MASGC Focus on Living Shorelines

Living Shorelines
A living shoreline uses living plant material, oyster shells, earthen material, or a combination of natural structures with riprap or offshore breakwaters to protect property from erosion. Erosion is caused by wind, water, and wave action and results in loss of residential and commercial property, reduction of storm buffering capacity, aquatic and terrestrial habitat loss, increased suspended solids and water quality degradation.  To combat these effects, property owners often erect bulkheads or seawalls. While these methods are certainly effective, they also tend to alter or create a loss of natural habitat. Living shorelines present an ecological and economic alternative that may be viable for low-erosional settings.

Benefits of Living Shorelines

• Maintain natural coastal processes and shoreline dynamics.
• Create or preserve habitats for native species of aquatic flora and fauna.
• Preserve access for aquatic and terrestrial organisms.
• Maintain land-to-water access for property owners.
• Provide economical means of facilitating sediment accumulation, potentially resulting in formation of new land.
• Create a natural buffer to reduce effects of erosion.
• Trap and retain runoff and pollutants.

PowerPoint Presentations from the Alabama and Mississippi Living Shorelines Workshop
November 29, 2007 at Spanish Fort, AL

You can download the agenda from the workshop in PDF format (173 KB).

• Welcome
  Dr. LaDon Swann, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium
• What are Living Shorelines?
  Dr. Chris Boyd, Mississippi State University and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium
• Florida Shoreline Protection Alternatives
  Eric Schneider, PBS&J
• Cost and Maintenance of Shoreline Alternatives
  Chris Boyd, Mississippi State University and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium
• Permitting Overview for Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida
  Josh Clemons, Mississippi-Alabama Legal Program
• Panel Discussion on Permitting Living Shorelines Structures
  Willa Henriksen, Wetlands Permitting, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
• Funding Opportunities
  Melody Ray-Culp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Funding Opportunities
  Leslie Craig, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

PowerPoint Presentations are available for the June 13, 2008 Living Shorelines Workshop at the Gulf Coast Community College, Panama City, Florida.

http://www.fws.gov/panamacity/species/Shoreline.html

PowerPoint Presentations are available for the June 17-18, 2010 Constructing Living Shorelines in Alabama and Mississippi at the Pelican Landing Conference Center, Moss Point, MS

http://www.gulfalliancetraining.com/detail.aspx?Id=22

Recommended Reading

• Homeowner's Guide to Permitting Living Shorelines in Mississippi and Alabama [MASGP 10-008-04] (PDF, 120 KB)
• Shoreline Protection Alternatives [MASGP 07-026] (PDF, 426 KB)
• Shoreline Protection Products: Cost Estimates [MASGP 07-031] (PDF, 164 KB)
• Alonzo Landing [MASGP 06-035] (PDF, 175 KB)
• Landscape Management and Native Plantings to Preserve the Beach between Biloxi and Pass Christian, Mississippi [MASGP 08-024] (PDF, 635 KB)
• Living Shorelines: State Regulations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida [MASGP 07-027] (PDF, 517 KB)

Important Sites

• http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/initiatives/definitions.html
• http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/restorationtechniques/public/shoreline_tab1.cfm
• http://score.dnr.sc.gov
• http://www.tampabaywatch.org
• http://www.masgc.org/mini/habitat.htm