Restoration Techniques

Soft Engineering

"Regarding the civil engineering of shorelines, soft engineering is a shoreline management practice that uses sustainable ecological principles to restore shoreline stabilization and protect riparian habitats. Soft Shoreline Engineering (SSE) uses the strategic placement of organic materials such as vegetation, stones, sand, debris, and other structural materials to reduce erosion, enhance shoreline aesthetic, soften the land-water interface, and lower costs of ecological restoration.[1]

To differentiate Soft Shoreline Engineering from Hard Shoreline Engineering, Hard Shoreline Engineering tends to use steel sheet piling or concrete breakwalls to prevent danger and fortify shorelines. Generally, Hard Shoreline Engineering is used for navigational or industrial purposes. To contrast, Soft Shoreline Engineering emphasizes the application of ecological principles rather than compromising the engineered integrity of the shoreline.[2] The opposite alternative is hard engineering."- Wikipedia: Soft Engineering

Europe

UK

Scotland

• SMEEF Restoration Toolkit "Whether you are starting your first coastal or marine restoration or enhancement project, or have been working on an established programme, this toolkit aims to guide you through the maze of supporting information available.
  
  Each section covers the key facts and there are links to the latest advice. The Toolkit also enables you to create a bespoke action list for your group.
  
  Please note this toolkit is a live document and will be updated regularly. If you believe there may be something missing or incorrect, please email us..."

North America

Canada

Alberta

• Indicators for Assessing Environmental Performance of Watersheds in Southern Alberta (PDF) This gives general guidance, but doesn't focus much on specific species.

USA

• Coastal Restoration Toolkit: Take Action to Restore Our Coastlines "Find tools and information you need to launch a restoration project in your community."

• Delaware Living Shoreline Providers - Materials "The Delaware Living Shorelines Committee neither endorses nor accepts responsibility for the materials provided by any company on this list, which is not necessarily comprehensive; No recommendation or guarantee of competence or experience is implied. We suggest that prospective clients ask for credentials before contracting for professional services. See Provider- Services for a list of companies that offer living shoreline services." List currently lists companies in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

• NEMESIS "Welcome to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System (NEMESIS). Here you will find information on marine and estuarine invertebrates and algae introduced to the United States."

• NOAA: Understanding Living Shorelines "Living shorelines connect the land and water to stabilize shorelines, reduce erosion, and provide valuable habitat that enhances coastal resilience." Includes infographics and links to more resources.

California

• State Wildlife Action Plan "A plan for conserving California's wildlife resources while responding to environmental challenges"

Texas

• Guide to Living Shorelines in Texas (pdf) This document offers useful maps, a list of suggested species for shoreline stabilization and restoration, methods, etc.

Vermont

• Keystone— Native Plant—Species Restoring Living Shorelands (PDF)

Virginia 

• Center for Coastal Resources Management: Living Shorelines "Living shorelines are nature-based approaches for shoreline protection.  These stabilization techniques not only protect shorelines and infrastructure, they also conserve, create or restore natural shoreline habitats and ecosystem services.  The Virginia General Assembly now has a policy that living shoreline techniques are the preferred stabilization methods for tidal shorelines." This page provides links to further resources.

  • Shoreline Best Management Practices

  • Self-Guided Decision Tools

Oceana

Australia

• Wetland Indicator Animals of Murray River Drainage Sub-Basin

NSW

• Salinity Indicator Plants (PDF) "This booklet is based on information provided in Spotting Salinity Using Indicator Plants, which was produced by the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, Hunter Region in 1998, with assistance from the Hunter Catchment Management Trust and NSW Agriculture. Information contained in the plant description section and pictures of some species have been taken with permission directly from the 1998 publication."

Queensland

• The Flora Wetland Indicator Species List (WISL) "has been compiled to support the determination of whether a site is a wetland. The Wetland Indicator Species (WIS) in WISL have adapted to living in wetlands and are dependent on them.
  
  The presence of a WIS at a site does not, in itself, confirm the site to be a wetland, but is one line of evidence towards determining the wetland status of a site."

