Preserving, creating or enhancing natural systems such as marshes, beaches and dunes, protect shorelines from erosion.

Traditional coastal infrastructures often increase the rate of coastal erosion, disconnecting land and ocean while providing little natural habitat for estuarine species.

Create living shorelines by:

  • Planting riparian, marsh, and submerged aquatic vegetation;
  • Installing organic materials such as bio-logs and organic fiber mats;
  • Managing, restoring, enhancing or creating new wetlands, coral reefs and habitats; and
  • Constructing oyster reefs or “living breakwaters” that dissipates wave energy before reaching the shore.