Living shorelines in Northeast Florida.
Fit the method to the water.

Where living shorelines work

NOAA says stabilization choices depend on wave energy, tidal range and shoreline slope. Sheltered estuaries, bays and rivers are good candidates; open-ocean beaches usually are not. Site analysis comes first.

Around Jacksonville that points to quieter creeks and coves off the St. Johns, the Ortega and Arlington rivers and marsh-edged lots, rather than long, wave-exposed reaches of the main river or the ocean shore. Boat wakes on the Intracoastal Waterway are a real design load.

Understanding Living Shorelines

The state exemption for planted shorelines

Florida exempts planting native wetland vegetation to restore an eroding shoreline when it covers 500 linear feet or less and the plantings extend no more than 10 feet waterward of the high-water line. A low breakwater can be added within tight limits: toe within 10 feet, no higher than mean high water, materials such as bagged oyster shell or rock, and a 5-foot opening every 75 feet.

Florida DEP describes living shorelines as combining green and gray infrastructure and notes their cost efficiency for low-energy sites.

Rule 62-330.051(12)(e), F.A.C. · Resilient Florida Program: Living Shorelines

Federal permits now name living shorelines and living seawalls

The 2026 Nationwide Permits include NWP 54 for living shorelines on low-to-mid-energy coastal shores, extending no more than 30 feet from mean low water and 500 feet along the bank unless waived. NWP 13 for bank stabilization now expressly allows nature-based features on new and existing seawalls and bulkheads, such as textured surfaces, crevices, shelves and rock at the toe.

That means a replacement wall can include habitat features without becoming a different project type. Ask your designer whether the textured or toe-rock option fits your wall.

2026 NWP 54 – Living Shorelines · 2026 NWP 13 – Bank Stabilization (nature-based solutions) · 2026 NWP 13. Bank Stabilization (nature-based solutions) · Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits (91 FR 768, Jan. 8, 2026)

Projects to learn from in Northeast Florida

• GTM Research Reserve, Intracoastal Waterway: since 2017 the reserve has tested oyster-shell gabion breaks against biodegradable structures in its busy northern reach, where wave and boat traffic are heavy.
• Fernandina Beach riverfront: the city’s Amelia Riverfront study for its 1.1-mile historic waterfront combines slope armoring with a living shoreline of oyster-shell bags and marsh grass.

GTM Research Reserve Re-Engineers Living Shorelines with New Program · Resilient Florida Program – Living Shorelines

Aquatic preserves and Outstanding Florida Waters

Northeast Florida’s aquatic preserves (Nassau River–St. Johns River Marshes, Fort Clinch State Park, Guana River Marsh and Pellicer Creek) do not allow new seawalls waterward of the high-water line. Their waters, and the waters of the Timucuan Preserve, are Outstanding Florida Waters with the highest protection. On these shorelines a living or hybrid approach may be the realistic option for new protection.

s. 258.39, F.S. – Boundaries of preserves (2026) · s. 258.394, F.S. – Guana River Marsh Aquatic Preserve (2026) · Rule 18-20.004, F.A.C. – Aquatic Preserve Management Policies, Standards and Criteria · Rule 62-302.700, F.A.C. – Special Protection, Outstanding Florida Waters

Questions for a living-shoreline designer

• What wave, wake and tide conditions did you measure or assume at my shoreline?
• Which exemption or permit applies, and does my property sit in an aquatic preserve or Outstanding Florida Water?
• How will the planting be maintained in the first two growing seasons, and who replaces losses?
• Can my existing wall stay in place behind a sill or toe feature instead of being replaced?