Download Shoreline Stabilization - The Trustees of Reservations

 The Trustees of Reservations
Shoreline Stabilization
The Trustees of Reservations protect more than 70 miles of coastline, including more than 26
miles of beaches, from Wasque on Martha’s Vineyard to Crane Beach on the North Shore.
Together with volunteers and partners The Trustees manage our coastal properties for their
natural beauty, nature, and public use and enjoyment. While these coastal areas are naturally
prone to erosion, some are more prone to erosion than others and this process will be
exacerbated by climate change. The Massachusetts coastline, in particular Nantucket, Cape Cod,
and Martha’s Vineyard, currently experience some of the greatest erosion rates and have been
identified as the most vulnerable to erosion in coming decades in all of New England.
Revetment Policy
The constant and uninterrupted supply of migrating sand from natural coastal erosion is critical
to the long-term survival of coastal beaches. Beaches are dynamic landscapes shaped by wind
and water moving sand. Without the constant nourishment from migrating sand, beaches would
“starve,” becoming vulnerable to erosion and diminishing in size and integrity. The threats from
climate change, including rising sea levels and more intense storm surges, are exacerbating these
natural processes.
By creating barriers that interrupt the natural transport of sand, beaches will be threatened and
become less valuable for habitat, recreation, and storm damage prevention, including flood
control. While manmade barriers might help prevent or slow erosion in one area, they also
deflect wave energy to unarmored adjacent areas, shifting and accelerating erosion patterns and
interfering with the natural beach-building process.
Due to the critical need for migrating sand to maintain resilient coastal beaches, landscapes, and
ecosystems, The Trustees do not conduct shoreline armoring on their own beach properties
and will allow natural processes to proceed unhindered, except when necessary to protect or
advance conservation interests on Trustees property.
Beach stabilization on Trustees land may be undertaken only in the rare instance where the
action is shown to have no net adverse impact to Trustees property and where conservation
interests are enhanced as a consequence of the work.
Any easement or property right to be conveyed to other parties shall be consistent with the
Land Conservation Policies of The Trustees of Reservations and The Massachusetts Land
Conservation Trust as outlined in Policy # 8, Disposition of Land or Interests in Land.
References
Buchsbaum, Robert and Taber Allison. 2009. Some Anticipated Consequences of Global Warming:
Implications for the Nature of Massachusetts. Conservation Science and Ecological Management
Division, Mass Audubon.
Frumhoff, P.C., J.J. McCarthy, J.M. Melillo, S.C. Moser, and D.J. Wuebbles. 2007. Confronting
Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast: Science, Impacts, and Solutions. Synthesis report of the
Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA). Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned
Scientists (UCS).
O’Connell, J.F., 2010. Shoreline armoring impacts and management along the shores of Massachusetts
and Kauai, Hawaii, in Shipman, H., Dethier, M.N., Gelfenbaum, G., Fresh, K.L., and Dinicola, R.S.,
eds., 2010, Puget Sound Shorelines and the Impacts of Armoring—Proceedings of a State of the
Science Workshop, May 2009: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5254,
p. 65-76.
Thieler, E.R., and E.S. Hammar-Klose. 1999. National assessment of coastal vulnerability to future
sea-level rise: Preliminary results for the U.S. Atlantic Coast, Open-File Report 99-593. U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS).