Comprehensive Barrier Beach Management: Balancing Storm Restoration, Recreational Use, and Coastal Resource Protection Using Progressive Practices, Duxbury Beach, Massachusetts

Through years of research, creative on-the-beach experiments, and consultation with coastal experts, the Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc (DBR), the non-profit steward and owner of the 4.5 mile undeveloped portion of a 6 mile long barrier beach, has developed many successful, innovative practices in preserving the landward storm damage protection and wildlife habitat interests, while hosting extensive recreational and ORV uses of this very dynamic barrier beach system. Post-storm construction of two sacrificial dunes along approximately 4 miles of the barrier resulted in dune construction design standards that satisfied the interests of storm and flood protection to landward development and threatened shorebird habitat criteria. The design standards ultimately resulted in a 10 foot wide crest and 10:1 front and back fore-dune slopes. Thirty foot wide un-vegetated dune areas between 30 foot wide zigzag dune grass planting patterns were designed to allow shorebird traversing from ocean to bay side inter-tidal areas. A veneer of native dune sand is also placed annually over quarry sand for naturalized habitat appearance. Beach grass culms are now required to be planted 3 foot on-center to facilitate piping plover nesting and movement. Burning selected patches of vegetated back-barrier areas have successfully created new piping plover nesting habitat. After years of post-storm fill and grading, a cobble berm was recently constructed to protect the back-barrier gravel road: the sole access/egress to an isolated colony of 300 homes at the barrier's southern end. Funding for these activities comes from a lease of the beach to the Town of Duxbury for daily management, along with contributions to the storm damage fund from activities of the Duxbury Beach Preservation Society.