What is a living shoreline?
Short answer: a living shoreline uses marsh plants, oyster shell or low rock sills to hold a bank. It suits gentle, sheltered bay shores. It does not suit a busy harbor wall or the open Gulf beach.
The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) describes a living shoreline as plants combined with oyster shell, or with riprap or offshore breakwaters. It calls them workable for low to moderate erosion in Choctawhatchee Bay. CBA also says hard structures such as seawalls and bulkheads often increase erosion by reflecting wave energy. CBA living shorelines
NOAA describes living shorelines as options for sheltered coasts, bays and estuaries, not open-ocean beaches. NOAA Fisheries
- Sill: a low line of rock or shell set in front of the marsh. It breaks small waves, while gaps let water and fish pass.
- Breakwater: a larger rock or shell structure set offshore to knock down waves before they reach the bank.
- Hybrid: a wall, often repaired rather than replaced, with rock or marsh in front of it.
Why Choctawhatchee Bay suits softer shorelines
The bay is a young estuary. Until 1929 it was a freshwater-to-brackish lake with only a very shallow pass to the Gulf. East Pass was dug that year, and the bay became salty at the bottom and fresher on top. FWC bay history
It also has almost no tide. NOAA's bay stations show only about half a foot between average high and low water. NOAA bay tide ranges With so little tide, small differences in planting elevation matter, so have them surveyed.
Salinity is lowest in the eastern half, near the Choctawhatchee River, which affects where oysters grow. FWC oyster report At Veterans Park, the county traced erosion to boat wake as well as storms. UF/IFAS Okaloosa Extension Ask your designer which of those forces is eating your bank.
What has been built on Choctawhatchee Bay
The largest local example sits on Okaloosa Island. The county finished 2,000 feet of living shoreline near Veterans Park and Ross Marler Park, with a ribbon cutting on February 12, 2026. Okaloosa County release
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
Breakwaters | 16, on stone-filled marine mattresses, totaling 2,090 linear feet |
Stone | About 5,000 tons |
Marsh | One acre of new salt marsh and 0.6 acre enhanced |
Plants | Smooth cordgrass, black needlerush and marsh-hay cordgrass |
Boardwalk | 1,900 square feet |
Cause of erosion | Boat wake, storms and natural processes |
Funding | $1.5 million bed tax, $1.5 million NFWF grant, $1.6 million RESTORE |
Contract price | About $4.6 million, on the February 2025 county agenda |
Details: UF/IFAS Okaloosa Extension Okaloosa agenda
CBA and its partners have helped build nearly 70 living shorelines since the Panhandle Living Shoreline Initiative began in 2007. A project finished in December 2024 restored salt marsh and oyster reef at 43 sites. USFWS story USFWS story
Next is Highway 98 on Okaloosa Island, where a concrete seawall more than 40 years old is badly degraded. In December 2025, county staff recommended an $841,105 contract to design and permit a living shoreline there. 2023 grant item 2025 design contract
South Walton: why the county points to riprap and plants
Walton County bans new vertical seawalls and bulkheads along Choctawhatchee Bay, except 150-foot infill between two existing walls. Elsewhere on the bay it requires revetments, riprap, native plants or other wave-absorbing designs. Walton LDC 4.03.03
On the coastal dune lakes, the county bans seawalls, bulkheads, revetments and riprap within 300 feet of the water. Planting is the realistic tool there. Walton LDC 4.02.03
The county is planning its own project. In February 2026 it approved a $595,000 NFWF grant for preliminary design of a bay living shoreline, budgeted as the Choctaw Beach Living Shoreline Project. Walton BCC minutes See the Walton County guide for more.
Florida's living shoreline exemption
Florida exempts restoring an eroding shoreline with native wetland plants, within set limits. You may still need state-lands permission, federal review and local approvals. Rule 62-330.051(12)(e)
| Item | Limit |
|---|---|
Shoreline length | 500 linear feet or less |
How far out | Plants no more than 10 feet waterward of mean high water |
Plants | Commercially grown native stock, with invasive plants removed |
Optional breakwater | Toe within 10 feet of mean high water, top no higher than mean high water |
Breakwater materials | Bagged oyster shell, reef balls, boulders, clean concrete rubble, riprap or rock sills |
Distance from habitat | At least 3 feet from seagrass or existing marsh |
Openings | A 5-foot gap at least every 75 feet |
Equipment | Operated from land |
Rule text: Rule 62-330.051(12)(e). DEP charges $100 to verify an exemption. Rule 62-4.050 Ask the Northwest District how long verification is taking now.
A dedicated state general permit for living shorelines has been proposed but not adopted, so do not plan around it yet. Proposed Rule 62-330.604
The federal side: nationwide permit 54
Federal approval comes from the Army Corps' Pensacola Permits Section, (850) 470-9824. USACE office locations
- NWP 54 covers living shorelines in low- to mid-energy coastal waters with small fetch, the open water that wind can blow across. It needs a strong living part, such as marsh or oyster reef. Fill and structures can reach 30 feet past mean low water and 500 feet along the bank, unless waived. 2026 NWP 54
- NWP 13 covers bank stabilization. It now names nature-based features beside a seawall, such as textured faces, rock clusters or shellfish bags. 2026 NWP 13
Natural designs still need every permit a wall would, as NOAA points out. NOAA Fisheries Our permit guide lays out the order.
