Living Shorelines

Laura K. Reynolds, Natalie C. Stephens, Savanna C. Barry, and Ashley R. Smyth

Ashley Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, yEdward V. Camp

The purpose of this new 6-page document is to explain the types of ecosystem services provided by different types of living shorelines and how to quantify these values. The target audience for this document is local governments and municipalities that make decisions about developing, conserving, and restoring living shorelines; state management agencies that oversee broader scale habitat management; and finally, homeowners who will be immediately affected by any of these decisions. Written by Ashley R. Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna C. Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, and Edward V. Camp and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences.

Savanna Barry, Sara Martin, yEric Sparks

A UF/IFAS numbered peer reviewed Fact Sheet for Homeowner audience(s). in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Natural resources operations and Invasive Species

Savanna Barry, Sara Martin, and Eric Sparks

A UF/IFAS numbered peer reviewed Fact Sheet for Homeowner audience(s). in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Environmental Literacy and Sustainability

Ashley Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, yEdward V. Camp

Living shorelines are an increasingly popular way to protect and stabilize waterfronts for coastal property owners. Living shorelines provide valuable benefits to humans, including water quality improvement, habitat, fisheries, and carbon sequestration. Estimating the economic value of the ecosystem services living shorelines offer is an integral part of management decisions. The living shoreline valuation tool can help quantify the costs and benefits of living shorelines projects. This publication briefly describes the ecosystem services associated with living shorelines. The purpose of this publication is to introduce the ecosystem service valuation tool. Our target audience for the living shoreline evaluation tool includes natural resource extension agents, community organizations, and coastal homeowners who want to calculate the value of ecosystem services provided by coastal restoration projects, including living shorelines. 

Jesse Crawford, Ollie Montgomery, Marjorie Shropshire, Vincent Encomio, Savanna Barry, Laura K. Reynolds, Christine Rohal, Christine Rohal, Xiao Yu, Ashley McDonald, Holly Abeels, Annie Roddenberry, yCarrie Reinhardt Adams

The goal of this publication is to provide a roadmap of UF/IFAS and internet-accessible resources to living shorelines that will help coastal property owners or natural resource practitioners focused on coastal management. This information applies to the implementation of living shorelines on both private and managed lands. Across Florida, living shorelines are becoming a frequently used management tool for shoreline protection. Coastal armoring, in the form of seawalls, bulkheads, and concrete riprap, create an unnatural barrier to natural processes and can exacerbate sediment loss. As an alternative, living shorelines are shoreline stabilization methods that use planted vegetation and/or oyster reefs, sometimes in combination with other structures, to protect coastal properties. To most effectively plan a living shoreline, knowing when and where to start can be difficult. This publication maps out the broad steps for developing a living shoreline from start to finish.