Habitat Modifications as of 2015

Tidal inlet and sandy beach habitat have been modified throughout the entire U.S. Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover (Charadrius melodus), from Maine to North Carolina. Inlets and sandy beaches are highly valuable habitats for piping plovers, red knots, other shorebirds, and waterbirds for nesting, foraging, loafing, and roosting. The North Atlantic LCC has designated the piping plover as a representative species in all three subregions, standing as a surrogate for other species using dynamic beach systems including American oystercatchers, least terns, black skimmers, seabeach amaranth and migrating shorebirds. Two sets of detailed habitat inventories were completed to assess the presence, absence and condition of tidal inlet and sandy beach habitat from Maine to North Carolina as of 2015, three years after Hurricane Sandy.

Tidal inlets that were open during the three years following Hurricane Sandy were located and identified using Google Earth imagery from 2013, 2014, 2015 and early 2016. An inventory of the inlets that were open in 2015 was compiled with known habitat modifications recorded for each inlet using Microsoft Excel. Habitat modifications included in the inventory were (1) armor (hard shoreline stabilization structures), (2) dredging, (3) inlet mining, (4) artificial inlet openings, and (5) artificial inlet closures. Inlets that were historically open and that opened and closed between 2012 and 2015 also were identified and located where sufficient information existed to mark their approximate location on current maps. In 2015, 412 tidal inlets were open along the U.S. Atlantic coast from Maine to North Carolina.

Sandy beach habitat was located and identified using Google Earth imagery from 2013, 2014, 2015 and early 2016 as well, excluding beaches located on inner harbors and bays. An inventory of the sandy beach habitat present within each community was compiled with known habitat modifications recorded using Microsoft Excel. Habitat modifications included in the inventory were (1) beachfront development, (2) beachfront armor (hard shoreline stabilization structures), (3) known locations of sediment placement projects (including beach nourishment and dredged material placement), (4) beachfront lands in public or non-governmental organization (NGO) ownership, (5) locations of beach scraping between November 2012 and the end of 2015, and (6) locations of sand fencing present at any time between November 2012 and the end of 2015. In late 2015 or early 2016, approximately 1,650.68 miles (2,656.51 kilometers) of sandy beach habitat were present from Maine to North Carolina.

NOTE: This habitat inventory and associated products differ from the 2012 (pre-Hurricane Sandy) habitat inventory and products through the inclusion of the state of North Carolina and two new habitat modification types (beach scraping and sand fencing).

Product Descriptions and Links:

 

Tidal Inlet Habitat as of 2015

The habitat inventory for tidal inlets is summarized in an assessment report and associated data products for the entire study area from Maine to North Carolina:

Inventory of Habitat Modifications of Tidal Inlets from Maine to the North Carolina as of 2015 (.pdf report)

Tidal Inlet Habitat Inventory Database from Maine to the North Carolina as of 2015 (Microsoft Excel)

Historical and Artificial Tidal Inlets Database from Maine to the North Carolina as of 2015 (Microsoft Excel)

The location of tidal inlets that were open in 2015, three years after Hurricane Sandy, plus all the known locations of historical inlets, are available in a Google Earth (.kmz) data layer:

Tidal Inlets as of 2015 (Google Earth .kmz)

Tidal Inlets as of 2015 Metadata

Sandy Beach Habitat as of 2015

The habitat inventory for sandy beach habitat is summarized in an assessment report and Google Earth data layers for the entire study area from Maine to North Carolina. This inventory and its associated data products differ from the pre-Hurricane Sandy (2012) sandy beach habitat inventory in several ways: (1) the entire study area is included in one assessment and suite of datasets; (2) sandy beach habitat in Massachusetts is included, updating the Massachusetts Coastal Erosion Commission dataset used in the pre-Hurricane Sandy (2012) inventory; (3) sandy beach habitat in North Carolina is included, updating the dataset used in the pre-Hurricane Sandy (2012) inventory developed for the coastal migration and wintering range of the piping plover; (4) the addition of beach scraping as a new habitat modification; and (5) the addition of sand fencing as a new habitat modification.

Inventory of Habitat Modifications of Sandy Beaches from Maine to the North Carolina as of 2015 (.pdf report)

Sandy Beach Habitat Modification Data Products

The central sandy beach habitat inventory database includes the following community-level data for 322 communities from Georgetown, ME, through North Carolina, listed in geographic order from north to south: (1) the total length of sandy beach habitat present in 2015; (2) the length of armored shoreline where no sandy beach habitat was present seaward of the armor; (3) the length and proportion of beachfront modified by development; (4) the length and proportion of sandy shoreline modified by armor; (5) the length and proportion of beachfront that had been modified by sediment placement as of 2015; (6) the length and proportion of sandy beach modified by beach scraping between 2012 and 2015; and (7) the length and proportion of sandy beach modified by sand fencing at any time between 2012 and 2015.

