Back Bay Living Shoreline Construction and Monitoring
About the Project
Analyses of satellite imagery of Back Bay, Biloxi shows that marshes are being lost at a rate of nearly 1ft per year with some areas, particularly Keesler Air Force Base, the City of Biloxi’s Hiller Park, and the Biloxi Veterans Administration Medical Center only have a narrow band of marsh habitat remaining.
Most of this erosion can be attributed to vessel traffic in the nearby boat channel and will be exacerbated by increasing rates of sea-level rise and increased frequency of storms associated with climate change.
This project involves the construction of a 2.5 mile living shoreline using marsh sill, a low-profile structure filled with sand, along with native plants and segmented breakwaters in order to restore habitat and reduce wave energy and erosion. This project also involves the removal of invasive vegetative species and multi-year environmental monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the construction at mitigating erosion and providing broader ecosystem benefits.
Once completed,
this will be the second-largest living shoreline project in the State of Mississippi.
Funder:
Partners:
