National Fish Habitat Partnership 10 “Waters to Watch” Submission
Date: 4/1/2013
Partnership: Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership
Project (Water to Watch): Shoreline and Spartina Marsh Stabilization Along the Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway
The project is located within the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) along the
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, between Rock Creek and Ashepoo River, and drains into St. Helena
Sound. The coordinates are as follows: 32.52589N, 80.45277W
Purpose of the project: In South Carolina, shorelines adjacent to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
are subject to severe erosion due to heavy boat traffic and artificial channelization, which disrupts natural
shoreline processes. This erosion destroys or threatens oyster reef and salt marsh habitats. In the
project area, SCDNR has documented 2.25miles of shoreline on the Ashepoo/Rock Creek cut as suffering
from severe marsh erosion and in need of protection. According the SCDNR’s latest oyster resource
survey, conducted between 2003 and 2008 using ¼ meter digital aerial photography, there are no oysters
on this shoreline and the marsh edge is as much as 35 meters from the water, with nothing but mudflats
in front of it. Previous work has demonstrated that bagged oyster shells provide a stable substrate for
oyster recruitment and create self-sustaining reefs which stabilize the shoreline, promote sediment
accretion, and foster salt marsh expansion.
This project will rehabilitate tidal marsh areas experiencing degradation from boat traffic along the
Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW), by constructing natural breakwaters using oyster reefs. The objectives
of the project include: engaging community volunteers in shoreline habitat restoration; constructing
approximately 0.06 acres of oyster habitat to protect 100 meters of shoreline; and over time creating
approximately 0.15 acres of adjacent tidal marsh. The expected results of the project include: increased
fish habitat (oyster reef, tidal salt marsh), stabilized shoreline, improved water quality, and increased
public awareness through hands-on stewardship opportunities and associated outreach. The project was
approved and identified as a priority by the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership, and is within the
spirit and principles of NFHAP.
The project will expand a successful demonstration site that was constructed from 2007-09 with state
revenue funds. Additional oyster restoration in the project vicinity is being funded by NOAA through the
Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership. SCDNR has been conducting community-based restoration in
the ACE Basin since 2002 with a variety of funding partners including the NOAA Restoration Center and
the USFWS through the State Wildlife Grants program. A proposal has been submitted to the NERR
Collaborative Research Program to continue and expand community-based restoration efforts in the ACE
Basin NERR.
Project Timeline: Implementation of the project was heavily impacted by the timing of funding,
since deployment of the shell bags must occur between April and July in order to maximize oyster
recruitment. Because funds were not received until after July 2011, the first 6 months or so of the project
were used to recruit volunteers, bag shells, collect baseline data and conduct outreach. During the fall of
2011, a new partnership with Colleton Middle School, a title one school with a natural resources
curriculum, was established. This school will be planting and fostering salt marsh in the winter and spring
of 2012 and will plant it behind the oyster reefs in late spring of 2012. Older students will be bagging
oyster shells and will participate in reef building in the late spring, as well.
The post-construction monitoring likely will not occur within the funded time frame but will be
conducted as a part of an ongoing restoration monitoring which is generally conducted each fall. Oyster
reefs will be sampled after year 1 for recruitment, size and abundance of oysters. Shoreline changes will
be documented using a Trimble GPS Pro and digital photography. Sediment samples will be taken preand post-reef construction to document changes in sediment composition. Marsh expansion will be
documented over time using digital photography and reference stakes.
Education and outreach are built into each South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ (SCDNR)
community-based oyster restoration program (SCORE) activity. Additional outreach includes teacher
workshops, classroom lessons, and talks at community meetings. The project will provide talking points
for educational cruises offered by DNR’s Coastal Discovery program. The ACE Basin NERR already
stresses oyster habitats in its educational efforts.
In addition to FWS-NFHP funds, the project has secured funding from the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources. In-kind support from the Coastal Conservation Association and community
volunteers is expected to come in the spring and summer of 2012, when the reef construction is expected
to take place.
