Nature-based shoreline stabilization and restoration techniques have the potential to maintain and enhance important ecological services and coastal resilience, while at the same time being cost-competitive with traditional approaches. Since 2009, the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve has engaged in scientific research, implementation, and promotion of sustainable shorelines in the Hudson River Estuary via the Hudson River Sustainable Shorelines Project.

Around the time of passage of the 2014 New York State Community Risk and Resiliency Act, the Hudson River Reserve began receiving requests from other regions of the state about the Sustainable Shorelines Project. Eventually, an ad hoc interagency group, led by the Hudson River Reserve, formed to collaborate on implementation of sustainable shorelines state-wide. The Community Risk and Resiliency Act provided an opportunity for the Hudson River Reserve to formally share lessons learned and to work in collaboration with state agencies to advance the use of many types of nature-based approaches. The act called for the development of guidance on “the use of resiliency measures that utilize natural resources and natural processes to reduce risk” by January 2017 (the deadline has since been extended).

This project coordinated a team of staff members from New York State agencies to draft the required guidance: Using Natural Resilience Measures to Reduce Risk in New York State. The guidance examines the use of resiliency measures that emphasize the implementation of natural resources and natural processes to reduce risk. This project’s collaborative process and products were designed to support New York State agencies, shoreline managers, and other decision makers considering naturebased shoreline approaches and other natural resilience measures.