The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has been awarded grant funding through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Transformational Habitat and Coastal Resilience grant program to increase the scale and accessibility of living shorelines and nature-based solutions across coastal South Carolina.

This significant investment aligns with TNC's mission to protect land and water on which all life depends. Through this multi-year grant program, TNC is excited to offer private landowners and communities the opportunity to protect their properties and community spaces from shoreline erosion through the implementation of living shorelines. See: What is a living shoreline? [External Website]

The SC Office of Resilience is proud to partner with TNC on this project, and will be collecting applications through this website. Below, please find additional information about the types of work funded through this program, eligibility and prioritization criteria, and a link to the application.

Utilizing federal funding, TNC will manage:

• The assessment of individual sites through an online application and property site visit
• Permitting responsibilities required by SCDES [External Website]*
• Engineering survey and design
• Installation of living shorelines for qualifying projects

*Applicants will hold permits for the shorelines and will be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the shoreline upon project completion.

TNC's Living Shorelines Community Assistance Program will prioritize applicants who fit the following criteria:

• Low-income private landowners on waterfront property who are experiencing shoreline erosion.
• Under-resourced communities and neighborhoods with waterfront public spaces experiencing shoreline erosion.
• Small businesses and organizations on waterfront property experiencing shoreline erosion.
• Culturally significant sites threatened by shoreline erosion.

Estimated Timeline and Next Steps:

Project Partners