2013 Mid-Atlantic Living Shorelines Summit
“Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going?”
Proceedings and Video Presentations - NOW AVAILABLE
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Restore America’s Estuaries were pleased to co-host the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Living Shorelines Summit, an in-depth discussion of the state of science, policy, and practice of Living Shorelines in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The Summit was a two-day collaborative meeting highlighting the latest advancements in Living Shoreline research, design, implementation, and policy. The format encouraged an open dialogue about past and current restoration practices, barriers to implementation, and ways to strengthen the Living Shorelines Community across the Mid-Atlantic region. Brainstorming sessions motivated collaboration within and between sectors to identify gaps and challenges limiting effectiveness within the Living Shorelines field.
The diversity of the Living Shorelines Community was reflected in the range of participants from local, state, and federal governments, nonprofit organizations, marine contractors, environmental consultants, academia, private industry, and resource managers. By exploring a variety of themes and topics, it was hoped that the Summit would propel research, restoration practices, and policy forward, galvanizing the community of practitioners, and stimulating collaboration amongst participants and constituent groups from across the Mid-Atlantic region.
Summit at a Glance
The 2013 Mid-Atlantic Living Shorelines Summit centered on the questions: Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going?
Topics explored:
- Research
A review of the most relevant research since the 2006 Summit addressed the fields of ecology, water quality, and engineering. By sector (e.g. research, science, and monitoring, project managers and program implementers, design and build, and regulatory and policy), participants explored outstanding questions and ways to resolve those questions.
- Implementation and Innovative Techniques
Implementation of new and emerging technologies in design and construction were reviewed, as well as the effectiveness of those techniques under different circumstances. “Lessons learned”, as well as the success of current restoration practices in meeting the goals of habitat enhancement, shoreline protection, and erosion control were examined.
- Policy, Programs, and Regulatory
An overview of local, state, and federal laws, regulations, programs, and policy provided the backdrop for an examination of the barriers to Living Shoreline implementation, and approaches to overcoming those barriers. Highlighted in this section was the identification of non-regulatory tools and techniques intended to further the pace and scale of Living Shoreline projects.
Appendices
Extensive appendices document results of information gathering sessions addressing identification of critical research needs, performance data queries, and means of coalescing the Living Shorelines Community. Resources such as programs, publications, web resources, and organizations intended to encourage and expand Living Shoreline implementation are also listed.