Partners: Recycled oyster shells will be bagged and deployed along the AIWW in the Ace Basin NERR
by volunteers in conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ (SCDNR)
community-based oyster restoration program (SCORE). US Fish and Wildlife Service funds will be used
to pay for a portion of SCDNR employee salaries and use of SCDNR vessels to transport volunteers, shell,
fuel, and supplies. The Coastal Conservation Association is also a partner to the project. CCA donates
the use of boats to transport shell and has purchased a trailer to assist with shell recycling. They also
participate in shell bagging and reef building.
Updates/Changes:
More than 1,000 community volunteers participated in hands-on stewardship activities, gaining
a vested interest in natural resources while restoring valuable fish habitat. Volunteers constructed 0.08
acres of oyster reefs, exceeding our target of 0.05 acres. The constructed reef protects 150 meters of
shoreline (exceeding target of 100 meters) and 0.3 acres of saltmarsh (exceeding target of 0.15 acres)
(Table 1). Volunteers used 1,720 bushels of recycled shells to fill 2,580 shell bags which were deployed on
the shoreline of the AICW in Coosaw Cut. Volunteers also planted 300 Spartina alterniflora plugs grown
from seed as part of our saltmarsh restoration program (see pcitures).
Volunteer participants included Colleton Middle School, Ashley Hall School, Porter Gaud School,
Master Naturalists, service organizations, and members of the Gullah-Geechee Sea Island Coalition.
Other community contributions included the use of boats donated by CCA to transport shell bags to the
restoration site. Scout troops visiting the MacKenzie Field Station at Bennetts Point bagged oyster shell
and some participated in reef building and fish sampling efforts. The MacKenzie Field Station regularly
hosts visiting University groups and these have been involved in shell bagging and reef building as well.
Students from the Minorities in Marine and Environmental Science summer internship program, funded
by NSF and conducted by SCDNR, participated in reef building activities.
We co-sponsored (with SC Sea Grant/COSEE-SE and Clemson Extension Service/Carolina Clear)
a teacher’s workshop at MacKenzie Field Station in which teachers learned the intimate relationship of
saltmarsh and oyster reefs, participated in oyster reef construction and marsh grass transplanting at the
project site, and tested lesson plans. The teachers who attended the workshop (including some
representing Colleton Middle and Cottageville Elementary, both in the project area) participated this
school year in growing saltmarsh which will be transplanted behind reefs later this spring.
Community interest has led to spinoff projects such as a NERR-funded Collaborative Research
Project “Expanding Living Shorelines within the ACE Basin NERR to Protect Habitat and to Reduce
Climate Change Vulnerability through the Application of Collaborative Science-Based Habitat
Restoration” in which community members participate in determining project goals, selecting sites,
constructing projects, and monitoring.
Table 1. Restoration targets and actual on-the-ground restoration.
Target
Bags
1,950
Bushels of Shell
1,300
Acres
0.06
Meters Shoreline
100
Protected Saltmarsh (acres)
0.15
Actual
2,580
1,730
0.08
150
0.3
Best weeks for site visits: Because the site is intertidal, visits should be timed to coincide with low
tide. Suitable weeks in spring/summer 2012 include Mar 6-9, 19-23; April2-6, 16-20; May 1-4, 14-18, 2931; June 4-5, 11-15, 18-21,28-29. Within a given time window we can supply information on the best site
visit days. It would be ideal to visit when a volunteer reef building event was scheduled but these have
not yet been scheduled. We are trying to schedule these for one or more of the May dates listed above.
Photo of project site before construction:
Footprint of previously constructed reefs and new reef with marsh grass indicated in
green
2007 reef
Pre-reef
2009 reef
Reefs constructed in 2007 and 2009 in Coosaw Cut. Note original location of marsh
and forward growth behind reefs.
Bags are loaded onto boats donated by CCA, transported to the study site, and
offloaded via human chain to build the reef.
Students grew Spartina plants from seed and transplanted them behind the reef.