Useful Species to Consider

North America

• Sweetgrass "is a clump-forming perennial grass that is native to the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts.  The leaves of this grass are used by the Gullah community, descendants of enslaved Africans in the South Carolina coastal area, as the base material for their coiled basketry." The grass helps improve soil stabilization, but is under threat by urbanization.

USA

Florida

• Florida Living Shorelines: Plants by region and tidal zone Scroll down to find your ecological region, then click the tabs to see "Low Marsh", "Mid Marsh", and "High Marsh" plant species suggestions.

Programs & Projects

North America

USA

Delaware

• The Delaware Estuary Living Shoreline Initiative

• Delaware Living Shoreline: Examples "Here's just a small sampling of the living shorelines we've helped install over the years. Check out this Tour of Living Shorelines for more."

Texas

• Texas Living Shorelines Program "Helping coastal communities protect their shoreline property and the environment using natural solutions"

• Living Shorelines: Planting Guidance

Virginia

• Carl Hershner Teaching Marsh "Discover coastal wetlands and their valuable ecosystem services at this outdoor classroom."

• Center for Coastal Resources Management: Shoreline Evaluation Programs "Site visits and recommendations for shorefront property owners are provided by Master Gardener volunteers. Center staff support these programs with technical advice and training sessions."

Prefabricated Products

Items and companies listed in this section are just examples of what we were able to find or that were recommended/mentioned by existing living shoreline or rewilding projects. We are not specifically advocating for them from personal experience. The descriptions and claims are from the companies themselves.

• The Use of Non-Plastic Materials for Oyster Reef and Shoreline Restoration: Understanding What Is Needed and Where the Field Is Headed (PDF) "Oyster and shoreline restoration is occurring around the globe to recover lost ecosystem services. In the state of Florida, USA, dozens of estuarine habitat restoration projects are underway. These projects have traditionally relied on both natural and man-made materials, including plastics. As the impacts of plastics on marine ecosystems are better understood, practitioners are increasingly focused on plastic-free restoration..."

North America

USA

North Carolina

• Natrx Custom Modules "for a habitat-specific resilience solution. A highly flexible, project-specific, coastal resilience solution that’s safer and faster to install than traditional methods, promotes habitat-growth and ecological benefits, and gets stronger over time."

International

• WILDCOAST "is an international team that conserves coastal and marine ecosystems and addresses climate change through natural solutions."

Europe

• OSPAR "is the mechanism by which 15 Governments & the EU cooperate to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic.
  
  OSPAR started in 1972 with the Oslo Convention against dumping and was broadened to cover land-based sources of marine pollution and the offshore industry by the Paris Convention of 1974. These two conventions were unified, up-dated and extended by the 1992 OSPAR Convention. The new annex on biodiversity and ecosystems was adopted in 1998 to cover non-polluting human activities that can adversely affect the sea.
  
  The fifteen Governments are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
  
  OSPAR is so named because of the original Oslo and Paris Conventions ("OS" for Oslo and "PAR" for Paris)."

Training & Certification Opportunities

North America

USA

Delaware

• Delaware Living Shorelines Committee: Trainings and Workshops "This in-depth virtual training is for those interested in beginning to understand the process and components of living shoreline design."

Florida

• Florida's Living Shorelines Training Program for Marine Contractors "[work to] increase the number of marine contractors who can assess dynamic eroding shorelines and provide solutions featuring living shorelines where feasible, to make living shorelines a more accessible option to the public for shoreline stabilization." Scroll down to see a list of locations and times.

Michigan

• Michigan Certified Natural Shoreline Professional (CNSP) Training "The Certified Natural Shoreline Professional (CNSP) training was created to provide contractors and landscape professionals with the information and skills they need to design and implement lake healthy erosion control using natural materials and bio-engineering practices to protect Michigan's inland lakes."

Virginia

• Carl Hershner Teaching Marsh "Discover coastal wetlands and their valuable ecosystem services at this outdoor classroom."

• Tidal Wetlands Workshops "Annual workshops are held for the tidal shoreline management community in Virginia.  These events cover a variety of scientific, policy and management topics.  They also provide networking opportunities for local and state agency staff, Wetlands Boards, non-governmental organizations, private consultants and contractors, citizen scientists and other participants."

