PHOTO: Working with Nature guide to native plants for New York’s Great Lakes shorelines by New York Sea Grant Great Lakes Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist Roy Widrig

Contact: 

Roy Widrig, Great Lakes Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist, E: rlw294@cornell.edu, P: 315-312-3042

Kara Lynn Dunn, NYSG's Freelance Great Lakes Publicist, E: karalynn@gisco.net, P: (315) 465-7578

Oswego, NY, November 8, 2023 - It’s free and as easy as 1-2-3 for New York Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River waterfront property owners in need of professional assistance, virtually and in-person, to manage shoreline erosion issues.  

Step 1 — Go to New York Sea Grant (NYSG) Extension’s Virtual Site Visit Portal at www.nyseagrant.org/glcoastalvirtualsitevisit. Enter your contact information and a description of your shoreline erosion or flooding issues, for example, water pooling in yard or basement, waves overwashing breakwall, etc. 

Step 2 — Use the locate-your-site-on-a-map function that will connect your property to its regional geologic setting.

Step 3 — Upload photos of the issue areas with as many angles as possible and submit the request for a virtual evaluation by New York Sea Grant Great Lakes Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist Roy Widrig.


Shoreline at Chaumont Bay, NY. Credit: Roy Widrig, New York Sea Grant

Widrig evaluates the virtual submissions and contacts property owners to discuss options for mitigating the impact of the erosive action of the lake or river. 

Widrig is the author of several New York’s freshwater shoreline erosion management publications that provide information on how to work with natural and nature-based resources such as riprap rocks or native plants suited to New York’s Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River shorelines. In some cases, a ‘do-nothing” approach may be warranted to allow the shoreline to evolve naturally.

Widrig can provide tips for navigating the shoreline project permitting process when the evaluation indicates that manmade hard structures, such as bulkheads, are needed. A list of New York Great Lakes region shoreline contractors is available via the www.nyseagrant.org/glcoastal resource site. 

To request an in-person site visit by Widrig to evaluate options to manage shoreline erosion, contact NYSG at 315-312-3042 or email Widrig at rlw294@cornell.edu.

This virtual and in-person site erosion evaluation assistance are offered as free educational services of NYSG.


More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County on Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.