If you follow news about the Port Royal Sound, you have seen several headlines over the last year or two about millions of dollars coming into the area to install “living shorelines.” What are they, and why do we want to spend so much money on them? Great questions. Let’s start by talking about shorelines in general – the line where water meets land. In the Port Royal Sound watershed, that line moves dramatically with each tidal cycle (8.5 feet on average) – moving either forwards or backward over gradually sloping land or up and down along the steep banks of creeks and rivers. As you can imagine, the perpetual energy produced by tides, waves, winds, and other natural forces acting on shorelines means they are constantly changing and shifting. But for the most part, those forces of change are countered by the stabilizing forces of deep roots from marsh grasses and trees, as well as dunes that keep the sand and soil along shorelines mostly in place.
Now, add people to this mix! People love shorelines, especially when they are clear of trees, bushes, and grasses. The problem is that when we clear shorelines of vegetation, we remove the stabilizing force that counters the energy of our waterways. This makes shorelines more vulnerable to erosion. Historically, the instinct has been to reinforce these eroding shorelines by building barriers and walls out of rocks and wood, resulting in what we now refer to as ‘hardened shorelines. ’ This seems like a logical solution to the problem based on our Promethean instincts. Still, in many cases, it is actually exacerbating the erosion problem by deflecting the wave energy into new areas. Adding these hard artificial structures also disrupts the natural systems associated with shorelines, which results in the destruction of suitable habitats and food sources for fish, crabs, shorebirds, and other animals that depend on shorelines to survive.
Plot twist: add the effects of climate change to this mix, and we have even more challenges! Sea levels are rising higher than what hardened shorelines were designed for, and extreme weather events are more frequent, causing more energy in the form of wind, waves, and storm surges. Shorelines are under pressure, and hardened shorelines are taking it especially hard (pun intended). There has to be a better way to protect shorelines while still maintaining the vitality of our ecosystem…
Image by Frank McShane. Source: Delaware Living Shorelines
Enter living shorelines! As opposed to artificially hardened shorelines, living shorelines are “a nature-based approach to coastal protection that uses natural techniques and materials like oyster shells, reef blocks, and plants to stabilize shorelines and enhance near-shore habitats,” as our partners at The Nature Conservancy define them. With more than 2,000 miles of shoreline in the Port Royal Sound, constructing living shorelines is becoming the preferred solution to protecting and stabilizing waterfront properties, including important places like MCRD Parris Island (with 157 miles of shoreline), the military housing community of Laurel Bay, and other increasingly vulnerable locations. That’s why we see millions of dollars coming into the region to stabilize and protect shorelines using these ‘nature-based solutions’!
Throughout the Port Royal Sound, there are several different living shoreline strategies being used, mostly involving structures to support the growth of oyster reefs. In fact, you can see several different approaches that the SC Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) has been testing right off the dock at the Maritime Center next time you’re here. You can learn more about installing living shorelines on your own property from SC Department of Environmental Services.
Starting in April and over the next few months, there are several living shoreline installation projects taking place across the Sound, many of which are looking for strong and hearty volunteers to help! The SCDNR and Coastal Conservation League are holding several workdays to install Manufactured Wire Reefs off the shores of Parris Island, and The Nature Conservancy is working with the MC Air Base Beaufort to install oyster castles off of Laurel Bay on the Broad River. If you want to volunteer to build living shorelines for the Port Royal Sound, check out our Citizen Science page to find volunteer opportunities and sign up!