05/06/2026 |

11 Project Teams from Across New England Selected to Participate in 2026 Living Shorelines Planning Series

The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Woods Hole Group, and Stone Living Lab are pleased to announce the selection of 11 organizations from across New England to participate in our 2026 Living Shoreline Planning Series. The following coastal communities, non-profit organizations, and Tribes will receive free training and technical assistance to help identify suitable approaches and develop conceptual designs for living shorelines at their project sites:

  • Town of Bourne, Massachusetts: Monk’s Park Living Shoreline
  • City of Quincy, Massachusetts: Rock Island Cove Marsh and Shoreline Restoration and Stabilization
  • Town Green (with City of Gloucester, Massachusetts): Nature-based Solutions for Protecting Good Harbor Beach
  • Sipayik Environment Department, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Maine: Protecting Eelgrass Beds in Cobscook Bay
  • Town of Tremont, Maine: Preserving Public Recreation Access in Seal Cove
  • Town of Hampton, New Hampshire: Sun Valley Beach and Dune Restoration
  • City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Improving Resiliency at Jackson House
  • Aquidneck Island Land Trust / Aquidneck Resilience, Newport, Rhode Island: Scaling Living Shoreline Solutions for Aquidneck Island
  • Pokanoket Tribe, Bristol, Rhode Island: Pokanoket Traditional Living Shoreline
  • Town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island: Cormorant Cove Living Shoreline Project
  • Green Jubilee (with City of Bridgeport, Connecticut): Living Shoreline at Seaside Park

Project teams will benefit from online training sessions, in-person site visits, and support from technical experts to guide the development of conceptual designs, cost estimates, and monitoring and maintenance plans for living shoreline projects. These nature-based approaches will help reduce erosion and coastal flooding and increase resilience, with co-benefits such as improved habitat and public access to coastal resources. Technical training sessions and site visits will take place throughout the summer, with conceptual designs to be completed by September 2026.

By participating in this Living Shorelines Planning Series, project teams will benefit from the following expected outcomes:

  • Development of an industry-standard conceptual design and associated project narrative for their living shoreline project.
  • An inventory of stakeholders to engage in future phases of the project and an initial outline for how they will be engaged.
  • An opinion of the cost estimate and anticipated maintenance and monitoring requirements for their selected living shoreline project.
  • Improved understanding of how to scope and discuss living shoreline projects with representatives from regulatory and permitting agencies, as well as with engineers and project consultants, positioning participants to apply for future funding opportunities.
  • Applicant is well-positioned to secure funding to advance the project beyond the conceptual design phase.

Educational materials and lessons learned from this Living Shorelines Planning Series will be shared with the broader coastal management community to help build knowledge and capacity for developing successful living shorelines projects across New England.

Questions about this project may be directed to Joan LeBlanc at jleblanc@northeastoceancouncil.org or Dan Goulart at daniel.goulart@TNC.org.

This project is being coordinated through NROC’s Coastal Hazards and Resilience Committee. Funding for this project was provided by NOAA [Award Number NA23NOS4730040] Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to the Coastal States Stewardship Foundation to support the project, “Implementation and Coordination of Ocean and Coastal Management Priorities for the Northeastern United States via the Northeast Regional Ocean Council”. Additional funding is generously provided by TNC.