Assessing Decision-Making in Shoreline Management Among North Carolina’s Waterfront Property Owners

The state of North Carolina is abundant in coastal resources including more than 12,000 miles of estuarine shoreline. Of approximately 600 miles of “modified” shoreline, 86.8% involve a bulkhead. Many coastal states now recommend the use of alternative stabilization methods, such as living shorelines or marsh sills. In comparison to bulkheads, seawalls and other hardened structures, these soft shore stabilization techniques better approximate the natural functions of the estuarine ecosystem while slowing the rate of erosion, often at a lower cost. Despite this, bulkheads remain the preferred method of erosion prevention in North Carolina. This project seeks to understand North Carolina waterfront property owners’ perceptions on options for shoreline stabilization and the the critical factors in their decision-making. Information gathered from a series of semi-structured interviews is used to make outreach recommendations within the state’s permitting framework.