Sandy bluff erosion along Chaumont Bay. Credit: Roy Widrig/New York Sea Grant
Learn About Nature-Based Shoreline Management Options, State Permitting and Coastal Consistency Review Programs
Register by June 19 to Receive Shoreline Homeowner Folder for Your NY County
Contacts:
Roy Widrig, New York Sea Grant Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist, E: rlw294@cornell.edu, P: 315-312-3042
Kara Lynn Dunn, NYSG Great Lakes Publicist: P: 315-465-7578, E: karalynn@gisco.net
Chaumont, NY, May 6, 2026 - Wind, waves, and storm surge along New York’s shorelines can damage rocky and sandy shorelines and waterfront property. On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Lyme Free Library, 12615 NY-12E, in Chaumont, New York Sea Grant Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist Roy Widrig will provide information on shoreline erosion management, remediation, and the use of natural and nature-based features. This Natural Shorelines Workshop is free; however, registration is required by June 19 at nyseagrant.org/glcoastal or call 315-312-3042 for assistance. Registered attendees will receive a Shoreline Homeowner Folder with materials specific to their county of residence on the registration form.
Workshop participants will learn about the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shoreline project permitting process and the New York State Department of State Coastal Consistency Review, a regulatory program that ensures that efforts to protect vulnerable natural assets in New York State Coastal Areas and designated inland waterways work in unison with state and federal coastal policies and local waterfront revitalization programs.
This shoreline in St. Lawrence County applies a hybrid approach using both hard structural elements and nature-based features to address erosion and flooding impact. Credit: Roy Widrig/New York Sea Grant
New York Sea Grant provides this assistance with support from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund, in partnership with the Department of Environmental Conservation Great Lakes Program.
For more information or to schedule free shoreline technical assistance from New York Sea Grant for a specific location, contact Roy Widrig at rlw294@cornell.edu or call 315-234-1916. New York Sea Grant’s Virtual Site Visit Request is available at nyseagrant.org/glcoastal.
More Info: New York Sea Grant
New York Sea Grant (NYSG) is a university-based, statewide Federal-State collaboration between the State University of New York (SUNY), Cornell University, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is one of 34 university-based programs that connects research, extension, and education with the needs of coastal communities, environments, and economies through NOAA.
Since 1971, NYSG has supported science-based solutions for a wide range of water-related challenges and opportunities across the state. Through NYSG’s efforts, university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science and technical information to educational institutions, businesses, agencies, and industries; federal, state and local governments; the media; and the interested public. The program is administratively based at Stony Brook University (SBU) and Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).
NYSG historically leverages on average a 5.5-fold return on each invested federal dollar, annually. The State benefits from this, as these resources are invested in Sea Grant staff and their work in communities right here in New York.
New York Sea Grant, one of the largest of the state Sea Grant programs, maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Oswego, the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark, and in Watertown. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County on Long Island, in Queens, at Brooklyn College, with Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC, in Bronx, with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County in Kingston, and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County in Elmsford.
Established in 1966, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Sea Grant College Program promotes the informed stewardship of coastal resources in 34 joint federal/state university-based programs in every U.S. coastal state (marine and Great Lakes) and Puerto Rico. The Sea Grant model has also inspired similar projects in the Pacific region, Korea and Indonesia.
For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org, follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and YouTube). NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which it publishes quarterly.