• The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) "plays an important role in marine-science education for a wide variety of audiences and age levels."

Maps

North America

Connecticut

• Living Shoreline Projects of Long Island Sound Interactive map. Click the duck icons to see photos and read about the projects

Delaware

• The Delaware Estuary Living Shoreline Initiative "Presented by Partnership of the Delaware Estuary" Full of photos, interactive before/after photos, map of PDE installations, and more.

Florida

• CBA Living Shoreline Sites (Interactive map with photos) "CBA's living shoreline initiative consists of naturalized shoreline restoration sites ranging from softer protection techniques, such as the planting of shoreline grasses, to robust shoreline protection through constructed oyster reef breakwaters. These restoration techniques provide critical feeding, nursery, and refuge habitat for estuarine species. The oyster reefs also provide a hard surface for oysters to settle on and grow, improving water quality and oyster populations in the Choctawhatchee Bay."

• Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission: Marine & Estuarine Habitats Map Interactive

Texas

• Guide to Living Shorelines in Texas (pdf) contains maps of:

  • the Galveston Bay area

  • the Texas coastline, demonstrating where the most living shorelines have been installed and who owns them (NGOs, HOAs, government, etc.)

  • Permitting offices and their zones along the coastline

• Living Shorelines: Case Studies & Maps interactive maps of the Texas shoreline.

Virginia

• Living Shorelines: Beaches and Dunes "In higher-energy settings, projects that enhance, create, and protect beaches and dunes can provide long-term protection to the shoreline.
  
  Natural features can be used for shoreline protection while improving water quality and habitat value for coastal resilience.
  
  Explore case studies that highlight the use of these natural and nature-based features to adapt to climate impacts."

• Living Shorelines: Marshes and Oysters "In lower energy settings, living shorelines can provide long-term protection, restoration, and enhancement of vegetated shoreline habitats through the strategic placement of plants, stone, sand fill and other structural or organic materials.
  
  These natural features can be used for shoreline protection while improving water quality and habitat value for coastal resilience.
  
  Explore case studies that highlight the use of these natural and nature-based features to adapt to climate impacts."

Funding & Grants

Europe

UK

Scotland

• SMEEF Restoration Toolkit "Whether you are starting your first coastal or marine restoration or enhancement project, or have been working on an established programme, this toolkit aims to guide you through the maze of supporting information available.
  
  Each section covers the key facts and there are links to the latest advice. The Toolkit also enables you to create a bespoke action list for your group.
  
  Please note this toolkit is a live document and will be updated regularly. If you believe there may be something missing or incorrect, please email us..."

North America

USA

• Caring for our Coast Gulf Region Grant Program "Restore America’s Estuaries is excited to partner with CITGO to facilitate the Caring for our Coast grants to organizations and groups hosting locally-based volunteer events in the Gulf of Mexico region. These grants are intended to provide coastal groups with funding to host beach clean-ups, estuary restoration, or other educational/outreach events."

Florida

• Florida Sea Grant "is a university-based program that supports research, education and extension to conserve coastal resources for residents and visitors and enhance economic opportunities for the people of Florida."

• Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund "This includes projects that address on-the-ground habitat restoration; water quality improvement; applied research and monitoring; and community-based social marketing campaigns. Proposals that benefit historically underserved and overburdened communities are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to proposals that are aligned with conservation objectives and priorities described below.
  
  Awards typically range from $25,000-$250,000. A minimum 1:1 match of cash or in-kind/contributed goods and services is required. Eligible applicants include local, state, and federal governments; non-profit organizations; and educational institutions. Projects should not exceed a three-year timeline from contract execution to completion."

Texas

• Living Shorelines: Funding Opportunities "Living shoreline projects cost money, and the larger the project, the higher the cost; therefore, additional financial resources to complete the project may be required. The following options are available, even for land outside of the Texas General Land Office’s jurisdiction."

• Restore The Texas Coast "Coastal Restoration Funding for Texas from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill" The right side of this page appears to have listings of additional funding sources such as from civil penalties and various organizations.

Further Reading