Hail Point Living Shoreline Project, Eastern Neck NWR

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This project for the Hail Point Living Shoreline Project (HPLSP) will provide for the placement of segmented headland breakwaters to protect priority fish and wildlife habitat on Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), a management unit of the Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. These stone structures will protect the shoreline from future erosion and provide access to the site for a second phase of the project to create a living shoreline by further stabilizing and restoring marsh habitat. The Project will be completed in two phases. Phase I, covered by this proposal, includes shoreline protection at Hail Point and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitat protection in Hail Creek, which discharges into the Chester River. To accomplish this, headland breakwaters will be constructed connecting two points on either end of the eroded shoreline. The conceptual design of the breakwaters includes five 200 foot sections with four 50 foot openings between them. The area to be protected within the cove created landward of the breakwaters covers 8.9 acres and 2,015 feet of linear shoreline. The sheltered area of Hail Creek protected by Hail Point supports 108 acres of aquatic habitat including extensive SAV beds. The total area of Hail Point amounts to 540 acres, which consist of primarily emergent and forested wetlands. The first phase is the most critical aspect of the project. Without this shoreline protection effort, the entire area including Hail Point and Hail Creek is in jeopardy of being lost to erosion as seen with other island areas of the Bay. Phase II, subject to future grant funding, will consist of a living shoreline component to further stabilize the shoreline and create additional foraging, rearing, and nesting habitat for Chester River living resources. The habitat benefits of Phase II are 1.5 acres of marsh and open beach creation along 1,200 feet of shoreline.

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