‘Living shorelines’ use oyster shells and marsh grass to reverse coastal erosion

While homeowners often rely on expensive seawalls and bulkheads to slow the erosion, a growing number are building “living shorelines,” which can reverse its effects.

A Race Against Time Documentary

This program documents the effort to restore and monitor the Delaware Bay beaches which suffered severe erosion from Super Storm Sandy in 2012. The video was shot between March and July of 2013. This...

• Large-scale
• Videos
• Wetlands / Marsh

A Tour of Living Shorelines in Delaware

Throughout this map, you will find information on living shorelines that have been installed in Delaware.

• Living Shorelines

Bayou St. John Urban Marsh

The Bayou St. John Urban Marsh Creation Project restored a half-acre of native marsh in the city of New Orleans as part of a long term effort to improve the bayou’s water quality. The urban oasis...

• Living Shorelines
• Wetlands / Marsh

Building a Stronger Coast: Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Prime Hook is one of the largest coastal marsh restoration projects on the Atlantic Coast. Supported by federal funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery, the project restores 4,000 acres of coastal marsh...

• Large-scale
• Videos

California Flooding: Unleashing the Power of Nature to Combat Floods

River Partners is restoring, reconnecting, and expanding California’s riverways and floodplains to better accommodate floodwaters and help keep communities safe, while providing a range of...

Case Studies of Natural Shoreline Infrastructure in Coastal California

Case studies show potential of nature-based infrastructure to mitigate sea level rise. Small scale and large scale projects are included in this report.

• Green Infrastructure
• Large-scale

Climate Change Impacts for Coastal Communities

Sea level rise is already redrawing coastlines around the world. What happens when the coast retreats through a major city? We look at how the world map will change in the year 2100, and what coastal...

• Videos

Coastal Homeowners Install Living Shorelines

The North Carolina Coastal Federation worked with homeowners to install living shorelines to protect against erosion.

• Citizen driven
• Living Shorelines
• oysters

Coastal Restoration Through Marsh Terraces, Ducks Unlimited

The terraces slow wind and waves, improving water clarity, slowing erosion, and promoting growth of underwater plants important to waterfowl and fisheries.

• Large-scale
• Videos
• Volunteers
• Wetlands / Marsh

Colley Bay Living Shoreline Restoration Project

The City of Norfolk & volunteers developed a living shoreline in sections of Colley Bay along the Lafayette River to enhance the function of natural ecosystems, provide waterfront access, and...

• Living Shorelines
• Videos
• Volunteers

Community-Based Restoration, Save The Bay San Francisco

Save The Bay works to restore Bay habitat at significant scale, both through advancing sound science and by securing the funding necessary for these projects.

• Citizen driven
• Green Infrastructure
• Monitoring
• Students
• Volunteers
• Wetlands / Marsh

CPRA Director Michael Ellis Explains Living Shoreline Demonstration Project, NOLA.com

Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Executive Director Michael Ellis discusses the 3-mile, $12 million living shoreline demonstration project, which is testing different concrete...

• Large-scale
• Living Shorelines
• Videos

Delaware Living Shorelines Committee Projects

Examples of living shorelines projects completed by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, a work group dedicated to facilitating the understanding, peer review, and implementation of living...

• Living Shorelines

Dune Restoration to Gulf State Park, Gulf State Park Enhancement Project

The Gulf State Park Restoration Project aims to be a national model of environmental and economic resilience that we can all be proud of. As part of our ongoing recovery from the Deepwater Horizon...

• Large-scale
• Videos

Durant’s Point Living Shoreline

Durant’s Point forms an extensive marsh on the west side of Hatteras Village, providing a natural buffer for the village — dissipating storm and wave energy — while protecting water quality and...

• Living Shorelines
• Volunteers
• Wetlands / Marsh

Durant’s Point Living Shoreline, North Carolina Coastal Federation

This extensive marsh acts to dissipate storm and wave energy from Hatteras Village. But the point was threatened by a high rate of erosion. The project involved stabilizing the shoreline with a...

• Large-scale
• Living Shorelines

Dyers Cove Reef Build

With the help of some terrific volunteers, the American Littoral Society built its fifth intertidal reef in the Delaware Bay at Dyer’s Cove in Cumberland County, NJ on March 31, 2018. The reef...

