Jockey's Ridge, North Carolina

project brief

The North Carolina Coastal Federation restored a 725-foot estuarine shoreline on Roanoke Sound, stabilizing erosion, improving fish habitat and water quality.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation

Award

$ 73,860

Funding Start Date

Feb 1, 2022

Funding End Date

Jul 31, 2023

Funding Partner

Grizzly

Project Objectives

Prevent erosion along a 725-foot section of the estuarine shoreline using durable granite caps and community plantings.
Create new wetland habitat and improve fish diversity and abundance in the area.
Reduce shoreline degradation to maintain and improve water quality in Roanoke Sound
Involve over 100 local students and volunteers in restoration activities to raise awareness and promote stewardship
Provide safe access to this public resource for the 1.9 million annual visitors to Jockey Ridge State Park

Project Description

Initial revegetation eorts used plants transplanted from local waterbodies, purchased from commercial vendors, and/or grown in an unused fish hatchery raceway. The construction of a larger facility will increase plant production capability as well as provide a better capability to overwinter plants and create sustainable on-sites sources of material. The capacity of the nursery will expand over time from 4,000 plants in 2022 to 6,000 plants in 2023 to 12,000 plants by 2024.

Construction lasted approximately 5 weeks in Spring 2023 and included the use of several long arm excavators, a track dump truck, ATV and turbidity booms.

This project is already inspiring plans for similar habitat restoration projects in the area.

The River City Community Development Corporation YouthBuild program participated in a day-long field trip to Jockey’s Ridge State Park in May 2022 to learn about the park, estuaries and living shorelines.