Contact: Michele Walker, 919-733-2293, ext. 229 N.C. Coastal Reserve and NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research Awarded $717,000 Grant for Shoreline erosion Study
BEAUFORT, N.C. – The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology has awarded a $717,000 grant to the N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and the NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research to examine different methods of erosion prevention in sheltered coastlines. As part of CICEET’s Living Coasts Program, the project, “Sustainable estuarine shoreline stabilization: Research, education, and public policy in North Carolina,” is focused on understanding the environmental and economic tradeoffs of alternative erosion control measures. The project focuses on three regions along North Carolina’s coast (Northern, Central and Southern), where researchers from NOAA, NC NERR, the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, and UNC-Chapel Hill will assess the ecosystem impacts of shoreline stabilization. Also included in the project is the design and construction of a demonstration project based on alternative shoreline stabilization techniques at the Rachel Carson component of the NC NERR. During the two-year project, they will develop an approach to evaluate ecological and socioeconomic costs and benefits of shoreline erosion and protection alternatives. The researchers will work closely with an advisory panel composed of local, state and federal resource managers, contractors, property owners and other stakeholders. The NC NERR will develop outreach and educational products to disseminate the knowledge and tools developed by the research team. “The combined pressures of climate change and human activity have made shoreline management more complex,” said Richard Langan, CICEET’s University of New Hampshire co-director. “This project was selected for its ability to provide vital information about the environmental and economic costs of different erosion prevention measures to property owners, municipalities, and policy makers.” CICEET is a partnership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of New Hampshire. CICEET works with NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System to develop tools for clean water and healthy coastal environments nationwide. |
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