New York Sea Grant to present Living Shorelines to Control Coastal Erosion

Stony Brook, NY, April 14, 2015 - Touro Law Center’s Land Use & Sustainable Development Law Institute's first annual conference, the Long Island Coastal Resiliency Summit, will take place Thursday, April 16, at Touro Law in Central Islip, NY. Jay Tanski, NYSG Senior Coastal Processes Specialist, will participate on a panel looking at some of the technical, regulatory and legal challenges associated with using the concept of Living Shorelines to control coastal erosion in New York.


Coasts Oceans Ports & Rivers Institute (COPRI) offers an interactive database of existing “living shoreline” projects around the U.S. This database lists and maps the locations of individual projects and includes a variety of site and design information.


This conference will bring together local, state and national leaders, land use and municipal law practitioners, planners, legal scholars and community members to address the formidable challenge of moving from local community resiliency planning to implementation. Speakers include morning and lunchtime keynotes Kate Dineen (Director, NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program, NY Governor's Office of Storm Recovery) and Michael Gerrard (Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School), as well as climate and marine scientists, legal scholars and lawyers, planners, government officials and more.

Says Sarah J. Adams-Schoen, Assistant Professor of Law and Director, Land Use & Sustainable Development Law Institute at Touro College, “This event is drawing a diversity of policy-makers and planners from all levels of government, agencies and community-based organizations. The conference represents a great opportunity to get the important message about Living Shorelines out to persons and entities who interact with the coastal development process in different ways.”

Learn more about Living Shorelines and listen to experts from the NYSG workshop of May 2013 (click here).

For more about Touro Land Use Institute, go to www.tourolaw.edu/landuseinstitute or email at landuse@tourolaw.edu.

Touro Law extends its appreciation to the conference's Silver Sponsors: New York Sea Grant, Cashin Spinelli & Ferretti, LLC, and Cameron Engineering & Associates LLP; Conference Bronze Sponsors Sahn Ward Coschignano & Baker, PLLC and Farrell Fritz, PC; as well as cosponsors the Metro New York Chapter of the American Planning Association, the Municipal Law and Environmental Law sections of the New York State Bar Association, the New York Conference of Mayors & Municipal Officials, the Association of Towns of the State of New York, and the New York State Association of Counties.

More Info: Living Shorelines


NYSG Living Shorelines for Coastal Erosion Protection in a Changing World workshop (Photo: NYSG/James Pearce).

In Spring 2013, New York Sea Grant began a climate change discussion with state and local officials, property owners and managers, marine consultants and contractors, and non-government organizations. The cornerstone of the talks was a technical workshop on "living shorelines," which addressed concerns over how and to what extent climate change could exacerbate coastal flooding and erosion problems in many areas.

What is a "Living Shoreline"?

A shoreline management practice that provides erosion control benefits; protects, restores, or enhances natural shoreline habitat; and maintains coastal processes through the strategic placement of plants, stone, sand fill, and other structural organic materials. - Source: NOAA Coastal Glossary

Living Shoreline Treatments address erosion in lower energy situations by providing long-term protection, restoration or enhancement of vegetated shoreline habitats through strategic placement of plants, stone, sand fill and other structural or organic materials. Living Shoreline Treatments do not include structures that sever the natural processes & connections between uplands and aquatic areas. - Source: VIMS CCRM Living Shorelines

Why is "living shorelines" such a hot topic?

Well, for starters, one of the priorities of The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program is to improve the resilience of coastal communities to hazards, including effects of climate change.

Second, many coastal communities are looking to “living shorelines” as the preferred method for dealing with erosion problems because of its environmental benefits and because its techniques are often considered more adaptable to potential impacts associated with climate change such as increased sea level rise.


More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published several times a year.