South Carolina boasts more salt marsh than any other state on the East Coast. These rich coastal wetlands provide critical habitat for birds, fish, oysters, and crabs. The marsh grasses and oyster reefs also buffer the impacts of storms, protecting the land. However, South Carolina’s coastline and salt marshes are disappearing at an alarming rate due to sea level rise and erosion.
In response, long-time NOAA partner The Nature Conservancy is significantly expanding the use of nature-based solutions like living shorelines along the state’s entire coast. NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation awarded the nonprofit $6.8 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act for this work. The Nature Conservancy and its local partners are:
- Constructing a 2,000-foot-long living shoreline near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to serve as a model for future projects
- Designing and building multiple living shorelines on the properties of coastal residents living in under resourced communities
- Creating an implementation plan for future large-scale living shorelines throughout the state
- Engaging members of the Environmental Conservation Corps, an accredited AmeriCorps program through The Corps Network, in leading pre- and post-monitoring of the oyster castle reefs, constructing wire reef cages for oyster reef substrate, and building living shorelines
- Partnering with members of historically marginalized communities such as the Gullah Geechee, who will serve as ambassadors for local living shoreline projects
“This project expands NOAA’s long-term investment in nature-based solutions for enhanced ecosystem resilience and helps coastal communities adapt to sea level rise,” says Lindsay French, NOAA Marine Habitat Resource Specialist.
The Living Shoreline Solution
Since 2010, the average sea level in Charleston has increased by 7 inches. It is predicted to rise by at least another foot by 2050. Surging waters from storms and boat wakes eat up much of the state’s shoreline, at an average rate of almost 2 inches annually. Rising sea levels and erosion threaten both the marsh ecosystem and coastal communities. The Gullah Geechee, descendants of enslaved people who have lived along the coast for centuries, face the loss of their homes and cultural heritage.
Scientists from NOAA and The Nature Conservancy believe living shorelines may offer the best solution for people and wildlife. Both organizations have built dozens of smaller scale living shorelines in South Carolina. With NOAA funding, The Nature Conservancy is working with the South Carolina Office of Resilience to establish living shorelines as a go-to solution for coastal erosion in the state.
Hardened shorelines such as seawalls are common in coastal states. But they severely limit the extent and function of coastal habitats, including marsh and oysters. “I grew up in the Gulf of Mexico and saw Mobile Bay, Alabama, turn into a bathtub at one point because it had hardened shorelines around the whole bay,” says Joy Brown, Resilient Communities Program Director for The Nature Conservancy. “We don’t want to see that in South Carolina. We want to see healthy marsh habitat so people can continue to use it for fishing and recreation.”
Living shorelines stabilize coastlines by reducing the impacts of waves and rising sea levels. They are made of materials that promote the growth of marsh grasses and commercially important species like oysters and crabs. They help support the state’s fishing economy, worth more than $300 million. A 2019 study by The Nature Conservancy (PDF, 181 pages) found that coastal sites could offset almost 80 percent of tidal habitat loss with careful conservation and management.
Building Model Living Shoreline with the Marine Corps
In 2022, Brown connected with an important strategic partner—the Department of Defense—to help her bring this vision to light. “At a climate resilience meeting in 2022, Joy Brown told me she was trying to get a NOAA grant for living shorelines,” says Gary Herndon, Natural and Cultural Resources Manager for Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. “I said, ‘You know what? I think I know the perfect spot for what you’re doing. Erosion is impacting housing units adjacent to Laurel Bay near the base. Some trees already have their roots exposed and are starting to topple over and die.’”
Brown and Herndon hope that the 2,000-foot-long living shoreline will be a model for future projects with the Department of Defense and other major coastal players. This spring, volunteers from the local community, the Marines, and the Sustainability Institute’s Environmental Conservation Corps began building the shoreline. They will use almost 42,000 “oyster castles,” four-walled interlocking concrete blocks that attract oyster larvae.
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