Coskata-Coatue: A Refuge on the Edge

Cape Cod is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels. Dramatic flood impacts to Nantucket’s historic downtown, its infrastructure, and the unique natural challenges to the area that are expected by the year 2050. The extensive Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge, owned and managed in parallel by the Trustees and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, serves as a critical barrier beach ecosystem. The refuge creates Nantucket Harbor, provides amazing recreational exposure to wild and natural areas, and currently protects the historic downtown and harbor of Nantucket from larger storms and flooding. In this short documentary, the Trustees and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation explore the changing landscape of the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge and its ecological, recreational, and cultural importance for the island of Nantucket. With the effects of climate change already threatening Coskata-Coatue, what can be done to protect this refuge on the edge?