Knowledge Gaps and Research Priorities in Living Shorelines Science: Insights from Stakeholder Interviews Throughout the U.S. Pacific Coast

Abstract

Living shorelines provide a nature-based strategy for coastal restoration with ample opportunity for community engagement and collaboration with interdisciplinary stakeholders. While their implementation has increased over the past few decades, restoration via this technique is limited by several factors including a lack of data sharing among projects and geographical regions, a shortage of long-term monitoring to demonstrate efficacy at meeting project goals, and a need for greater interdisciplinary communication moving forward. In this study, we reviewed recent literature from a range of living shorelines studies throughout the United States and conducted interviews with nature-based coastal restoration practitioners primarily from the U.S. west coast. The insight from these stakeholder interviews allowed us to identify major knowledge gaps about living shorelines and establish priorities for future research and funding, including: (1) funding demonstration projects in their early research stages, (2) supporting projects and trainings for engineers utilizing nature-based infrastructure, (3) conducting long-term monitoring of both ecological and structural properties, (4) communicating findings, importance, and project visualizations to stakeholders within and between communities, and (5) advancing the causes of environmental justice and equity. By reviewing recent literature and engaging with living shoreline practitioners to gather their experiences and suggestions, we have increased understanding of how living shoreline restoration can be more effectively planned, constructed, and monitored at scale, in varied locations and using a range of techniques.