Cape Ann is already experiencing climate change. These 27 vignettes show how Cape Ann’s critical infrastructure, beloved cultural landscapes and historic downtowns are changing before the storm arrives.

Long Beach

Rockport, MA

seawall, acquisition, evacuation, fill, dam

Long Beach is a protected stretch of ocean and sand backed by a cement retaining wall and lined with one hundred summer cottages in Rockport. The cottages were constructed in the early nineteenth century on the dune between the inland marsh and the Atlantic Ocean. The houses form a barrier between the marsh and coastal ecosystems, with a concrete seawall in place of the dune. Water runs under this seawall, which the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) classifies as a dam. The seawall causes scouring and alters the coastline beyond the beach, which is a popular recreational destination for both residents and tourists during the summer. The structures are owned by individual residents, but the land is leased from the town of Rockport, with leases set to expire in 2023.¹

Long Beach town land. Photograph by Paul Bilodeau, 2021. www.gloucestertimes.com/news/long-beach-options-sprout-more-questions/article_9e9ea624-277e-11ec-b9ec-c328b8d7ca0e.html

The Long Beach Options Committee is weighing options to erode the beach with a stronger seawall and continue leasing the land under one hundred summer cottages or end the leases and lose an estimated $2.5 million in annual town revenue after 2023 when the 10-year lease terms expire.² The Town of Rockport is liable for any property damage attributable to negligence on the part of the town, including any damage the dilapidated seawall fails to protect.Long Beach will continue to erode, quickened by the seawall, which causes scouring.³

Long Beach seawall, revetment and beach access. Photograph by Paul Bilodeau, 2021. www.gloucestertimes.com/news/local_news/long-beach-seawall-to-be-replaced/article_86e47f3f-70eb-52c0-bd57-bb66f73e270c.html

During the Great Storm, waves will surge over the Long Beach cottages from the ocean on the east and the marsh on the west, damaging the structures and further degrading the seawall, roads and other critical infrastructure.⁴ The town will continue reshaping the dune and revetment at taxpayer expense, while the Saratoga Creek Bridge connecting Long and Cape Hedge Beaches will be destroyed, and the marshes behind Long Beach will be inundated, leading to repetitive flooding and property damage for the cottages.⁵ In addition to damage to physical structures, the critical evacuation routes of Long Beach Road and Thatcher Road will likely be inundated in a storm event, posing a significant public safety risk.⁶

Long Beach Options Committee, Long Beach Options (Rockport: Long Beach Options Committee, August 8, 2021). ↩
Michael Cronin, “Long Beach options sprout more questions,” Gloucester Daily Times, October 8, 2021. ↩
Town of Rockport, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update (Rockport: Town of Rockport, 2020), 41. ↩
Trustees, State of the Coast: Future Climate-Driven Risks - and their Solutions - on Massachusetts’ North Shore (Boston: Trustees, 2020), 22. ↩
Town of Rockport, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update (Rockport: Town of Rockport, 2020), 45. ↩
Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Rockport Community Resilience Workshop Summary of Findings (Boston: Metropolitan Area Planning Council, May 29, 2018), 6. ↩