• Citizen driven
• Videos
• Volunteers

Florida Keys Coral Restoration Project, The Nature Conservancy

Tens of thousands of staghorn corals are grown in underwater nurseries and then planted in degraded reefs. Nearly 10,000 colonies have been established, with first-year survival rates averaging above 80%.

• Large-scale
• Ocean Acidification

How Climate Change Makes Hurricanes Worse, Vox

Here is what we know about climate change and hurricanes.

• Videos

How to Build a Beach: Recovering From Hurricane Sandy

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, conservationists in the Delaware Bay region raced against the clock to restore decimated beaches in time for the arrival of nesting horseshoe crabs and the migratory...

• Large-scale
• Videos
• Wetlands / Marsh

Lafayette Wetlands Oyster Bergs

The Lafayette Wetlands Partnership has invent a new way for home-owners to bring back the Elizabeth River oyster, called “Oyster Bergs.” These modestly sized structures were designed for home-owner...

• Citizen driven
• oysters

Living Shoreline Along the Georgia Coast, Georgia-Pacific and The Nature Conservancy

Georgia-Pacific and The Nature Conservancy have partnered to protect the shorelines of the Georgia coast. These projects will help ensure we have a living shoreline for generations to come.

• Green Infrastructure
• Large-scale
• Living Shorelines
• Students

Living Shoreline at Indian River Marina, Delaware

Living Shorelines stabilize wetland areas, provide habitat for wildlife, protect shorelines from erosion and allow the wetlands to continue to clean the water. While installing a Living Shoreline at...

• Living Shorelines
• oysters
• Wetlands / Marsh

Living Shoreline Project

The GTM Research Reserve, Northeast Florida Aquatic Preserves and the University of Florida recently completed a project that will test the effectiveness of new methods for preserving and restoring...

• Large-scale
• Living Shorelines
• Students
• Videos
• Volunteers
• Wetlands / Marsh

Living Shoreline Project, The Nature Conservancy

This approach to restore Georgia’s oyster reefs created a natural embankment using oyster shells and native plants to stabilize shoreline erosion.

• Green Infrastructure
• Large-scale
• Living Shorelines

Living Shorelines Use Oyster Shells and Marsh Grass to Reverse Coastal Erosion

Americans who live along coastlines are watching their land disappear and property threatened as climate change causes sea levels to rise. While homeowners often rely on expensive seawalls and...

• Large-scale
• Living Shorelines
• Videos

Living Shorelines: A Habitat-Friendly Alternative for Shoreline Stabilization

Living shorelines are shoreline erosion control methods that include a suite of options and use native materials, such as marsh plantings and oyster shells. They can also include stone sills and...

• Citizen driven
• Living Shorelines
• Videos
• Wetlands / Marsh

Living Shorelines: Marshes and Oysters

Explore case studies that highlight the use of natural and nature-based features to adapt to climate impacts.

• Living Shorelines
• Oyster reef
• oysters
• Wetlands / Marsh

Liza Jackson Park getting innovative ‘reef prisms’ to reduce erosion, attract sea creatures

A project to protect and restore the shoreline at Liza Jackson Park will feature a unique composite structure never before used in Northwest Florida waterways.

Mangrove Forest Restoration & Conservation

Since 1992, the Mangrove Action Project (MAP) has worked to educate the public about mangrove forests, to promote and engage in mangrove conservation and restoration.

• Large-scale
• Videos

Marsh Mania, Galveston Bay Foundation

The foundation and its “marsh maniacs” have been working since 1999 to restore marshes in Galveston Bay. Over the past 20 years, more than 211 acres of smooth cord grass have been planted in the bay.

• Citizen driven
• Students
• Videos
• Volunteers
• Wetlands / Marsh

National Wildlife Federation

The National Wildlife Federation is America’s oldest and largest conservation organization. It has worked for over two decades to protect and restore the Gulf Coast. Their website has links to...

• Large-scale
• Volunteers
• Wetlands / Marsh

New Jersey’s Hidden Coast

Discover New Jersey’s Hidden Coast – the Delaware Bayshore – and hear about the real value of horseshoe crabs, the challenges to the ecosystem, and the potential for a thriving...

