COLLINS COVE LIVING SHORELINE STORY MAP9/9/21, 1:23 PM A Living Shoreline: Collins Cove
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A Living Shoreline: Collins Cove
This story was made with Esri's Story Map Journal.
Read the interactive version on the web at https://arcg.is/0vSDTP.
As sea levels rise and pressures from climate change increase, Massachusetts coastal
communities are approaching an imperative decision:
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Gray or Green?
In Salem, local government and Salem Sound Coastwatch are promoting living shoreline,
green infrastructure projects. The project is funded by grants received from
Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. The first implementation is aimed at
Collins Cove (see right photo).
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What are the benefits of a living shoreline?
Mass CZM Coastal Resilience Grants-
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/grants/
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City of Salem, Collins Cove Living Shoreline Presentation--
http://www.salem.com/sites/salemma/files/uploads/collinscove-livingshoreline-2-16-17.pdf
Please use the buttons to your left or the scroll wheel on your mouse to explore all content fully!
What are Living Shorelines?
C L I C K T O V I E W
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A "living" shoreline is a strategy to protect coastlines and increase coastal resiliency through the use
of natural elements. Typically, our coastlines have been protected by seawalls, jetties or rock
revetments and bulkheads. These structures, ironically, may create more erosion than they prevent
and can become very costly to maintain and repair.
Living shoreline projects utilize a variety of structural and organic materials, such as dune, wetland
and submerged aquatic vegetation, oyster reefs, coir fiber logs, sand fill, and stone.
The benefits of living shorelines include:
Stabilization of the shoreline.
Protection of surrounding riparian and inter-tidal environment.
Improvement of water quality by filtering upland run-off.
Creation of habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species.
The Collins Cove Living Shoreline Project aims to fix this:
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PC: Salem Sound Coastwatch, 10/18/16 KingTide, 11.61ft at Collins Cove bike/walking path
With something like this:
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Rendered Image, salt marsh planting along Collins Cove bike/walking path, looking west. PC: Hatch Chester.
To learn more about living shoreline projects on the east coast, check out these links:
Gulf of Maine: http://bit.ly/2j9YhHn
Connecticut: http://bit.ly/2naiPRv
Long Island Sound: http://bit.ly/2o9SmV9
Delaware: http://bit.ly/2n9DGUp
North Carolina: http://bit.ly/2i6hmwX
Florida: http://bit.ly/2j9Y473
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Current Conditions at Collins Cove
Explore map to examine current conditions at Collins Cove .
Collins Cove is a coastal bay in Salem, Massachusetts located between Bridge Street and Salem
Willows. It is characterized by heavy rip-rap on the east, a large seawall with a baseball field and
playground on top on the west, and a bike and walking path along its southern edge (see map).
Maxar | Esri, HERE, Garmin, iPC
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The surrounding area is heavily residential with historical importance to Salem and contains a school
(The Bentley School), subsidized housing, single family units and apartments and condominiums.
1. The cove experiences flooding along the bike/walking path, the 800-foot section of Collins Cove
parallel to Webb Street, during the highest tides. These events could lead to flooding or damage to
the surrounding houses and the erosion of the bike path.
Flooding along path.
PC: Salem Sound Coastwatch, 10/18/16 KingTide, 11.61ft
2. The history of Collins Cove shows that erosion and the filling was noticeable as early as 1815.
However, despite the changes, fringing salt marshes were present along the shoreline at least as far
back as the mid 19th century and probably much longer. Maps by Henry McIntyre (1851) and the US
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Coast and Geodetic Survey (1875) clearly show these marsh areas. The 2016 shoreline survey of
Collins Cove found remnants of fringing salt marsh growing today around Collins Cove area. This
project seeks to enhance the fringing salt marsh in this area that historically had salt marsh and,
despite repeated filling, contains patches of salt marsh.
Spartina alterniflora growing landward of the rock sill.
See 1875 US Coast and Geodetic Survey map for historic location of salt marsh.
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1875 US Coast and Geodetic Survey, Salem Harbor.Orange stars indicate current salt marsh vegetation along the
Collins Cove shoreline.
Spartina patens (salt marsh grass) along path.
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3. A rock sill is present along the water 's edge, following the length of the bike/walking path. This can
be utilized to buffer any wave action from disrupting the restoration area, and will allow salt marsh
plantings to flourish.
Rock sill which follows the length of the path at Collins Cove. This can be used as extra protection for vegetation plantings.
