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.
North Carolina Highway 24 is located between multiple waterways and is vulnerable to sea-level rise, storm surges, and coastal erosion. The NC Department of Transportation opted for nature-based solutions over traditional repairs. This project constructed 260 meters of living shoreline, comprised of granite rock and oyster reef structures and a 0.1-hectare salt marsh.
Two hurricanes in 2004 destroyed Fort Pierce, Florida’s waterfront. This waterfront is a public access space that includes a park and a marina. The city and Tetra Tech Inc. developed a 6-hectare island breakwater system that will protect the city under current conditions and adapt to projected sea-level rise.
Sand Dollar Island protects Tigertail Lagoon and the city of Marco Island, Florida, a barrier island community. The island was migrating landward, squeezing the lagoon and reducing coastal protection. This project restored the sand spit, a coastal lagoon, and mangrove shorelines by reestablishing an adequate flow channel.
Hancock County Marsh Coastal Preserve was the fastest eroding marsh in Mississippi. To reverse this loss and improve the preserve, this project constructed three habitat-restoration components: a 10-kilometer segmented living shoreline, 19 hectares of restored intertidal marsh, and a 19-hectare subtidal reef in Heron Bay.
Sodus Point Beach on Lake Ontario experienced significant flooding in 2017 and 2019, causing over $3 million in damages to the beachfront community. To restore the beach, this project created a sand-collection feature using a dune, sand fencing, and 30,000 native dune-grass plants to capture wind-borne sands and keep the sand on the beach.
The northern barrier bar in North Sandy Pond was experiencing flooding and erosion, and was at risk of a full breach. This project placed local sand in strategic locations to utilize Lake Ontario’s longshore currents to replenish eroded sections of the beach. Volunteers also planted native beach grasses to further stabilize the shoreline.
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.
Goldbug Island, off the coast of Charleston, SC, was experiencing erosion and salt marsh loss. To prevent further loss, the Nature Conservancy constructed a 67-meter-long oyster castle reef. This reef prevents erosion, mitigates wave energy, enhances biodiversity, and with increased oyster settlement, will improve water quality.
Cat Island and Ship Island are barrier islands off the coast of Mississippi that provide protection to coastal communities from erosion and storm surges. This project used millions of cubic meters of sand and reused dredged sediment to restore the islands’ beaches and dunes.
