Joe Rieger, deputy director of restoration for The Elizabeth River Project in Norfolk, Va. will present a webinar about the use of living shorelines in urban Virginia. Submitted photo
The Elizabeth River Project and living shorelines in urban Virginia is the topic of a free webinar to be presented at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 26, by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in partnership with the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee.
The webinar speaker is Joe Rieger, deputy director of restoration for The Elizabeth River Project in Norfolk, Va. Rieger will provide an overview of the project, and of the non-profit organization’s work in southeastern Virginia over the past 30 years. His presentation will showcase the significant water quality improvements and achieved oyster restoration goals in two tributaries in the surrounding area.
He will also tell how the organization pioneered the first living shoreline cost-share program for homeowners in the United States and carried out the country’s first community lead cleanup of contaminated river bottom. Part of his presentation will go into detail about the River Star Homes Program, a program that offers homeowners matching funds for completing projects, while offering them a turnkey process for project delivery via The Elizabeth River Project’s staff.
The presentation will highlight how The Elizabeth River Project designs oyster habitat into living shoreline projects to improve marsh habitat which can help to reduce overall project cost. The webinar will cover lessons learned, successes, innovative designs, and adaptive management strategies used at over 30 living shorelines completed on private homeowners’ properties.
The webinar is part of an ongoing virtual series offered by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, a work group dedicated to facilitating the understanding, peer review and implementation of living shoreline strategy within the state. DNREC’s participation is represented by the DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment program.
For more information, visit the Delaware Living Shorelines website. Registration for the webinar and more information about it are also available on the DNREC events and meetings calendar at de.gov/DNRECmeetings.
About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov
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