As of 2015, 1,742.16 miles (2,803.73 kilometers) of sandy shoreline was present between Georgetown, ME, and the North Carolina-South Carolina state boundary, with 1,650.68 miles (2,656.51 km) of sandy beach habitat present and 90.88 miles (146.26 km) where sandy beach habitat was absent seaward of hard stabilization structures, or armor.

Sandy Beach 2015 Habitat Inventory Database from Maine to North Carolina (Microsoft Excel)

Beachfront Development Data Products

The inventory data represent the presence or absence of sandy beach habitat in 2015 plus the segments of sandy beach habitat modified by adjacent beachfront development.  The presence or absence of sandy beach habitat and beachfront development were located and identified using Google Earth imagery from 2015 and recorded for each community in Microsoft Excel (see the database link above).  Only ocean-facing shorelines or those directly exposed to Long Island Sound or the Peconic Estuary were included in this project area; inner harbors and bays were excluded, for a total length of sandy shoreline of 1,742 miles from Maine to North Carolina (with ~1,651 miles of sandy beach and ~91 miles of armored shoreline without sandy beach habitat in 2015).  Altogether, 775.27 miles (1,247.68 km; 45%) of sandy oceanfront shoreline from Maine through North Carolina were developed as of 2015.  

North Atlantic Sandy Beach Habitat 2015 (Google Earth .kmz)

North Atlantic Sandy Beach Habitat 2015 Metadata

Public & NGO-Owned Beachfront Data Products

The inventory data represent the boundaries of beachfront lands in public or non-governmental organization (NGO) ownership. Public and NGO-owned beachfront tracts of land were identified using management documents for various public or NGO-owned lands, county or municipal parcel data, and/or existing state data layers for conservation lands, public beaches, or open space.   The boundaries of sandy beach habitat present in 2015 within public and NGO-owned beachfront tracts were delineated in Google Earth and recorded for each tract in a Microsoft Excel database.  Altogether 48% of the sandy beach habitat, or about 828 miles (1,333 km), in the U.S. Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover (ME to NC) were known to be in public or NGO ownership in 2015.  Note that the inventory data do not include public beaches in several states where private property is immediately adjacent to the beach, but are limited to lands immediately adjacent to the beach that were in public or NGO ownership.  

North Atlantic Public & NGO Owned Beachfront Lands 2015 Database (Microsoft Excel)

North Atlantic Public & NGO Beachfront 2015 (Google Earth .kmz)

North Atlantic Public & NGO Beachfront 2015 Metadata

Beachfront Armor Data Products

The inventory data represent the approximate locations of hard shoreline stabilization structures along the U.S. North Atlantic coast from Maine through North Carolina visible in Google Earth imagery at or before late 2015 or early 2016.  Hard shoreline stabilization structures included in the inventory were seawalls, bulkheads, revetments, breakwaters, groins, jetties and geotube or sandbag structures.  The armoring structures were located and identified using Google Earth imagery from 1989 through early 2016 and recorded for each community in Microsoft Excel (see the database link listed above).  Only ocean-facing shorelines or those directly exposed to Long Island Sound or the Peconic Estuary were included in this project area; inner harbors and bays were excluded, for a total length of sandy shoreline of 1,742 miles from Maine to North Carolina (with 1,651 miles of sandy beach and 91 miles of armored shoreline without sandy beach habitat in 2015).  At least 27% of the North Atlantic sandy shoreline was modified with hard shoreline stabilization structures as of 2015, with up to 5,144 groins, 235 jetties, 2,886 contiguous sections of seawalls, bulkheads and/or revetments, and 96 breakwaters identified.  

North Atlantic Beachfront Armor 2015 (Google Earth .kmz)

North Atlantic Beachfront Armor 2015 Metadata

Sediment Placement Data Products

The inventory data represent the approximate locations of sediment placement projects constructed along the U.S. North Atlantic coast from Maine through North Carolina as of 2015.  The data also include the locations of sediment placement projects that were proposed but not constructed as of 2015.  Sediment placement projects included in the inventory were beach nourishment projects, coastal storm damage reduction projects, beneficial placement or disposal of dredged material, and construction of artificial dunes with fill material.  Project data were identified from published literature, government reports and documents, permit applications, and the beach nourishment database of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS) at Western Carolina University.  Sediment placement project details were recorded for each state in Microsoft Excel and organized to eliminate overlapping project areas.  Only ocean-facing shorelines or those directly exposed to Long Island Sound or the Peconic Estuary were included in this project area; inner harbors and bays were excluded, for a total length of sandy beaches of 1,651 miles from Maine to North Carolina.  As of 2015, at least 23% of the sandy beaches in the U.S. Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover were modified with sediment placement projects, with over 393 miles of sediment placement projects.  Project location and length data were not available for over 100 identified project areas, however, so the total length of sandy beach modified by sediment placement projects is conservative.

North Atlantic Sediment Placement Projects as of 2015 Database (Microsoft Excel) 

North Atlantic Sediment Placement Projects 2015 (Google Earth .kmz) 

North Atlantic Sediment Placement Projects 2015 Metadata (Excel)