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The salt marsh provides aesthetic beauty, recreation, and wildlife viewing opportunities; reasons many residents seek to live near the coast. This salt marsh ecosystem helps to support a healthy local economy and environment. The beauty and dynamic nature of life along the salt marsh are not without challenges. Residents may face shoreline erosion resulting in property loss and water management concerns.
In 2021, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, now the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services, established a permitting process for living shoreline installation. This new regulation provides residents with an additional option for stabilizing shorelines along tidal waters. Living shorelines are a powerful tool to proactively protect estuarine shorelines and prevent erosion along residential and commercial properties. Because of its extensive estuarine shoreline habitat, South Carolina is in an excellent position to take advantage of living shorelines to protect its salt marshes and improve coastal resilience.
Utilize this website to learn more about living shorelines and what methods may be appropriate for your site.
Learn More about living shorelines
SCDNR biologists plant Spartina marsh grass behind a row of oyster shell bags at a site along the Charleston Harbor in summer 2021. Image courtesy of SCDNR
