Please note — this project has been approved for a no-cost extension from the original project end date given our late start.
This project, when completed, will include both a practical guide (grey literature in practice) that can be shared with shoreline owners along the St. Lawrence River (US-shorelines) to help them identify resources and access information related to options for shoreline softening, as well as separate overview/guidance to organizations like Save the River and the Thousand Islands Land Trust, among others about best practice opportunities to assist landowners in decision-making and project implementation.
An initial phase of this project was completed by graduate student researcher Tariro Zeal Mutimusa December 15, 2025 and included overview desk and literature research and reviews related to topics that will help inform our guidance. It included research across the technical areas of shoreline hardscapes/softening approaches, as well as current organizations involved in the region that might provide assistance, recommendations (one major recommendation was the inclusion of a natural plantings resource guide specific to the region), and current initiatives across the region (including the Canadian side of the River) and Great Lakes.
With Tariro's graduation, my role as PI will be to augment this research should there be additional resources gleaned important for inclusion, as well as interviews of area organizations regarding their participation in shoreline assistance efforts, future goals and aims (based on identified needs), and via a snowball methodology, identification of resources we may have missed. I anticipate this will take place from January – May 2026, with simultaneous preparation of both the landowner guide and overview/guidance to area organizations.