SHORE-BET: A marsh restoration coastal community benefit tool

Madelyn Atkins ’24 and Sophie Jackson ’24

 

This living shoreline economics project developed an interactive web-based tool, SHORE-BET: MARSH RESTORATION COASTAL COMMUNITY BENEFIT TOOL, that calculates gained ecosystem and community benefits for marsh restoration projects. This tool is intended to support preliminary planning, reporting, and restoration prioritization. SHORE-BET calculates the economic value of select key coastal community benefits to be gained by using living shoreline techniques that restore marshes. This tool helps to account for these ecosystem services so that coastal communities can be better informed when making decisions impacting their environment, economy, and overall quality of life. The geographic focus of this is the counties along the Chesapeake Bay within the Middle Peninsula, Virginia (Gloucester, Mathews, Middlesex); however, the approaches behind the tool can be transferred to other regions.