Barataria Basin, just south of New Orleans, Louisiana contains marshes that are rapidly subsiding from leveeing of the Mississippi River and loss of regular sediment depositions. The marsh received sediment from a nearby location to increase elevation and relieve plant stress. This restoration effort increased aboveground biomass and accretion rates. 

A team of nonprofit organizations and government agencies led by the California State Coastal Conservancy developed preliminary design plans to use a gravel beach and berm in the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve to protect critical habitat, control erosion, and enhance shoreline resilience on the south San Francisco Bay.

Oregon DOT designed several nature-based solutions to protect the 363-mile-long Oregon Coast Highway (U.S. 101) from extreme events and coastal bluff erosion. Three demonstration sites were selected, where cobble beaches were restored to enhance natural wave protection along the backshore.

Supported by NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, local government, and the North Cove community designed a “dynamic revetment” along the shoreline with rebuilt dunes and placement of cobble berms as part of the local efforts to find effective treatments for severe shoreline erosion, flooding, and sea level rise along Willapa Bay, Washington.

Coastal Louisiana contains around 40% of the wetlands in the continental United States and accounts for approximately 80% of the nation’s wetland loss due to sea-level rise, storm surges, and subsidence. This project restored 1,600 hectares of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) forest at Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area. 

This project is testing the effectiveness of dune restoration as a tactic for combatting sea-level rise and erosion in Southern California. Sand dunes were constructed from locally dredged material and planted with native vegetation. It is projected that this project will successfully protect the shoreline from flooding with no additional sand maintenance until 2050.  

The north branch of the Chicago River that runs through Eugene Field Park has been channelized and relocated, and had its riverbed paved with concrete. This led to increased flooding, marsh habitat loss, and vegetation loss. This project restored the wetlands and planted native vegetation. 

Interstate Island is located in Duluth Superior Harbor in Lake Superior. The island is critical habitat for the state-threatened common tern (Sterna hirundo), and was experiencing flooding, erosion, and land loss. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed 51,990 cubic meters of dredged material on the island to prevent further loss. 

This project will restore 295 acres of tidal marsh that had severely degraded from erosion, subsidence, storms, and canal and pipeline construction. Marsh restoration will reduce risks from storms and sea-level rise, and improve the coastal resiliency of communities in the Parish.  

The Ed Pastor Kino Environmental Restoration Project (KERP) aimed to restore natural areas by redeveloping an unlined stormwater detention basin in Tucson, Arizona. KERP covers 125 acres and includes constructed stream courses, five vegetation-lined ponds, restored native vegetation communities, flood control structures, and a recreational path.

Long Beach Island, NJ is a barrier island that is heavily impacted by coastal storms and hurricanes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection created berms and dunes along the island with sand from an offshore borrow source to reduce flooding, erosion, and storm impacts on the island’s communities. 

The marshes in Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary in Vermillion Parish, Louisiana have degraded due to periods of flooding by rivers and canals that result in prolonged inundation periods, subsidence, and salinity increases. To restore elevation and decrease inundation, dredged material was placed on 105 square kilometers of the marsh.  

Along Water Street in Yorktown, VA, York County led a shoreline protection project that placed clean sand fill and rock breakwaters to form a series of pocket beaches—beaches stabilized by artificial or natural headlands. The project provides protection to approximately 1,600 feet of Route 1020 (Water Street) along the York River.

After Hurricanes Irma and Maria, over 11% of Puerto Rico’s coral reefs were damaged. The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, along with NOAA, FEMA and other local partners assessed damages and conducted emergency reattachment of corals, resulting in approximately 16,000 corals over 63 sites in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Tidal marsh at the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware has been degraded by impounded freshwater drowning out marsh plants, as well as salt water intrusion from storm events. To reduce impounded water and restore functioning salt marshes, 30 miles of channels were dredged across 4,000 acres of tidal marsh.  

Prime Hook Wildlife Refuge, located on Delaware Bay’s Western shore, was severely degraded due to sea-level rise, storms, and anthropogenic pressures. These issues led to over 1,600 hectares of freshwater marsh and 240 hectares of riparian forest impacted or lost. This project restored habitat, nourished shorelines, and increased resiliency of the refuge. 

The San Francisco Bay Living Shorelines Project is implementing oyster reef and eelgrass bed restoration at two locations to demonstrate the ability of living shorelines to protect coastal infrastructure and communities while enhancing biodiversity. The oyster reefs and eelgrass beds successfully reduce wave energy, minimizing erosion and decreasing flood risks for the coastline. 

This project restored 3 acres of shoreline and dune vegetation on Santa Monica Beach to enhance dune habitat and biodiversity along the shore. These enhanced dunes will protect the beach and nearby infrastructure from flooding and sea-level rise. This promotes recreation on the beaches and improves tourism to Los Angeles’ iconic beaches. 

The tidal marshes at Sears Point in San Pablo Bay, CA have been subsiding for the past century due to draining and diking for development. Marsh restoration occurred by returning tidal flow to the area and building marsh mounds. This allowed for natural sediment accretion, revegetation, and newly created habitat for wildlife.  

The Seaview community on Shark River Island in Neptune, New Jersey was experiencing flooding, erosion, and experienced damage from Hurricane Sandy. A failing bulkhead on the shoreline led to severe marsh erosion. The homeowner’s association decided on a hybrid living shoreline made of ECOncrete to protect their community.