A living shoreline is an engineered coastal system that mimics a natural shoreline and allows our shorelines to be more resilient and adaptive to change like they once were. The majority of the Chesapeake’s shoreline has lost its natural adaptability over the years due to human activity, causing loss of aquatic vegetation, the removal of buffer areas in favor of lawn, and the artificial armoring of shorelines with stone or wooden bulkheads.

In 2024, the Alliance was awarded $3.9 million by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to construct a nearly three-quarter-mile-long living shoreline on a family-run heritage farm near Dameron, MD. Over the last 177 years, roughly 57 acres of important marsh and barrier island habitat have been lost along the shoreline. The design, funded by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, will help reduce wave energy arriving from the 33-mile fetch that’s causing the farm to lose roughly 10 feet of shoreline per year. Once complete, the new habitat will benefit a range of native wildlife including fish, amphibians, and birds.

See the exciting beginnings of this project below!

A person looks at project plans sitting on the tailgate of a utility vehicle

David Lanier, Green Infrastructure Projects Coordinator at the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, reviews plans for the Trossbach Living Shoreline Restoration project.

A close up of a person looing at documents entitled "Living Shoreline Restoration"

Kara Skipper, Implementation Project Officer at Maryland Department of Natural Resources reviews the plans.

People point at a historic map of the area

Partners review a historic map of the project site dated back to 1847 illustrating 57 acres of important marsh and barrier island habitat.

A group of people stand along the shore talking

A group including landowners and representatives from the Alliance, Maryland DNR, Coastal Construction Services, and Dameron Contracting convene beside an eroding shoreline. The farm in the background illustrates the critical proximity of the erosion to the field and operations of this family-run heritage farm.

An osprey flying overhead

An osprey soars in the skies above the project site.

A person stands along a shoreline on a sunny day with the water in the background

Sonny Trossbach, the farmer who owns the majority of the shoreline where the project will be installed, joined the partners on a tour of the site to discuss plans for the upcoming project.

Four people stand on a beach looking at project plans with water and trees in the background

Project partners go over plans for the project. Construction will begin in winter of 2024

A group of people walk along a shoreline smiling and talking

Project partners tour the site, assessing erosion from a recent storm.

A person walks by a large fallen tree while looking at it

David Lanier, observes a large oak tree that recently fell along the site of the project due to shoreline erosion. The fallen tree will be repositioned and integrated into the structure of the new shoreline to help capture sand.

Thank you to Chesapeake Bay Trust, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, St. Mary’s County, Coastal Construction Services, Dameron Contracting, and the Trossbach Family for supporting this important endeavor. This project demonstrates that when we focus on forming partnerships based on mutually beneficial action, we can go so much further towards a cleaner Chesapeake!

Learn more about living shorelines