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BEFORE: The Occohannock on the Bay Living Shoreline Project near the mouth of Occohannock Creek in Accomack County. Photo courtesy of VIMS.
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AFTER: The Occohannock on the Bay Living Shoreline Project near the mouth of Occohannock Creek in Accomack County. Photo courtesy of VIMS.
Rising waters and increasing storm intensity on the tidal shorelines and estuarine coasts of the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of our region lead to erosion and poor water quality.
Rebuilding and restoring these eroded shorelines and estuarine coasts comes down to natural versus man-made or living versus inanimate. Think abundant oysters filtering water and healthy, resilient wetlands and marshes in contrast to bulkheads and riprap.
That’s essentially the key difference between what’s known as living shorelines and hardened shorelines. A living shoreline is about protection and working in concert with nature to protect the coastlines, tidal wetlands, and marshes.
Living shoreline contractors in the region include:
• Earth Resources, owned by Dan Brown in Lancaster. It’s a family-owned company noted for the quality of its shoreline work that celebrated its 40th year of business in 2024.
• Eco Construction, Burgess.
• Docks of the Bay, White Stone.
• Bayshore Design, Westmoreland County.
Craig Palubinski of Bayshore Design said the benefits of a living shoreline include that the newly created wetlands help filter pollutants, improve water quality, and provide habitat for marine life.
It’s pleasing to the eye, and the better water quality makes for better fishing, swimming, oyster growing and other recreational pursuits. Not to mention better conditions for neighbors and a way to support local marine and seafood industries.
Anthony Marchetti of Docks of the Bay in Irvington describes a living shoreline as a great option to protect your property while offering a favorable environment for natural habitat. Think of it as a “soft” edge versus a “hard” edge.
“A living shoreline consists of a sill, usually made from rock or other suitable products such as Natrx, that is placed at the Mean Low Tide (MLW) mark and extends no more than 12 inches above Mean High Tide,” Marchetti said. “This sill acts to dissipate wave action on the shoreline.”
Contractors then place sand behind the sill and place natural low marsh and high marsh plantings. “The sill and plantings help hold the sand in place, and as the plantings grow and propagate, they catch and hold more sand, thus building and stabilizing the shoreline,” Marchetti said.
A Growing Interest in Living Shorelines
Donna Milligan, an associate research scientist in the Shoreline Studies Program in Coastal & Ocean Processes at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) at Gloucester Point, said interest in living shorelines has grown at all levels as a way to increase habitat restoration and protection. This includes interest from researchers, public and private property owners, and grant or loan funders.
“For most property owners, living shorelines are about shore protection, meaning that they want to stop losing their property,” Milligan said. “They are connected to the Bay and generally want to do their part to restore or create habitats; however, it comes down to being able to afford it.”
For the last 40 years, in the VIMS Shoreline Studies Program, researchers and scientists, including Scott Hardaway and Milligan, have worked to research and develop living shoreline management opportunities along the Bay using living shorelines. Milligan said that building living shorelines has exploded in the past few years.
There are a few reasons for that. Both Milligan and Palubinski pointed to state policy requiring living shorelines. Senate Bill 776, passed in 2020, requires property owners to construct living shorelines “unless the best science shows that such approaches are not suitable.” If a living shoreline isn’t suitable, the state requires elements of it to be incorporated into permitted projects.
Palubinski said a hardened shoreline approach is considered justified in cases where:
- Deep nearshore water depths that would require much greater project construction cost.
- Navigation, because living shorelines are pushed off-shore and could be detrimental to navigation if they’re in a tight waterway.
- North-facing shorelines with tall, wooded, but relatively stable banks as shaded shorelines aren’t conducive to wetlands vegetation growth.
- High-energy shorelines.
Milligan said other reasons for the rise in interest in living shorelines include a better economy. A better economy means more people have second homes on the Bay and the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula tributaries. There has also been a concerted educational push for living shorelines and funding opportunities from regional, state, and federal agencies.
In addition, Milligan said, over the last 10 years, the VIMS Shoreline Studies Program has provided training for contractors to design living shorelines for medium-high energy shorelines. In the last year, the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals have developed a certification program for low-energy shorelines and non-engineered structures in Virginia—for example, marsh planting and oyster castles. The program is expanding into Maryland this year.
“These educational programs increase the supply of contractors able to educate property owners and implement living shorelines,” Milligan said.
The owner of ECO Construction in Burgess, Otis Cockrell, said the one big change he’s seen in living shorelines over the past 30 years is “a whole lot more permits.” Plus, one of the challenges he sees for property owners in Northumberland County is that about 30% of the shorelines are hardened.
