Coastal Dune Repair and Restoration

Project Overview

The March 2, 2018, Nor’easter ‘Riley’ caused severe erosion up and down the MA coastline and in particular to the coastal dune in very close proximity to a home on Coffins Beach in Gloucester, MA. MassDEP issued Emergency Declarations for a limited timeframe for repair and restoration of storm-damaged coastal resource areas without obtaining wetland permits. This dune repair and restoration work was complicated by the mapped habitat of the shorebird Piping Plover by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program’s (NHESP) Priority Habitat of Rare Species. Hancock Associates coordinated the approval of the construction methodology with MassDEP, the Gloucester Conservation Commission and NHESP. We worked closely with the contractor to oversee the repair and restoration and provided shorebird monitoring services to avoid any disturbance of potential nesting habitat of Piping Plovers. Following the emergency dune repair and restoration, we obtained a wetland permit to build a boardwalk over the restored coastal dune to minimize disturbance of the re-vegetated coastal dune while still maintaining access to the beach.