ALTERNATIVE SHORELINE MANAGEMENT IN COASTAL MISSISSIPPI

Project supported via financial assistance provided by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, administered by the Office of the Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. Team Members • MS Department of Marine Resources – Bureau of Wetland Permitting • Willa Brantley, Director • Jennifer Wittmann, Deputy Director

• Allen Engineering and Science – Science, Engineering, and Planning Divisions • Melissa Pringle, Ph.D. • Tammy Wisco, P.E. and AICP • Kimberly Miller, AICP • Paul Lanning, RLA GOALS OF ALTERNATIVE SHORELINE MANAGEMENT

Protect and Preserve Mississippi’s Natural Shorelines in Conjunction with Shoreline Stabilization Practices PROCESS

• Assessment • Research • Report of Findings • Manual Development • Stakeholder Engagement HARD SHORELINE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

• Bulkheads • Revetment • Groins • Rock Sills • Breakwaters

Hard Shoreline Management Practices Often Used in Areas with High Wave Action, High Erosion Rates, and Steep Slopes HARD SHORELINE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

∗ Revetment- Sloped seawall made of concrete or

∗ Groin - Series of timber, rock, vinyl or • Bulkhead - Vertical concrete structure of timber, steel, structures built vinyl or concrete placed perpendicular parallel to eroding shoreline to shoreline in high wave energy locations DISADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED WITH HARDENED SHORELINES

• Interrupt natural processes • Block long-shore transport • Increase erosion along adjacent shorelines • Habitat loss • loss • Prevent natural migration of wetlands and sediment • Drown vegetation • Costly ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Extreme High Tide & Storms

Mean High Tide

Mean Low Tide

Irregularly Flooded Regularly Flooded

TIDAL MARSH SAV LIVING BREAKWATER

UPLAND BANKFACE COASTAL WETLANDS & BEACH STRAND SUBTIDAL WATERS

Native Trees/ Deep rooted native Wetland plants matched to tidal hydrology & salinity Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) Shrubs grasses & shrubs on Sills, stone surface groins, marsh toe revetments, marshy islands, etc… Artificial oyster reefs banks matched to wave, climate & shoreline environment Living Breakwaters Natural Fiber Matting LIVING OR SOFT SHORELINE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES • Clean or Dredge Fill • Re -grading & Re-vegetating • Planting Upland Vegetation • Planting Wetland Vegetation • Anchoring Natural Fiber Logs with Vegetation • Natural Fiber Matting with Vegetation • Geotextile Tubes filled with Clean Dredge Fill • Living Breakwaters • Oyster Reefs or Use of Oyster Balls LIVING OR SOFT SHORELINES

∗ Coir Log- Anchored natural fiber log with marsh grass planting

∗ Natural Fiber Matting & Logs- • Marsh Grass Plantings- Stabilize slope and Native plants introduced at the allow for regrowth of shoreline to minimize erosion. vegetation LIVING OR SOFT SHORELINES

∗ Living ∗ Geotextile Breakwaters- Tubes Rock, oyster Tubes - filled with sediment, shell timber etc. placed underwater seeded with or on beach to oyster spat and stabilize shore and planted with wetlands vegetation

∗ Oyster Reef – Natural reefs and oyster balls introduced to dissipate wave energy HYBRID SHORELINE MANAGEMENT

Angle of Repose • Sill with Planted Marsh

Rock • Marsh Toe Revetment • Breakwater with Filter Fabric Transitional Wetland

Note: Overtopping Wave Energy Dissipated by Native Plants HYBRID SHORELINES

∗ Breakwater with Transitional Wetland- imilar to Angle of Repose S Sill, but used in the Rock Mean High Water event of greater Marsh Rock Filter Fabric Plantings water depth, slope of shoreline, higher Note: Overtopping Wave Energy Dissipated by Native Plants wave action

Fill Material (If Necessary) ∗ Mean Low Water Erosion Marsh Toe Escarpment Marsh Revetment- Erosion Escarpment

Mean High Water Stone structure • Sill with Planted Marsh placed at marsh

– Low elevation stone Rock edge to stabilize structure near shore traps Filter Cloth eroding marsh sediment and promotes plant Mean Low Water growth Tools for Choosing the Right Management Strategy