• Large-scale
• Videos

NOAA Study Shows Coastal Flooding Events Likely to Increase 25-Fold by 2030

A 2010 study shows there are more than 14 million Floridians living in coastal zones. A recent study by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says a sea-level rise of 3...

• Large-scale
• Videos

NOAA’s Living Shorelines Projects

A catalogue of more than 160 project completed by funded since 1998 primarily through the Community-based Restoration Program.

• Living Shorelines

Orange County Coastkeeper Living Shorelines Olympia Oyster Restoration

A new restoration project which targets the native Olympia oyster and native eelgrass in an innovative integrated approach in Newport Beach, California. We plan to harness the sediment stabilization...

• Citizen driven
• Living Shorelines
• oysters
• Volunteers

Oyster Dome Construction, Tampa Bay Watch

Tampa Bay Watch works with volunteers to construct oyster domes that will be used to stabilize shorelines and prevent erosion.

• Citizen driven
• Oyster reef
• Videos
• Volunteers

Oyster Reef Shoreline Stabilization, Tampa Bay Watch

Tampa Bay Watch works with volunteers to construct an oyster reef to stabilize the shoreline.

• Citizen driven
• Oyster reef
• Videos
• Volunteers

Puget Sound Soft Shore and Armor Alternative Projects

This tool provides examples of beach projects on Puget Sound where alternatives to hard shoreline armoring were used.

• Living Shorelines
• Wetlands / Marsh

Restored Bradley Beach Maritime Forest

The maritime forest is a model for other coastal communities and provides sustainable protection for New Jersey’s coastal lakes, many of which are in jeopardy. The plants help protect against storms,...

• Green Infrastructure
• Large-scale

Restoring Coastal Wetlands: Louisiana Delta Restoration

The Coastal Restoration Partnership between ConocoPhillips and Ducks Unlimited focuses on the restoration of Louisiana’s coastal marshes and their critical resources for waterfowl, communities,...

• Large-scale
• Videos
• Wetlands / Marsh

Restoring Sand Dunes with Christmas Trees, Save Our Beach Association, TX

Each year volunteers place thousands of recycled Christmas trees on the barrier island beach. They line the trees up end-to-end and secure them into place. The trees trap sand to strengthen existing...

• Citizen driven
• Volunteers

SAGE Searchable Project Database

This database contains multiple coastal resilience projects around the nation, including Living Shorelines for shoreline stabilization, habitat restoration, and floodplain management. Each project...

• Living Shorelines
• oysters
• Wetlands / Marsh

Salinas River State Beach Dune Restoration Project, Central Coast Wetlands Group, CA

Salinas River beach dunes provide a natural barrier to thousands of acres of low-lying farms and wetlands. However, ice plant and other invasive plants have over-stabilized the dunes, making them...

• Large-scale
• Monitoring
• Students
• Wetlands / Marsh

Shell-A-Bration – Reef Build

Volunteers built an artificial oyster reef as part of the habitat restoration projects currently underway in the Delaware Bay.

• Citizen driven
• Videos
• Volunteers

Soft-Shore Protection in Washingtion

Shoreline homeowners in Washington want to protect their properties while also protecting the fish, wildlife, and shoreline habitats of Puget Sound. Local residents and coastal geologist share about...

• Citizen driven
• Living Shorelines

Springer’s Point Living Shoreline, North Carolina Coastal Federation

The project restored a portion of the shoreline at the Springer’s Point Nature Preserve. It involved building a new sill of bagged oyster shells along the eroding edge of the shoreline, maintaining...

• Citizen driven
• Large-scale
• Living Shorelines
• Monitoring
• Volunteers

Swinomish clam garden lays a foundation for future generations

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is reviving the ancient Indigenous mariculture practice of clam gardening. The rock wall of the sea garden traps sediment creating habitat and increasing species...

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Restoration

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Restoration website provides case studies and general information about restoration in the Gulf of Mexico.

• Large-scale
• Wetlands / Marsh

Waterfront Parks Designed to be Flooded

Waterfront parks are communal recreational spaces that are intentionally designed to be flooded with minimal damage during storm or flood events.