Apalachicola Reserve Hosts Workshop on Living Shorelines

The Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) will host a workshop on Living Shorelines on Wednesday, December 9th, 2015, 2:00-4:30 pm.

The workshop will be held in conjunction with the Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserves Office in Pensacola.

Zach Schang, the Living Shoreline Program Manager, will talk about living shorelines vs. harden shorelines. He will discuss how to evaluate a shoreline by considering the physical factors such as wave energy, prevailing wind and wave direction, vegetation and soil type.

He will also present living shoreline methods, materials, permitting and share success stories of local living shorelines.

Shoreline erosion

Coastal erosion is a natural process. It is caused by currents, wave action, wind, storms and even boat wakes.

The traditional use of harden methods like seawalls and rip rap can often increase coastal erosion in neighboring properties and remove the ability of the shoreline to carry out natural processes.

Alternatively, living shorelines use plants, sand and limited use of oyster shells or rock to provide shoreline protection and maintain valuable habitat that stabilizes the shoreline, protects the surrounding riparian and intertidal environment, increases water quality via filtration of upland run-off and creates habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species.

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