#1 Identify Your Shoreline Type • Natural or Hardened Shoreline #2 Prioritize Management Goals • Slope • Erosion Prevention • Erosion Rates • Water Quality Improvement • Wave Energy • Fish Production • Water Depth • Habitat Diversity • Offshore Ground Surface • Recreational Benefits • Salinity • Fetch • Longshore Sediment Transport DECISION TOOLS

#3 Match your shoreline to best management practices

Practice and Site Conditions Shoreline Type Slope Rate of Erosion Wave Energy Water Depth Fetch General Practices Marsh Cove Beach Hardened Low Medium High Low Medium High Low Medium High Shallow Moderate Deep Long Medium Long

Marsh Plantings

Coir Logs

Beach Nourishment

Oyster Reefs/Balls Sills with Plantings/ Hybrids Breakwaters

Bulkhead

Legend: Best management strategy Good management strategy Least Effective management strategy Decision Tools

#4 Determine which best management practices meet your goals DECISION TOOLS

#5 Identify Pros & Cons to Potential Management Strategies GETTING STARTED Steps to Implementing your Shoreline Management Strategy

TIDAL WATERS FRESH WATERS

SECTION 404 Disposal of SECTION 404 Disposal of Dredged of Fill Material (all waters of Dredged of Fill Material the U.S.)

SECTION 10 All Structures and Work SECTION 10 All UPLANDS Structures and Work (If the water course is a navigable water of the U.S.)

High Tide Line Mean High Water (MHW) Ordinary High Water

(Absence of wetland vegetation) COASTAL WETLANDS FRESH WATER WETLANDS (Vegetation associated with TIDELANDS salt or brackish (Swamps, water) Bogs, Marshes, etc.) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS & REGULATIONS GETTING YOUR PROJECT UNDERWAY

1. Examine your neighbors’ shorelines 2. Assess your shoreline to determine size, feasibility and type of shoreline management 3. Request a pre-application meeting with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources 4. Hire contractor 5. Develop design & cost estimate 6. Apply for necessary permits 7. Obtain permits Mississippi Gulf Living Shoreline Project Examples

• Gulf Hills • Keegan Inlet • Grand Bay NERR LIVING SHORELINE: GULF HILLS ON OLD FORT BAYOU

• Shoreline Type: Bayou Cove • Project Length: 200 feet • Problem Addressed: Erosion from road culvert channeling high velocity waters, nearby bulkheads • Strategy Chosen: Hybrid Natural Fiber Coir Logs with rip rap LIVING SHORELINE: KEEGAN BAYOU INLET

Before • Shoreline Type: Mouth of Bayou • Project Length: approx. 125 feet • Boat Wake Exposure: Moderate • Problem Addressed: After Degraded habitat, erosion, aesthetics of abandoned bridge • Strategy Chosen: Marsh Planting Grand Bay NERR

The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve installed a living shoreline restoration project at the Bayou Heron boat ramp to demonstrate an environmentally friendly and low cost alternative to shoreline hardening practices. The project used natural coconut husk fibers (coir) in compacted logs. The logs, when utilized with backfilled sand and planted vegetation (Juncus roemerianus) are stabilizing the shoreline. Local elementary school children helped install the living shoreline. PLANT SPECIES FOR MISSISSIPPI LIVING SHORELINES

• Grasses, Sedges & Rushes • Wildflowers • Trees & Shrubs GRASSES, SEDGES AND RUSHES EXAMPLES

∗ Black needlerush * Seaoats (Uniola (Juncus roemerianus) paniculata) FORBES AND WILDFLOWERS EXAMPLES

∗ American searocket * Seaside goldenrod (Cakile edentula) (Solidago sempervirens) TREES AND SHRUBS EXAMPLES

∗ Buttonwood * Seashore elder (Conocarpus erectus) (Iva imbricata) Educational Materials Educational Materials Educational Materials Educational Materials QUESTIONS?

Bureau of Wetland Permitting MS Department of Marine Resources Biloxi, MS www.dmr.ms.gov 228-374-5000