Living Shorelines

Living Shoreline Monitoring—How do I evaluate the environmental benefits of my living shoreline?

Laura K. Reynolds, Natalie C. Stephens, Savanna C. Barry, and Ashley R. Smyth

Ecosystem Services Provided by Living Shorelines

Ashley R. Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna C. Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, and Edward V. Camp

The purpose of this new 6-page document is to explain the types of ecosystem services provided by different types of living shorelines and how to quantify these values. The target audience for this document is local governments and municipalities that make decisions about developing, conserving, and restoring living shorelines; state management agencies that oversee broader scale habitat management; and finally, homeowners who will be immediately affected by any of these decisions. Written by Ashley R. Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna C. Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, and Edward V. Camp and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences.

A Homeowner's Guide to the Living Shoreline Permit Exemption Part 2: United States Army Corps of Engineers

Savanna Barry, Sara Martin, and Eric Sparks

A UF/IFAS numbered peer reviewed Fact Sheet for Homeowner audience(s). in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Natural resources operations and Invasive Species

A Homeowner's Guide to the Living Shoreline Permit Exemption, Part 1: Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Savanna Barry, Sara Martin, and Eric Sparks

A UF/IFAS numbered peer reviewed Fact Sheet for Homeowner audience(s). in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Environmental Literacy and Sustainability

Living Shoreline Ecosystem Service Valuation Tool

Ashley R. Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna C. Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, and Edward V. Camp

Living shorelines are an increasingly popular way to protect and stabilize waterfronts for coastal property owners. Living shorelines provide valuable benefits to humans, including water quality improvement, habitat, fisheries, and carbon sequestration. Estimating the economic value of the ecosystem services living shorelines offer is an integral part of management decisions. The living shoreline valuation tool can help quantify the costs and benefits of living shorelines projects. This publication briefly describes the ecosystem services associated with living shorelines. The purpose of this publication is to introduce the ecosystem service valuation tool. Our target audience for the living shoreline evaluation tool includes natural resource extension agents, community organizations, and coastal homeowners who want to calculate the value of ecosystem services provided by coastal restoration projects, including living shorelines. 

Coastal Armoring Impacts on Beaches and Sea Turtles

Melissa Hill, Ray Carthy, and Martha Monroe

Close to 19.6 million people live in Florida, and 76.5% of them, or approximately 15 million, live on the coast. Florida’s coasts are attractive despite the increasing risks from sea-level rise and more frequent climatic events such as hurricanes and coastal flooding. At particular risk from these erosive events are Florida’s 825 miles of sandy beaches. Coastal armoring is a physical barrier placed with the intent of protecting structures from storm, surf, and erosion damage. This publication explains how coastal armoring works and the impacts it has on nearby beaches and sea turtle habitat.