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Living Shoreline Implementation
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The living shoreline technique considered most appropriate for Collins Cove is a fringing salt marsh
enhancement/restoration using bioengineered techniques with coir logs, limited sand fill to provide
a planting substrate. Existing site features such as the rock sill have been incorporated into the
design. The salt marsh was constructed landward of the sill to take advantage of the wave buffering
by the rocks.
There is a break in the eastern portion of the sill that allows access for paddlers and others to the
water, particularly at high tide. This will remain to protect the emerging salt marsh and continue to
provide passive recreational access to Collins Cove at high tide.
A number of factors have been examined and considered:
Wetland delineation
Erosion rates and trends,
Aerial photography,
Topographic information
Physical survey
Sea level rise projections
FEMA flood mapping
Nearshore geology and seafloor mapping
Sediment and sediment transport
Marine resources
Tidal datums
Current usage by the public
1. Design
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Epsilon Associates, Inc., Wilkinson Ecological Design, Salem Sound Coastwatch, and Hatch Chester
worked with the City of Salem to design and permit this project.
Figures 9 - 10 show the living shoreline plan for Collins Cove.
"By using a combination of techniques (improved rock sill, coir logs, beach nourishment and
supplemental native plantings) and working with existing site conditions (presence of salt marsh
plant community, topographic conditions, fetch, substrate conditions, and existing boulders / rock
sill), the Project Team is optimistic and excited about the prospect of restoring the site to its historic
condition with robust and critically important salt marsh habitat. The salt marsh restoration
techniques described herein are proven and have been used successfully in other areas of the
Commonwealth and New England." Notice of Intent Wetlands Protection Act, June 28, 2018. Epsilon
Associates Inc.
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NOI Figure 9 - Design for Permitting Purposes, Wilkinson Ecological Design.
NOI Figure 10 - Detail view of design, Wilkinson Ecological Design. Design based on existing salt marsh vegetation
from wetland delineation.
Due to the rocky-gravel nature of the intertidal zone shoreward of the existing rock sill, it will be
necessary to add sand to provide adequate growing substrate for the plants Vegetation will be
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necessary to add sand to provide adequate growing substrate for the plants. Vegetation will be
planted at appropriate tidal elevation ranges for optimal growth:
Spartina alterniflora - mean sea level (MSL) to mean high water (MHW)
Spartina patens - MSL to Mean Higher High Water (MHHW).
A mix of Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens will be planted in a zone near the MHW
mark.
Other high marsh plants: Distichlis spicata (spike grass), Juncus gerardii (black grass), and
Solidago sempirvirens (seaside goldenrod).
2. Permitting
The following permits and regulatory considerations are applicable to this project.
Wetland Protection Act—Notice of Intent as an Ecological Restoration Project (City of
Salem Conservation Commission)
Chapter 91 Public Waterfront Act MA Environmental Policy Act Filing
USACE (US Army Corps of Engineers – Category 2, GP22 beneficial project and pre-
construction PCN greater than 100 square feet of plantings
For this project, the following permits are not required.
Section 401 Water Quality Certification
CZM Federal Consistency
This is not an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, a site on the Estimated and/or Priority of State-
Listed Rare Species, a State Register of Historic Places, nor an Outstanding Resource Water.
3. Implementation:
The City of Salem received funds from the MA Office of Coastal Zone Management's Coastal
Resilience Grant Program FY19 to complete the final permitting and construct a fringing salt marsh
enhancement project using bioengineered techniques with coir logs, limited sand fill to provide a
planting substrate, and two biodegradable blankets to hold the sand and plantings in place. 15,000
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plants were planted: Spartina alterniflora (smooth cord grass) at the lower edge, a mix of Spartina
patens (salt marsh hay) and Distichlis spicata (spike grass) in the mid marsh and Juncus gerardii
(black grass) and Solidago sempirvirens (seaside goldenrod) at a slightly higher elevation.
The goal is to make this popular recreational area more resilient to erosion, flooding and storm
surge. Construction of the project and planting of the native vegetation was completed in June 2019.
At the end of 4 days of planting.
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4. Maintenance and Monitoring
Maintenance and monitoring will be conducted by Salem Sound Coastwatch. Maintenance will
examine plant species, substrate settling, coir log placement/condition, erosion/deposition, and
impact of wave exposure throughout the year, as needed.
Invasive plants, i.e. Phragmites australis and Lepidium latifolium (pepperweed), will be controlled by
pulling and proper disposal of any intrusions as soon as noticed to avoid any long term degradation
of the salt marsh. Any loose netting material, anchors, stakes or other material installed to support
the plantings will be examined and fixed. Large debris and trash will be removed from the marsh
surface.
