Success Story: Sunset Beach Living Shoreline

• Staff attended a North Carolina Coastal Federation workshop at an existing living shoreline at Veterans Park on Oak Island. Workshop attendees learned how the living shoreline was constructed. 
• In 2017, the town government secured funding from multiple sources and established a partnership with the North Carolina Coastal Federation to build the living shoreline. These partnerships helped them plan and construct the living shoreline within its Town Park. 
• The scoping and design process took place in latter half of 2017. In 2018, Sunset Beach hired a local consulting firm to finalize the plans and apply for permits. At the time, North Carolina project owners were required to apply to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Coastal Management (DCM) and the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for a permit. In 2019, DCM and USACE released a more streamlined regulatory process. Through the new process, living shoreline projects under 500 linear feet only need to obtain a permit from DCM. Projects over 500 linear feet still require a permit from USACE. As of June 2023, the new permit approval process only takes a few weeks and costs $200. 
• During the permitting process, project managers moved the project forward in other ways. They obtained construction material and used an outreach campaign to promote the project and recruit volunteers. 
• During the first two volunteer events, an estimated 150 individuals filled 3,000 bags with recycled oyster shells and gravel granite for the oyster reef sill (North Carolina Coastal Federation, 2019). During the third event, approximately 150 volunteers used the oyster and gravel bags to construct the 60-by-6-foot oyster reef-marsh sill structure. The Town then constructed two 50-by-8-foot oyster reef-marsh sill structures using the oyster domes with guidance from the Coastal Federation. During the final event, 30 volunteers planted native Spartina alterniflora (PDF) and Spartina patens (PDF) marsh grasses and other vegetation. The town government completed the living shoreline in summer 2019. 
• As the recipient of the project permit, the Town is responsible for monitoring the impacts of the living shoreline and making living shoreline repairs, as needed. However, the NC Coastal Federation assists with shoreline monitoring and repairs. Volunteers run transects through the marsh to measure density and diversity of the marsh plant species. They also test different aspects of water quality, measure new oyster growth and examine the different species inhabiting the reef.

The Town complemented the living shoreline project with stormwater run-off reduction measures nearby. The Town Park captures stormwater runoff and enables it to soak into the ground instead of contaminating the adjacent living shoreline.

• The Town of Sunset Beach received a $35,000 grant from Duke Energy’s Water Resource Fund for staff time and construction material. Sunset Beach supported the project with additional funds from its annual operating budget. 
• The North Carolina Coastal Federation used funding from a National Coastal Resilience grant. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded this grant so the NC Coastal Federation could support several living shorelines in North Carolina. 
• Sunset Vision, a local community group, provided funding for an informational kiosk (Sunset Vision, 2020).

Town of Sunset Beach, North Carolina Coastal Federation, East Coast Engineering and Surveying, Inc. (permit consultant), volunteers

• The 200 feet of living shoreline restored coastline along the Intercoastal Waterway (North Carolina Coastal Federation, 2020).
• The living shoreline’s components — oyster domes, a marsh sill and native marsh grasses — control erosion by buffering waves and wakes. The oyster domes are made of nearly 3,000 bags of recycled oyster shells.
• The shoreline enables salt marsh and oyster reefs to thrive while providing aquatic plants and animals with an enhanced habitat.
• Restoring oyster and saltwater marsh habitat improves local water quality. An adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day.
• The artificial reef and saltwater marsh provide the town with flood management benefits. The natural structure slows and disperses coastal floodwaters across the shoreline.
• An informational kiosk describes the benefits of nature-based adaptation strategies. 
• In 2022, the Town installed an additional 60-foot-long oyster dome and shell bag oyster reef-marsh sill, bringing the total project length to 260 feet.
• With promotion and volunteer events, the project increased community awareness of nature-based adaptation and resilience tools.

Seek input from as many community members as possible. Because of community outreach, project managers in Sunset Beach learned of another project underway. The newly discovered project sought to install rip rap along the shoreline of the park and dredge an adjacent creek. The second project required project managers to alter the initial designs of the living shoreline. Seeking input from community members also enabled a project design that fits within residents’ vision for the property.

Current and future land uses are important factors to consider when implementing a living shoreline. The surrounding built environment can have a significant impact on the performance and durability of restored coastal area.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2022, October 12). Understanding Living Shorelines. Retrieved from NOAA Fisheries: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-living-shorelines

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2016, April 6). Living Shorelines. Retrieved from Habitat Blueprint: https://www.habitatblueprint.noaa.gov/living-shorelines/#:~:text=Shorelines%20having%20intact%20natural%20coastal,more%20resilient%20than%20hardened%20shorelines.

North Carolina Coastal Federation. (2019, January 22). Volunteers help build living shoreline project at Sunset Beach. Retrieved from https://www.nccoast.org/2019/01/volunteers-help-build-living-shoreline-project-at-sunset-beach/

North Carolina Coastal Federation. (2020, September 02). Sunset Beach Living Shoreline. Retrieved from https://www.nccoast.org/project/sunset-beach-living-shoreline/

Sunset Vision. (2020, January 16). Sign educates park visitors on the living shorelines project. Retrieved from Sunset.vision.org: https://www.sunsetvision.org/post/living-shoreline