“You’ve cut off a natural supply of sand,” Cockrell said. Historically, there was a “give and take” as sand shifted naturally along the shorelines.
“Now it’s more take than give because the give has been taken away,” Cockrell said.
One of the markers Cockrell looks for when considering a living shoreline on a property is marsh grass. “That’s how nature meant to protect the shoreline, and that works really well,” he said.
If he doesn’t see marsh grass, Cockrell works with the property owner to understand why there’s no marsh grass. “If there’s no marsh grass, then there’s a reason,” he said. “I’m skeptical about trying to create something that’s not there.”
About the Cost
A living shoreline sounds great, right? The catch is that living shorelines can be spendy. Palubinski said the typical cost per linear foot of a living shoreline is specific to the site. He said the optimal timeframe for installing living shorelines is March through the end of June.
But first, here are some definitions of the types of shorelines courtesy of VIMS.
- Low energy: Has a narrow fetch of generally less than 1/2-mile. These are in the upper reaches of tidal creeks or tidal coves and have limited navigation by motorized boats, along with no primary or secondary improvements in close proximity to the shoreline and/or minor erosion.
- Moderate energy: Has a fetch generally between 1/2-mile and two miles. It has some motorized boat traffic and wakes, primary or secondary improvements near the shoreline, and/or active erosion.
- High energy: Has a fetch generally greater than two miles. These are major tributaries, open bays and bayfront. They have numerous motorized boats and boat wakes that strike the shore. They have primary or secondary improvements in very close proximity to the shoreline and/or significant storm erosion.
Palubinski said the cost range for a low-energy shoreline that would need a rip rap sill with a 10-foot-wide marsh, including installing beach nourishment and plantings, would be $300-$350 per linear foot.
For moderate energy shorelines, the range can be $400-$500 per linear foot. He said the construction cost doesn’t factor in any bank grading or clearing that may be required.
However, grants are available through the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) to offset the costs to property owners. VCAP funding generally runs through the local Soil and Water Conservation District. It’s a “cost share” program that funds 80% of the cost with a maximum of $30,000.
The agreement with VCAP includes a 10-year maintenance agreement. The property owner must also provide VCAP with annual reports on the success of the shoreline.
Palubinski recommended first engaging the Shoreline Erosion Advisory Service (SEAS), an advisory service to waterfront property owners through the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. SEAS can provide technical assistance for shoreline stabilization. It’s a free service that is only advisory and not regulatory. Still, a SEAS report or recommendation is required if VCAP funding is considered.
The regional SEAS contact is Mike Vanlandingham at 804-443-1494 or mike.vanlandingham@dcr.virginia.gov.
The permitting process can be extensive. Homeowners or their contractors can obtain the required permits. According to Marchetti, the design and permitting process can range from three to nine months, with a longer timeframe needed to acquire grants.
“Installation usually takes one to two weeks, with plantings going in later after the sand has settled,” Marchetti said.
A living shoreline should be self-sustaining, Marchetti said. But it’s possible that a property owner may need to add additional sand and plantings to supplement the initial scope due to settling, storms, and natural selection.
Palubinski said maintenance generally includes surveying the planting area and replanting sparse areas as needed. Also, eradicate any invasive plants, clean out any debris in the marsh area, and trim back overhanging tree branches.
The Rewards—and Awards—of Living Shorelines
Milligan said what’s most rewarding to her is seeing the property owner’s excitement throughout the process, as well as the physical changes along the property.
“We don’t typically do many designs and construction projects for private properties—usually only when funded by a grant, but property owners get really excited when you talk to them about how the project will solve a problem that has worried them for some time as well as provide many benefits such as stopping erosion and safer water access for their family,” she said.
Milligan said the physical changes to sites are often stark and beautiful. Two of their sites won awards from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) last year for protecting shorelines, creating habitats and providing safe access.
The awards were for projects at:
- The Captain Sinclair’s Recreation Area on the Severn River in Gloucester County. The 100-acre tract is land donated to the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority. The project has dramatically increased the oyster population in the area. It has improved its coastal resiliency to provide public access in the future.
- The Occohannock on the Bay Living Shoreline Project near the mouth of Occohannock Creek in Accomack County on the Eastern Shore. The ASBPA calls it one of the premier projects implemented on Chesapeake Bay in the last 30 years.
“Knowing that these projects will continue providing these benefits into the future is important to me,” Milligan said.
VIMS also works on projects to protect archaeological artifacts along shorelines, such as at Werowocomoco, the village where Pocahontas and her father, Powhatan, lived in Gloucester. The site is destined to be a future national park.
Virginia Conservation Assistance Program: vaswcd.org/vcap I Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS): vims.edu/ccrm/outreach/living_shorelines