Living Shoreline Project Nears Completion Near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort
Volunteers are nearing completion of the longest living shoreline of its kind in South Carolina, a project that began two years ago near the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. The Nature Conservancy is leading this initiative.
Living shorelines utilize natural materials to stabilize coastlines and reduce erosion. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources has been constructing living shorelines using oyster shells for approximately 25 years. Liz Fly, director of resilience and ocean conservation at The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina, notes an increase in interest in these projects in recent years. In 2021, the state legislature passed permitting rules for living shorelines.
The Department of Defense expressed interest in strengthening eroding shorelines around its bases. The Nature Conservancy identified significant erosion along the stretch near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and its Laurel Bay housing complex. The living shoreline being constructed in this area will be the longest, continuous oyster castle living shoreline in the state.
Oyster castles are composed of a mixture of shell, concrete, and limestone, and are designed to attract oyster larvae. The 2,000-foot-long manufactured reef has taken longer to complete than initially anticipated, requiring about 24 volunteer events instead of the original eight. Volunteers build these oyster castles by moving the heavy structures along a human chain. Evidence of the project’s success includes sediment building up behind the reef, new oysters covering the castles, and marsh grass growing back, all indicating that erosion has abated.
The final volunteer event to complete the living shoreline is scheduled for October 24.