The STAC Workshop titled Assessing the Water Quality, Habitat, and Social Benefits of Green Riprap will be held virtually on Wednesday, September 15th. There is an optional in-person field trip to completed USFWS green riprap sites on September 20th, more information available on the attached Save the Date.
Shoreline conditions have declined in the Chesapeake Bay as a result of pressures from coastal populations, particularly shoreline modifications (armoring) that harm important coastal habitats including marshes and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Bay-wide, about 16 percent of tidal shoreline is armored with riprap revetments or bulkheads, and 26 percent of tidal shoreline is armored in Maryland and 10 percent in Virginia (CCRM 2019). Shifts in preferences for shoreline management practices to nature-based approaches (living shorelines) have been underway for about 20 years. Innovations in shoreline restoration are continuing at a rapid pace and there is growing interest in ‘greening’ existing armored (riprap) shorelines to achieve an ecological uplift. Please join the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) and our partners for a two-day virtual workshop synthesizing the state-of-the-science on green techniques for riprap revetments and identifying research needs.
Note: RSVP to the optional in-person field trip using the Google form below. We will be visiting 3 completed USFWS green riprap sites in the Annapolis area on Monday, September 20th. Lunch will be provided. For more information, please contact STAC Staff at colem@chesapeake.org.