NCCOS Project Explorer (NPE)

Ecosystem management plan for coastal wetlands and estuarine shoreline habitats on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC(2009)

Project Description:
Department of Defense (DoD) policy has established ecosystem-based management as the preferred approach for military lands, with a focus on sustaining and enhancing military operations by monitoring and managing the interdependent natural resource assets on which the future of those operations depend. As part of this policy, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP)has launched a program at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) in North Carolina. The MCBCL occupies 80% of the New River Estuary system's shoreline, and includes a barrier island/coastal dune system which provides a unique amphibious assault training environment. A interdisciplinary team of federal, university and private scientists have developed a monitoring and research plan to provide information to help the MCBCL meet several of it's key mission drivers, including preserving the integrity of the amphibious manuver areas and maintaining or improving water quality in the New River Estuary. Coastal wetlands are a key component of the MCBCL, and provide a number of ecoystem services, including improving water quality by trapping sediment, stabilizing estuarine shorelines via attenuation of wave energy, and stabilizing coastal barrier islands via sediment accretion. As part of the research team investigating factors affecting coastal wetlands and the ecosystem services they provide on MCBCL, CCFHR will 1) initiate a monitoring program to obtain accurate tide level data, install elevation benchmarks, estimate shoreline erosion rates and wetland cover types, 2) intitiate a research program to forecast the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors on estuarine shoreline erosion rates.

Expected Outcome:
Results from this work will be used to forecast shoreline erosion in the New River Estuary (NRE) in North Carolina, and aid in the development of a shoreline stabilization and protection plan. More generally, this project will provide information for the development of an ecosystem management plan for MCBCL, with the goal to minimize the impact of military training activities on coastal wetlands and estuarine shorelines, while maintaining the base's training mission.