海岸修复项目. The Florida Association of 环境al Professionals recognized her with its Outstanding Collaboration Award for the Port Miami Harbor Deepening Project.
Erin has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in Coastal Zone Management from Nova Southeastern University.
是什么让你成为海岸生态学家的?
I was first introduced to the coastal and marine environment through scuba diving while pursuing a minor in marine science as part of my undergraduate studies. 毕业后，我在美国地质研究所从事地貌学工作.S. Geological Survey and then as a wetland scientist for the Massachusetts Highway Department.
Pursuing scuba diving recreationally and being immersed in a habitat foreign to everyday life—but close enough to touch—continued to intrigue me. I wanted to find a way that I could link my passion for scuba diving to my professional life and make a difference by helping to preserve that habitat. I later pursued a master’s degree in Coastal Zone Management with a concentration in marine biology while also working full-time as a marine scientist for a small firm in South Florida. 这是我最难忘的一次, complex projects was in North Carolina and involved the relocation of an inlet channel and beach nourishment for shoreline protection. 这个项目是我职业生涯的转折点, working alongside coastal engineers to develop a nature-based solution to shoreline erosion.
一个典型的海岸或海岸线修复工程包括什么?
Because the coastal environment is so dynamic, there isn’t a typical project. 即使在同一地点，海洋环境也在不断变化. 典型的是什么?, 然而, is the process we use throughout the coastal 恢复 project life cycle, which typically begins with a feasibility study or conceptual design through construction management.
第一个, we coordinate with the client on the project goals and objectives and identify the project area and habitat types that may be affected by the project. 下一个, we review historic data sets and identify data gaps to determine the surveys required to fully understand existing conditions and community types. Our team of engineers and scientists develops a cooperative approach to project design and implementation. 当项目达到30%时, 60%, 最后的全球最大体育平台, we identify green and gray solutions to develop a project that avoids or minimizes impacts, 提供恢复的机会, 并且能够适应随着气候变化而上升的海平面.
What considerations are included when working on coastal projects in different geographic regions?
潮汐范围和沿海社区在不同的地理位置有所不同. 在纽约, 潮差接近5英尺, 佛罗里达群岛在哪里, 他们接近一英尺. These ranges impact our approach to field investigations and project designs. 我们查看项目区域并开始提出问题. 它是保护区吗.g.湾)? 还是暴露在高波能下? 当地的波浪气候是怎样的?
We also consider the project goals and objectives and the type of natural resource impacts that may result. 我们考虑联邦政府的监管环境, 状态, 以及地方层面, 项目成功的关键是什么. 最后的, 但肯定不是最不重要的, 我们考虑了项目区域的物种和栖息地, 以及目前影响这些资源成败的因素. There may be a unique habitat specific to a geographic region where we need to employ local experts. 我的工作覆盖了广阔的地理区域, 从新英格兰到纽约, 大西洋中部, 佛罗里达和墨西哥湾沿岸, 西加勒比海和东加勒比海, 以及华盛顿州.
What are some of the major challenges and complexities facing coastal projects today?
The biggest challenge we face is designing solutions that are resilient and can adapt to rising sea levels. 我们的全球最大体育平台受到项目预期寿命的影响. 一个短期的全球最大体育平台生活项目, 像牡蛎礁, 也是一个长期的全球最大体育平台生命项目, 像基础设施, 承担不同的风险. Our work considers the risk tolerance of each project and how the final design will mitigate project risk.
What changes have you seen in shoreline and coastal 恢复 during your career?
从历史上看, 环境注意事项, 监管协调, and mitigation design were integrated late in the project life—typically after the 60 or 90 percent project design stage. 在21世纪初, regulatory agencies shifted their focus to understanding the habitat and community influences early on in a project’s design. 最近, our work has a more balanced approach that couples engineering and science and moves towards a living shoreline design that provides shoreline protection, 恢复和改善生境, 并能适应不断变化的环境.
我在长岛做过一个湿地修复项目, 纽约, for the Governor’s 从ice of Storm Recovery’s Living with the Bay: Resiliency Strategy that is funded through Hurricane Sandy Disaster Recovery Funds. The Living with the Bay Marsh 恢复 project includes a multipurpose design that focuses on resiliency. The design protects against flooding; restores and improves marsh habitat; improves water quality in the West Hempstead Bay system; protects marshlands from erosion and fills flooded interiors to increase marsh vegetation; and provides an educational component.