APTOS >> After the crippling impact of the 2023 winter storms, state and local officials continue to chart the course for the future of Seacliff and New Brighton state beaches in the climate change era and are ready to invite the public back into the process of that exploration.

California State Parks and its local operating partner, Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, have invited the public to attend a community workshop from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday that will include an update on the recovery effort and a major ongoing environmental study.

Presenters will share a progress update on the Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Alternatives Study that was ordered last year and will help guide the long-term recovery effort and the community will also have an opportunity to share feedback in response to potential adaptations for the treasured coastal hotspot.

“Seacliff State Beach is beloved but it’s also at risk,” State Parks Santa Cruz District Superintendent Chris Spohrer said in a release. “State Parks is working with the community, scientists, environmental stewards and local partners to improve the resilience of our coastline as sea levels continue to rise and storm intensity increases.”

In early 2023, a series of atmospheric river storms coincided with a major ocean surge that battered the local coastline and flooded homes. Seacliff’s historic pier suffered major damage and was later torn down; its seawall was severely impacted; its day-use picnic area was closed for months and much of the fill material and underground infrastructure in its campground — which remains closed, according to Friends’ website — was washed out to sea.While the short-term recovery effort was implemented swiftly, park leaders simultaneously began thinking about the long-term resiliency of the park in a future full of more frequent and severe storms and rising seas.

“These beaches have a complex history of extreme weather, with recreational uses that have adapted over time,” said Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks Executive Director Bonny Hawley. “This workshop is an opportunity to give input about the important choices we have to create a more sustainable, accessible public space that will endure for generations to come.”

In addition to an update on the study, estimated last year to cost nearly $300,000, the workshop will include an explanation of coastal processes, sea level rise, vulnerability, strategies for adaptation and funding sources, according to the release.

Friends also established the Seacliff State Beach Resilience and Recovery Fund in the aftermath of the storms as a way for the public to contribute funding that went to short-term support projects and long-term public access work. The fund remains open and can be accessed at the Friends website thatsmypark.org.