Living Shorelines

“Living shorelines” is an increasingly popular approach to erosion control that uses strategically placed plants, stone and sand to deflect wave action, conserve soil and simultaneously provide critical shoreline habitat. Living shorelines often stand up to wave energy better than solid bulkheads or revetments, which add to the problem by amplifying waves on neighboring shores. Living shorelines are a suite of techniques that offer property owners the opportunity to protect and restore their shoreline using more naturally-occurring systems like salt marsh and oyster reefs while also providing benefits to bays and estuaries.

Here is a link to an article on this subject.

Shoreline Erosion Control, The Natural Approach from Maryland DNR, explains how many shorelines and protected coves can benefit from an alternative, non-structural technique.

The Living Shorelines Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) was a collaborative project supported by several public and private entities to improve water quality and enhance habitat for living resources in the Chesapeake Bay through the shoreline management efforts of individual waterfront property owners.

A 2015 report by Restore America's Estuaries provides a national assessment of the barriers that are keeping living shorelines projects and programs from being more widely used. The report identifies three major obstacles to broader use of living shorelines: 1) institutional inertia; 2) lack of a broader planning context; and 3) lack of an advocate. To address these obstacles, the report identifies four broad strategies, including: 1) education and outreach; 2) regulatory reform; 3) improve institutional capacity; and 4) public agencies as role models. Each strategy identifies a number of specific and actionable recommendations for decision and policy makers.

Also see NOAA's information on living shorelines.