Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Living Shoreline Sea-Level Resiliency: Performance And Adaptive Management Of Existing Sites Year 3 Summary Report, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox, Nick J. Dinapoli

Reports

The focus of this study was to research the resiliency of rock/sand/plant living shoreline protection systems. These systems have been used in Chesapeake Bay for 40 years to reduce erosion, protect infrastructure, and create habitat that is disappearing from the shoreline as sea level rises. The goal was to determine how they have been affected by storm surge and associated wind-driven waves, sea-level rise. This data informed adaptive management strategies to create site-specific morphologically-resilient projects.

The objectives of this 3-year project is monitoring the effectiveness of nature-based resilience projects over time such as those that use hybrid living shoreline management …

Hog Island Shore Protection And Habitat Restoration Living Shoreline Project, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Hog Island is an emergent estuarine marsh complex that is part of the overall Guinea marshes (Figure 1). These marshes are located at the confluence of Mobjack Bay and the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia. Hog Island is a high wave energy eroding shoreline along its south-face on the York River, and lower wave energy along its west and east flanks that occur on Monday Creek (Figure 2). The marsh consists mainly of grasses such as Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens. A higher, sandy area along the higher energy shorelines has some scrub shrub. Two small ponds and a …

Pamunkey Indian Reservation Shoreline Management Plan, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox

Reports

In 2015, the federal government officially recognized the Pamunkey Indian tribe. The tribe has a reservation located on the Pamunkey River in King William County (Figure 1-1) and is one of the nation's oldest, dating back to 1646 (Encyclopedia Virginia, 2015). The Reservation has about 13 miles of shoreline encompassing about 1,100 acres. According to the National Wetlands Inventory (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2016), the Reservation has about 80 acres of freshwater emergent wetland and 530 acres of freshwater forested/shrub wetland. Approximately 90 people live on the Reservation and up to 600 people visit in a year.

The goal …

Targeted Living Shoreline Management Planning For Virginia State Parks In Chesapeake Bay Summary Report, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox

Reports

The Commonwealth of Virginia owns numerous tidal, waterfront properties along Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries including state parks, natural area preserves, and wildlife management areas. Many of these parks have eroding shorelines and are at risk from coastal hazards such as tidal flooding, waves, and sea level rise. These environmental threats impact the safety of park visitors and the mission of the parks.

In an effort to address these issues for the parks as well as provide education to the public on living shoreline management strategies, eleven state parks with tidal shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries were …

Oyster Bag Sill Construction And Monitoring At Two Sites In Chesapeake Bay, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox, Walter I. Priest

Reports

The use of oyster shell bags as a means of shore protection along fetchlimited shorelines in Chesapeake Bay is growing. This method is an innovative use of a byproduct of the seafood industry and can provide habitat creation, water quality improvement, and shore protection. The landowner can install the bags themselves, and with the new living shoreline general permit in Virginia, these projects are easier than ever to afford and install. However, oyster shells are a limited resource that are needed for largescale oyster reef restoration with the Chesapeake Bay watershed, so determining the effectiveness of this shore protection strategy …

Werowocomoco Shoreline Management Plan, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox

Reports

Werowocomoco is located on the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia (Figure 1). Historical documents identified Werowocomoco as the headquarters of Powhatan, the Algonquian political and spiritual leader when the English founded Jamestown in 1607. For many years, the exact location of the site was unknown; however, in 2003, archeological digs at the site on the York River between Leigh and Bland Creeks confirmed the location. The site has been occupied by Native Americans since 8,000 before the common era (BCE) and is one of the most important Native American sites in the nation.

In 2016, subsequent to the completion …

Rehoboth Bay, Delaware Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Sharon Killeen, Carl Hershner, Karinna Nunez, Karen Reay, Kory Angstadt, Tamia Rudnicky, Dan Schatt, David Stanhope

Reports

Shoreline Situation Reports (SSR) were first generated by VIMS in the 1970's to report the condition and status of the shore lands. The SSR series were published in hardcopy on a county by county basis for each of the Tidewater Virginia localities. The reports were intended to assist planners, managers, and regulators in decisions pertaining to management of coastal areas and natural resources therein. This is the first Shoreline Inventory Report for the Rehoboth Bay section of Delaware. Data collected describes conditions in the immediate riparian zone, the bank, and along the shore. There are three shapefiles that are part …

Mathews County Shoreline Management Plan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Carl H. Hobbs Iii, Christine A. Wilcox, Kevin P. O'Brien, Lyle M. Varnell, Shoreline Studies Program

Reports

This report has several sections. General coastal zone management considerations and existing conditions along the Mathews County shoreline are discussed. The overall Mathews shoreline was divided into three reaches: Reach 1, Piankatank River, Hills Bay, and Queens Creek; Reach 2, New Point Comfort to Gwynn’s Island including Milford Haven; and Reach 3, Mobjack Bay, East River, and North River. Each reach is discussed in terms of specific shore conditions as well as design considerations and shore stabilization recommendations. Reach 2 is slightly different from the other reaches in that it includes the high energy Chesapeake Bay shoreline. For this section …

Occohannock Creek Shoreline Erosion Assessment And Living Shoreline Options Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Kevin O'Brien, Christine Wilcox, Shoreline Studies Program, Marcia Berman, Sharon Killeen, Tami Rudnicky, Center For Coastal Resources Management

Reports

This study provides information to Occohannock Creek property owners to help them assess their shoreline stability and their options if erosion is a problem. In the past, shoreline erosion control options were typically limited to rip-rap, groins, or bulkheads. These hard structures often destroyed marsh and other habitat and may not have provided the protection desired. Other methods of erosion control now exist that have been used in a variety of conditions and evaluated for their durability and performance. The alternative techniques incorporate vegetation and are referred to as Living Shoreline designs. Conditions on Occohannock Creek make it a very …