The Town of Swansboro sees nature as a key to their resilience. This point was driven home last fall when Hurricane Florence struck the town – flooding homes and businesses . A Conservation Priority Area will cluster future development away from coastal areas, wetlands, and floodplains to make the town more resilient to future storms.
In partnership with the Coastal Studies Institute, TNC built a series of oyster reefs along a highly eroding shoreline at a TNC conservation easement located just north of the Institute and this site will function as a living laboratory for researchers and students. TNC’s Restoration Explorer was used to identify the site and helps others identify where they can use natural techniques like this to stabilize their shores.
In North Carolina, The Conservancy has developed a NEW Living Shorelines application (app). Partnering with scientists at NOAA’s Beaufort Lab to bring in their research on the relationship between salt marsh distribution and shoreline wave energy in central coastal North Carolina.