Living Shorelines

Leesylvania State Park Living Shorelines Project

Project Update: We published a report in August 2020 as a followup to our work at the Park. You can download the report here.

At Leesylvania State Park in Prince William County, VA, annually over 500,000 people visit one of the few public beaches in the Northern Virginia region. To maintain the integrity of the shoreline in this popular section of the Potomac River, the Leesylvania Living Shorelines project provides shoreline stabilization and protection, while enhancing and restoring riparian, inter-tidal and near-shore habitat.

The design utilizes living shoreline practices, such as sills, marsh restoration, and beach enhancement to balance habitat restoration with shoreline protection and recreational access to the Potomac River.

Living shorelines provide an effective and natural looking alternative to protecting shorelines in low wave energy areas, such as the Potomac River and it's tidal tributaries.

Benefits include:
  • 800 linear feet of stabilized shoreline
  • 22,000 square feet of enhanced riparian buffer habitat
  • 25,000 square feet of restored inter-tidal marsh and beach habitat

The video below was taken in September 2023.

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Funding Sponsors
This project is funded, in part, through the Chesapeake Bay Trust's Living Shoreline Initiative, in conjuction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Restoration Center and Maryland Department of the Environment.
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