Living shorelines & riprap
on the St. Lucie River.

The essentials before you start

• Compare more than a vertical wall ↗

  Vegetation, riprap and hybrid designs have different site and permit needs.

• Check the space your shoreline offers ↗

  Discuss slope, exposure and room for planting before choosing a design.

• Look at local examples ↗

  Use Treasure Coast projects to prepare questions about your own shoreline.

Three shoreline types, three permit stories

Florida Statutes s. 373.414 - Additional criteria for activities in surface waters and wetlands · Fla. Admin. Code R. 62-330.431 - General Permit for Installation of Riprap · Fla. Admin. Code R. 62-330.051 - Exempt Activities

Martin County encourages vegetation first

Martin County says it encourages shoreline stabilization with native vegetation, with significantly reduced fees and review times. Its fee schedule shows a Living Shoreline Permit at $390 versus $1,840 for a new seawall, retaining wall or riprap, which also needs a $390 qualification review. The county’s comprehensive plan allows shoreline hardening only as its coastal and conservation chapters permit.

Shoreline Stabilization Permitting (SSP) Application Help Document · Environmental Applications and Permits Fee Schedule · Comprehensive Plan Chapter 2 - Overall Goals and Definitions

How the costs compare

UF/IFAS Extension cites living shorelines at 2–20% of an armored shoreline’s installation cost per foot, or 1–12% including repair and maintenance, and notes that water-only access costs more. Real projects vary: Martin County’s 300-foot Twin Rivers Park hybrid shoreline (riprap revetment plus breakwaters) cost $1,610 per foot at award and $2,322 per foot after change orders, including $186,000 for gopher tortoise protection mats required by its wildlife permit.

ENH1393/EP657: Steps to Connecting Floridians to Living Shorelines · Supplemental Memorandum, Contracts That Meet the Threshold for Board Approval (25-0349), Items B.2 and B.3; also memo 25-0006 Item B.1

Local examples you can visit

• Stuart’s SE Illinois Avenue living shoreline on the St. Lucie River was awarded at $207,472 in 2023 after its budget doubled from $170,000 because of construction cost increases.
• Martin County’s Bird Island project in the Indian River Lagoon combined a 400-foot rock reef, 11 rock breakwaters and 100 red mangroves.
• Fort Pierce’s marina breakwater islands, built after Frances and Jeanne destroyed 140 marina slips, include oyster reef, mangrove, dune and seagrass habitat.
• Florida Oceanographic Society reports nearly 60,000 sq ft of oyster reef restored in the St. Lucie Estuary and lagoon, and runs a Living Docks program that attaches oyster mats to private dock pilings.

Stuart City Commission Regular Meeting 8/28/2023: Resolution No. 68-2023, Approve Award of ITB #2023-108 SE Illinois Avenue Living Shoreline Project · Stuart City Commission 7/10/2023: Resolution 51-2023, Amendment to IRL2022-06 Cost-Share Agreement; Resolution 122-2022 (12/12/2022) · Bird Island Shoreline Stabilization · Environmental Stewardship Award Narrative - The Fort Pierce City Marina · FL.O.O.R. - Florida Oceanographic Oyster Restoration · Florida Oceanographic restoration programs (IRL)

Check whether your shoreline has room

NOAA lists wave energy, tidal range, slope, elevation, soils, vegetation, neighboring shorelines and drainage as living-shoreline design factors. The Indian River Lagoon program encourages homeowners to replace seawalls, bulkheads or riprap with living shorelines where they work. Narrow Port St. Lucie finger canals rarely have the room; open river and lagoon frontage often does.

Understanding Living Shorelines · Live Lagoon-Friendly: For Homeowners

Federal permits for nature-based work

The 2026 Nationwide Permit 54 covers living shorelines up to 30 feet from mean low water and 500 feet along the bank, and always requires pre-construction notification. NWP 13 now also covers nature-based features attached to seawalls, such as textured panels and oyster structures.

Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits (91 FR 768), NWP 54 · Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits (91 FR 768), NWP 13