Why protect shorelines

What is a Living Shoreline? Living shoreline is a broad term that encompasses a range of shoreline stabilization techniques along estuaries, bays, tributaries, and other sheltered shorelines. Living shorelines are not typically used on beaches on the open ocean. A living shoreline has a footprint that is made up mostly of native material. Living shorelines connect the land and water to stabilize the shoreline, reduce erosion, and provide ecosystem services, like valuable habitat, that enhances coastal resilience.

What are the common benefits of living shorelines? Protect shorelines from erosion Provide habitat for fish and other living resources Improve water quality and store nutrients Increase stability over time Can outperform hardened shorelines during a storm Attract natural wildlife How do living shorelines compare to other shoreline stabilization techniques? A single landowner or community designed a site-specific defense against erosion. While this effort might solve their erosion situation, the problem with this approach is that it often results in erosion on adjacent or nearby stretches of coast.

Then the adjacent or nearby communities must also take defensive action. These nature-based protections are region-specific and can be a simpler beach nourishment, as at Seahurst, or include mangroves, coral reefs, saltmarshes, oyster reefs or even a hybrid of these with some harder components.

In late , for example, New York State unveiled guidance for living shorelines in the state, encouraging nature-based answers to controlling shoreline erosion in the wake of recent hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Some coastal states and federal agencies even provide incentives for communities and private landowners to invest in these projects, such as expedited permits, low-interest loans, tax breaks and federal funding.

There are some unlikely partners. For instance, the U. The Department of Defense has used hybrid living shoreline techniques to stop erosion while improving habitat at several sites, such as i nstalling shell-based reefs for oysters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa see video above.

Some municipalities have even established regulations to make armoring a last resort. Unlike seawalls, living shorelines such as salt marshes also reduce the force of waves before they reach the shore, in part by capturing natural sediment that builds up and raises the elevation of the seafloor near the coast.

Additionally, salt marsh meadows may help slow climate change — one of the drivers of some storms — by storing carbon dioxide. The researchers estimate a 16 percent average reduction in annual flood losses — and up to 70 percent in some locations — in Ocean County, New Jersey, due to the presence of salt marshes, indicating that wetlands help protect shorelines outside major storm events, too. Davis and colleagues , salt marshes can store more carbon per acre over the course of a year than mature tropical forests.

Living shorelines may be gaining ground, but there are places where armoring is likely to stay, say experts, such as at marinas, or along coastal train routes. And many cities depend on an armored waterfront. Even in such spots, however, designers are devising strategies to soften the hard edge. Toft and colleagues are working with the Washington State Department of Transportation on studying ways to adapt a 7,foot-long 2,meter-long replacement seawall under construction in Seattle to be more fish-friendly.

This includes adding features such as a texture that encourages algae and barnacles to attach and create habitat, and installing glass panels to walkways over the wall to allow light to penetrate the water below, attracting fish. For all projects, consider consulting with a professional who understands permits and approvals, and how to restore local habitats. For living shorelines, consider the permits and approvals involved and the appropriate type of restoration for the habitat.

Here are the main steps involved in planning and implantation. Learn more about the Tools for Planning a living shoreline. Habitat Conservation. Table of Contents What is a living shoreline? Where can I see living shorelines? What are the main benefits of living shorelines? How much do living shorelines cost? Who can help me create a living shoreline?