Seagrass and oysters on the Okaloosa side
Seagrass in Choctawhatchee Bay grows only in the middle and western bay, on shallow edges. FWC seagrass report The western half of the bay is in Okaloosa County. FWC bay history
Beds come and go. Coverage was 5,735 acres in 2015, up from 1,768 in 2007, and shoalgrass and widgeongrass can change fast. FWC seagrass trend
- A breakwater under the state exemption must stay at least 3 feet from seagrass.
- Prop scarring was heaviest near Destin, just inside the inlet. FWC prop scar finding
- There has been no significant oyster mapping in Okaloosa County, so a site check matters. FWC oyster report
What a living shoreline costs here
No local homeowner prices are published. The county's park project is the only detailed bid, and it is public-works scale.
| Bid item | Unit price | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
Mobilization and demobilization | $752,400 lump sum | 1 |
Armor stone | About $248 per ton | 5,000 tons |
Marine mattress | About $23 per square foot | 68,570 sq ft |
Coir log | About $53 per linear foot | 1,170 LF |
Salt marsh creation | About $91,000 total | About 1 acre |
Boardwalk | About $241 per square foot | 1,900 sq ft |
Unit prices: Veterans Park bid tab. The whole contract works out to about $2,100 per foot or less, including the boardwalk. Okaloosa agenda Armor stone and marine mattress made up about 60% of the bid.
A small marsh sill on a calm private lot will look nothing like that. See the bulkhead cost guide for wall prices to compare.
When a hybrid makes sense
A hybrid keeps a repaired wall and adds rock or marsh in front of it. NOAA lists the factors that decide fit: wave energy, tide range, slope, elevation, soil, plants, neighbors and drainage. NOAA site factors
| Your shoreline | Likely fit |
|---|---|
Gentle slope, room in front, light boat traffic | Living shoreline or marsh sill |
Sound vertical wall with scour at the toe | Riprap toe, or a sill in front of the wall |
Failing wall on Destin bay or bayou frontage | Replacement with riprap in front, or a hybrid Destin LDC 11.01.10 |
Failing wall on Walton bay frontage | Revetment, riprap or plants, unless the lot is true infill Walton LDC 4.03.03 |
Destin Harbor working frontage | Usually a vertical wall. The harbor is a busy channel for larger boats. Destin channel request |
Gulf beach | Not a living shoreline setting. Coastal (CCCL) rules apply. NOAA Fisheries |
Coastal dune lake | Plants only, with no armoring Walton LDC 4.02.03 |
Riprap in front of an existing wall has its own state general permit. DEP riprap general permit See riprap and toe protection.
Who can help plan one
- Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance. Gives technical and permitting help on public and private land. Contact is through the form on its website. USFWS story CBA contact page
- UF/IFAS Okaloosa Extension. Runs the county's living shoreline page. (850) 689-5850. UF/IFAS Okaloosa Extension
- Florida DEP. Publishes living shoreline guidance and a database of public projects. DEP Resilient Florida
- A coastal engineer and a marine contractor. For the design, the permits and the build.
Tell us about your shoreline and we will help you find a qualified marine contractor or designer for the next step. Start with the project planner.
Where local rules favor a living shoreline
On these shores, rock, plants or a planted sill is often the expected design, not the alternative.
- Santa Rosa Beach, Hogtown Bayou & Point Washington: county rules favor rock and living shorelines over new vertical walls.
- Choctaw Beach & Basin Bayou: Walton limits new vertical walls on the open bay.
- Joe's Bayou: the bayou is a protected zone, and no seawall may go in coastal marsh.
- Okaloosa Island: the county finished 2,000 feet of living shoreline at Veterans and Ross Marler parks in February 2026.
- 30A coastal dune lakes: hard armoring is banned within 300 feet, so docks, buffers and plants are the tools.
Show sourcesHide sources
- Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- NOAA Fisheries: Understanding Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Summary Report for Choctawhatchee Bay, SIMM Report No. 3 (Technical Report 17, Version 3, 2018)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- CO-OPS Metadata API: datums for stations 8729501, 8729479, 8729425, 8729376, 8729538 (one URL shown; same endpoint pattern per station)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Oyster Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program Report No. 2, Chapter 2: Northwest Florida (Technical Report 22, Version 2, 2022)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Choctawhatchee Bay Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Okaloosa County Completes 2,000 feet of Living Shoreline on the Choctawhatchee Bay (press release)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Okaloosa County BCC Agenda Packet, February 4, 2025 (Agenda Request: Empire Builders Group, Inc.; Agreement; Bid Tabulation Sheet; ITB PW 76-24 Addendum 3 with NFWF grant agreement)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- A Lasting Partnership for Florida's Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Okaloosa County BCC Agenda Request: NOAA $6M Transformational Habitat Restoration Grant Application (November 7, 2023)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Okaloosa County BCC Agenda Request: Cummins Cederberg, Inc. (December 9, 2025)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Walton County LDC Chapter IV Resource Protection Standards, Sec. 4.03.03 (Municode, Supp. 70 Update 1)Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Walton County BCC Regular Meeting Minutes, Thursday, February 26, 2026Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- 62-330.051 Exempt ActivitiesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- 62-4.050 Procedure to Obtain Permits and Other Authorizations; ApplicationsSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Rule 62-330.604: General Permit for the Installation, Construction and Maintenance of Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Jacksonville District Regulatory Office LocationsSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits (full text), NWP 54Source reviewed 2026-10-27
- Destin LDC Sec. 11.01.10 Bay shoreline protection zoneSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Florida House funding request #2958: Destin Harbor channel dredgeSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- 62-330.431 General Permit for Installation of RiprapSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Contact UsSource reviewed 2026-10-27
- Resilient Florida Program - Living ShorelinesSource reviewed 2026-10-27