Shoreline Management Along the Cohesive Shorelines of the Great Lakes

The primary focus of Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) is minimizing the risks to life and property due to flood and erosion hazards. Various approaches are utilized to minimize these risks, including preventative techniques such as setbacks for new development, relocation of existing development and erosion and flood protection structures. The supply of sand to the shoreline, which allows protective beaches to develop at the toe of the bluffs, is principally derived from the erosion of the bluffs themselves. As such, the construction of shore protection can have a significant impact on the supply of sand to the shoreline, and the stability of downdrift beaches. The erosion of cohesive shorelines is an irreversible process, unlike the reversible storm erosion of beaches. This has far-reaching implications to both existing and future development along the shoreline. Much of the existing developmental is within the erosion hazard zone, and there is increasing pressure for additional development within this zone.