Pierce Conservation District launched the Shore Friendly Pierce program in 2019 to address the restoration and protection of our local shorelines under a two-year funding contract with the WA Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program (ESRP) and the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO).

With the latest state Capital Budget for the 2021-2023 biennium, lawmakers approved funding for the $15.7M ESRP budget, including approximately $2.5M for Shore Friendly programs throughout the region. Close to $661,000 of those funds will flow to the South Sound Shore Friendly team of Pierce, Thurston, and Mason Conservation Districts.

These programs engage shoreline landowners through technical and financial assistance programs to be good stewards of their beaches that support the health of our beloved wildlife, such as shellfish, salmon, and Orcas. Across the Puget Sound, over 29% of the shoreline is armored with hard structures like seawalls, bulkheads, and wood pilings – representing a big challenge for healthy beaches. Shore Friendly helps landowners prevent the need for new armor by supporting healthy natural conditions and assists landowners in voluntarily removing unnecessary armor to restore natural functions, one property at a time.

This renewed funding will enable Shore Friendly Pierce to continue to serve marine shoreline landowners during the 2021-2023 biennium. To date, the Shore Friendly Pierce program has provided technical assistance directly to 36 landowners across the marine shorelines of Pierce County, with a focus in the Key Peninsula-Gig Harbor-Islands watershed.

ESRP Funding will Advance Armor Removal at Tacoma DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve

In partnership with the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District (PenMet Parks), Pierce Conservation District (PCD) is in the planning stage for a shoreline restoration project to remove up to 600 feet of failing concrete bulkhead at the Tacoma DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve.

The project is expected to receive $94,500 from ESRP to complete preliminary designs starting in winter of 2021. We are currently soliciting community input, completing a feasibility study, and developing conceptual design options with funding from the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District.