Our Approach
Straughan is providing site selection, assessment, design, and construction inspection services for living shoreline sites along the Patuxent River in Prince George’s County. As an accepted Chesapeake Bay TMDL implementation strategy for both nutrient and sediment load reduction, State and local jurisdictions are increasingly turning to living shorelines as a stabilization technique along tidal waters. Living shorelines projects protect shorelines from erosion while maintaining natural shorelines processes that increase water quality and sustain living resources. Living shorelines use non-structural or hybrid practices to stabilize eroding shorelines through a combination of on-shore and near-shore vegetation, grading, and structures. Unlike bulkheads or armoring with large rocks, living shorelines protect against erosion while also filtering nutrients detrimental to Chesapeake Bay water quality. Additionally, these shorelines provide habitat benefits for local flora and fauna that are typically lost when solely structural measures are implemented.
Straughan prepared a GIS site suitability search along tidal waters in the County factoring in observed erosion rates, land ownership, and land use to identify candidates for restoration. After narrowing a list of priority sites, Straughan conducted field assessments to evaluate on-the ground suitability of the priority sites. Straughan made recommendations on shoreline design approaches, and prepared standard construction specifications suitable for all future shoreline projects in the County. Our team has completed design on two living shoreline projects. The first site, at Cedar Haven lies on Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) property and was constructed in 2020. The second site, Magruder’s Ferry lies on private land and is scheduled for construction in 2021.
