Assessing the Water Quality, Habitat, and Social Benefits of Green Riprap
September 15, 2021 - September 15, 2021
There is an optional in-person field trip day to view a number of completed USFWS green riprap sites in the Annapolis area on Monday, September 20th.
STAC Green Riprap Workshop Agenda
To see the benefits of Green Riprap at completed USFWS sites, please view the following video with interviews from the Workshop Steering Committee, homeowners, and engaged community members.
Video: Benefits of Green Riprap
Shoreline conditions have declined in the Chesapeake Bay as a result of pressures from coastal populations, particularly shoreline modifications (armoring) that harm important coastal habitats including marshes and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Bay-wide, about 16 percent of tidal shoreline is armored with riprap revetments or bulkheads, and 26 percent of tidal shoreline is armored in Maryland and 10 percent in Virginia (CCRM 2019). This amounts to ~1,700 miles of hardened tidal shore along the Chesapeake Bay. In many tidal creeks and rivers, this number is significantly higher. Shifts in preferences for shoreline management practices to nature-based approaches (living shorelines) have been underway for about 20 years. More of these projects are being implemented each year, likely due to new incentives, legislation, and training of marine contractors. Innovations in shoreline restoration are continuing at a rapid pace and there is growing interest in ‘greening’ existing armored (riprap) shorelines to achieve an ecological uplift.
Green Riprap is a low cost, simple restoration technique used to improve the water quality, habitat, and aesthetics of shorelines hardened with rock revetments. Green Riprap involves planting marsh vegetation in the voids between riprap rocks. Green Riprap is not a substitute for living shorelines. This technique also can be used in sills and other rock features associated with living shoreline projects. Green Riprap provides another tool for waterfront homeowners and river groups to improve water quality in the Bay/river while creating a more natural look along their shoreline.
This one-day workshop will synthesize the state-of-the-science on green techniques for riprap revetments and identify research needs. This workshop will gather experts in living shorelines, Green Riprap, and shoreline/marsh ecology. A field trip to several sites is proposed as part of the workshop. Workshop outcomes will include lessons learned from recent case studies and recommendations for next steps to evaluate the potential for these projects as a new, creditable Best Management Practice (BMP) for nutrient/sediment load reduction and/or encouraged community practices to mitigate shoreline hardening.
Workshop Speakers:
- Rich Mason, FWS
- Leah Franzluebbers, FWS
- Donna Bilkovic, VIMS
- Doug DeBerry, William & Mary
- Dennis Whigham, SERC
- Kirk Havens, VIMS
- Sepehr Baharlou, Bayland Engineering
- Amanda Guthrie, VIMS
- Jennifer Tabanico, Action Research
- Lori Large, Action Research
Presentations:
- Marketing to Homeowners– Jennifer Tabanico (Action Research) and Lori Large (Action Research)
- Restoring and Preserving the Shoreline Ecotone – Donna Bilkovic (VIMS)
- Managing Phragmites – Dennis Whigham (SERC), Kirk Havens (VIMS)
- Shoreline Modification Decision Making – Amanda Guthrie (VIMS)
- Green Riprap Introduction – Rich Mason and Leah Franzluebbers (FWS)
- Green Riprap Case Studies and Techniques – Rich Mason and Leah Franzluebbers (FWS)
- Case Study: Gibson Island – Sepehr Baharlou (Bayland Engineering)
- Above the Rock: Native Landscaping in the Riparian Buffer – Doug DeBerry (William & Mary)
For more information, please contact STAC Staff.