A paradigm shift for shoreline armoring

A long war may be turning. For more than a hundred years, Puget Sound shoreline residents have been in a battle with a perceived enemy. 

They have battled this enemy with startling amounts of concrete and have lashed together so many protective beach structures that close to a third of Puget Sound’s shoreline is now classified, appropriately enough, as 'armored'. Bulkheads, seawalls and other structures are meant to hold back storm surge and erosion, and they cover more than 700 miles of Puget Sound's shoreline. The state estimates that more than a mile of such armoring is still created every year.  

This is the subject of a new series launched this week in our online magazine Salish Sea Currents. The 6-story series will focus on the impacts of shoreline armoring on Puget Sound's beach habitat. Over the next few weeks, it will look at issues such as erosion, armoring's effect on beach ecology and efforts by state and federal agencies to curb illegal shoreline structures. In many cases, it is a rethinking of previously held assumptions about shoreline protection. 

Consider erosion. It is a word that by its very definition means the destruction of something. In fact, studies show that it is the chief concern of shoreline property owners. But in one of our stories, reporter Christopher Dunagan looks at how natural erosion creates the very beaches that we are trying to protect. He follows geologists on shoreline surveys of so-called 'feeder bluffs', giant shoreline cliffs that erode and provide the crucial sand and gravel needed for healthy beaches. Scientists say creating hard armor interrupts this natural process, and causes a lot of additional collateral damage to the environment. 

We will also look at some of the direct impacts of armoring on the fish and other animals that live in the nearshore environment. New studies show unambiguous effects on the food web, and some potentially devastating impacts on species like beach-spawning forage fish.  

Even as we report this and other research, we are in the midst of a paradigm shift. Now environmental groups and government agencies are encouraging the removal of bulkheads or their replacement with more natural erosion controls. There are new efforts to reach out to property owners—57% of the Puget Sound's shoreline is privately owned—and increased efforts to stop illegal shoreline armoring. Could we be on the verge of a shoreline armistice? 

Read the series "Rethinking shoreline armoring" in Salish Sea Currents.