Coastal Issues: Shoreline Management - Living Shorelines
Publications and Resources
Virginia CZM Program Living Shorelines Fact SheetNational Academy of Science Study--- Mitigating Shore Erosion on Sheltered Coasts ---
Virginia/Maryland Living Shorelines Summit Proceedings (December 2006)"Preserving The Bay’s Living Shorelines: A Growing Grass-roots Effort" The Virginia Wetlands Report , Summer 2004
Shoreline Situation Reports and Maps for Virginia (and Maryland) --- The Center for Coastal Resources Management at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science provides on-line maps of many Virginia localities. These maps provide important data about the status of our coastal shorelines.
"Shoreline Erosions Problems? - Think Green!" --- Establishing marsh vegetation can provide long-term shoreline stabilization - published by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. If you would like hard copies, please contact virginia.witmer@deq.virginia.gov
Recommendations for Appropriate Shoreline Stabilization Methods for the Different North Carolina Estuarine Shoreline Types --- North Carolina Division of Coastal Management, North Carolina Estuarine Biological and Physical Processes Work Group - August 2006
Want to Implement a Living Shorelines Project and Need Funding?
The Living Shoreline Grant Program is a partnership of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, NOAA-Restoration Center, Keith Campbell Foundation, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Go to www.cbtrust.org/site/
Application_Process.htm for details and current grant application deadlines.
Living Shorelines are restored shorelines that, in addition to protecting property from erosion, provide habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife. Like undisturbed natural shorelines, they also protect water quality by trapping excess nutrients and sediment. Photo by K. Duhring, VIMS.
BACKGROUND:
Effects of Waterfront Development on Virginia's Shorelines
Waterfront development, often for retirement or summer homes, is an ever more common sight along the creeks and rivers of Virginia’s coastal zone. Waterfront property is expensive, so one of the first “improvements” new property-owners typically consider is stabilizing their shoreline in order to prevent erosion and protect their investment.
Although a number of options are available for managing shoreline erosion, many landowners choose to harden their shoreline with either a riprap revetment (rock) or a wood or vinyl bulkhead, also known as "seawalls". Building these structures along the shoreline may require removing vegetation in order to gain access for construction activities. Depending on the height and condition of the shoreline bank, some property owners also grade their property next to the shoreline to reduce the slope to the water and prevent bank erosion.
Unfortunately, some shoreline stabilization practices can have detrimental effects on coastal resources:
--- Impacts to important habitats and to water quality can occur because of the loss of trees and shrubs, wetlands, beaches, banks, and underwater grass beds.
Some of these losses occur immediately because of shoreline structure construction, access to shoreline areas for machinery, or grading. Others are more gradual and may result from scouring and sediment resuspension from reflected wave energy or the inability of fringe marshes and beaches to migrate landward as sea level rises. Shoreline stabilization can also affect the gradual movement of sediment along the shore and cause increased erosion on nearby properties.
---- Removal of shoreline vegetation can cause shallow water temperatures to rise. This can adversely affect fish. Loss of trees and shrubs also reduces food and cover for birds and other wildlife.
WHAT IS THE VIRGINIA CZM PROGRAM DOING TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE?
While revetments and bulkheads and other methods that "harden" the shoreline provide property owners with erosion protection, they degrade the ability of the shoreline to provide habitat for aquatic life and to filter storm water runoff. Many low energy shorelines are being hardened where less damaging techniques for managing shoreline erosion could be employed.
The Virginia CZM Program will be working with its partners over the next five years to promote Living Shorelines, a technique that not only stabilizes the shoreline but provides valuable habitat and improves water quality.
Living Shorelines are shorelines that have been altered by man to protect them from erosion and to create habitat using nature-based techniques such as marsh plantings, beach nurishment, and low profile oyster reefs, breakwaters and sills.
The Virginia CZM Program will carry out a "Living Shoreline" Strategy, funded through Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act that includes:
- a “Living Shoreline Summit (see side bar for more)
- revisions to the state’s Wetlands Guidelines
- research to further document the habitat value and refine the design of living shorelines
- a protocol for determining the feasibility of living shorelines on a reach (shoreline segment) basis
- additional shoreline situation reports and shoreline evolution studies to better inform local shoreline management decisions
- a shoreline planning guidance document to help localities to proactively address shoreline management issues and meet the comprehensive planning requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act
- a living shoreline brochure and website for landowners and a design manual and training program for contractors
VIRGINIA CZM FUNDING FOR LIVING SHORELINES
The Virginia CZM Program has a "Coastal Enhancement" Strategy in place to address Cumulative and Secondary Impacts, which includes funding for promotion of Living Shorelines. Visit the Coastal Needs Assessment and Strategies page for more.
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
Living Shoreline Partners:
Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia
Chesapeake Research Consortium
GreenShore Solutions
VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management Living Shorelines Page ---
including a Living Shoreline design options, VIMS projects, workshop proceedings, a photo gallery of royalty-free downloadable images, and Living Shoreline and Living Shoreline publications.
Shoreline Technical Assistance Toolbox - NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management ---
The Shoreline Technical Assistance Toolbox provides coastal resource managers with centralized access to information, resources, and tools to address shoreline erosion and management, focusing on alternatives to traditional shoreline hardening. The Toolbox includes information on planning and policy tools, alternative stabilization techniques such as “soft” or hybrid methods (e.g. marsh restoration with breakwater sill), and the economics of shoreline management. For each technique, the site also provides case studies describing how each technique has been applied. In addition, the Toolbox also includes a “resources” page that provides links to a variety websites, reports and management tools related to shoreline management.
NOAA Restoration Portal Website - Living Shorelines page --- site maintained by the NOAA Restoration Center
Living Shorelines Stewardship Initiative --- The Living Shorelines Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) is a collaborative project that is supported by several public and private entities and managed by David Burke of Burke Environmental Associates, LLC. The overall goal of the LSSI is to improve water quality and enhance habitat for living resources in the Chesapeake Bay through the shoreline management efforts of individual waterfront property owners.
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LSSI Fact Sheet (PDF)
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LSSI Grants Program ---This grants program supports public and private (with some caveats) projects that create and promote "living shorelines," around the Chesapeake Bay in VA and MD. The program is supported by a partnership between the Chesapeake Bay Trust, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restoration Center (NOAA) and the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment. The proposal due date is September 22, 2006, with decisions by December 2006. A total of $375K is available, and applicants can ask for up to $50K. For application instructions and criteria and to view previously funded projects
LIVING SHORELINE PROJECTS
Hull Springs Farm Living Shoreline Project --- The shoreline along the Lower Lower Machodoc Creek is the focus of this Longwood University project at Hull Springs Farm in Westmoreland County. This site features maps of existing shoreline that identify potential locations for a variety of shoreline management treatments including living shorelines, as well as a very descriptive Glossary of Living Shoreline Techniques. The University has also sponsored workshops and educational seminars on living shoreline designs for local residents.
The Hermitage Foundation Living Shoreline Project --- The Hermitage Foundation will create a living shoreline of restored native wetlands and riparian buffer along the Lafayette River, a tributary of the Elizabeth River and the Chesapeake Bay.
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (Maryland) Living Shoreline Project --- Information provided for this project includes some good illustrations of Living Shoreline techniques.