Annual vegetation monitoring of the 3/4 acre of salt marsh will take place in August or September to
determine species success and percent coverage.
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Going Forward: Lessons to Consider When Designing and
Implementing a Living Shoreline Concept
Lessons learned for others implementing a Living Shoreline project:
1. It was beneficial to have had a multidisciplinary project team with different backgrounds.
The more heads, the better!
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2. For site selection, take the time to discuss and document project objectives at the
beginning of the process and understand the relative importance of different types of
priority setting criteria that might be used including:
Physical
Biological
Social and Community
Economic.
3. Understand Living Shoreline concepts and broadly apply them in the project process to
efficiently work toward project objectives (e.g. energy of environment).
4. Research similar projects to take advantage of lessons learned from others.
5. Involve the public and other interested stakeholders early to present project plans and
listen to their feedback.
6. Complete a wetland delineation near the beginning of the project during the optimum
time of year (June to September).
7. Talk to state and federal regulators at an early stage in the project, as soon as conceptual
plans start to take shape, and understand the critical paths for permitting.
8. Involve Coastal Zone Management (CZM) staff early in the project. They have a valuable
technical, programmatic, and permitting experience that they are willing to share.
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Acknowledgements
Salem Sound Coastwatch would like to thank the following individuals and organizations who were
instrumental in the development, design and implementation of the Collins Cove restoration and this story map.
Salem Sound Coastwatch has partnered with the City on all aspects of this project.
Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM)
Thanks to CZM for permitting assistance, funding and assistance throughout the site selection and design phases.
Hatch Chester
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Hatch Chester was responsible for the initial conceptual design of the Collins Cove enhancement site, and worked
with Salem Sound Coastwatch with site selection and the 2016 coastline survey.
Wilkinson Ecological Design
Seth Wilkinson and his team specialize in eradicating invasive plants, stabilizing coastal property, and restoring
native habitats to their natural potential. They are working on the final design and overseeing implementation.
Epsilon Associates, Inc.
Dr. Dwight Dunk, PWS, BCES and principal, managed the permitting process.
SumCo Eco-Contracting
SumCo constructed the living shoreline.
City of Salem
Thanks to City of Salem commitment to environmental improvements responsible for acquiring of grant funds and
assisting in site selection, holding public meetings and managing the process through completion.
Sally McMurry, Professor of History Emerita, Penn State University and Salem Resident
Thanks to Sally McMurry for the creation of the Collins Cove timeline, historical guidance and providing historical
resources, images and maps included in this story map.
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Over a 100 volunteers helped Salem Sound Coastwatch and the City of Salem plant the 15,000
salt marsh plants. Thank you to all.
Excelitas Technology employees helped with two days of planting.
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Collins Cove: A Brief History
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Buttons to your left lead to historical maps and images.
Collins Cove Shoreline Change
1849
1954
1978
1994
2008
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1650 - 1820
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1650-1700: There are a few dozen houses along the Cove. A creek runs from the Salem Common
along present-day Forrester Street to the Cove.
1800: The Common is leveled and drained. The creek begins to disappear.
1805: (September 12): the Salem Register reports that a 460-pound “tunny ” (tuna) was stranded on
the flats at “Shallop Cove.”
1806-1820: Osgood’s wharf is built on the Collins Street side of the cove near present-day Osgood
Street.
1815: (June 17): The Essex Register notes that:
“The Shallop Cove, which lays eastward of the bridge, Pleasant and East [present-day Forrester]
streets, & the Neck, is continually filling up. Great changes have taken place in the memory of the
present generation, and very great from the first settlement of the town. It was at first their principal
place for their Shallops; it is now without water at every fall of the tide. Towards East Street it is daily
filling, from the sluices which conduct the water from the streets into it. The continuation of Webb
Street into East Street… was formerly the only pass which the town had to the Neck, till it was
washed into the cove, by the action of the tide upon its banks…”
1816 (December 21): The Essex Register makes reference to the new Salem Almshouse, at “Pigeon
Point” near present-day Settlers Way.
1820: (February 23, “Alms-House Farm at Salem”): The Salem Gazette reports that the residents of
the new alms-house have constructed a wharf, consisting of about an acre of land and built of “solid
granite and gravel” dug nearby from town land.
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A Shallop, the common fishing vessel for which Collins Cove was originally named, "Shallop Cove".
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Salem, 1820
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1848 -1873
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1848-49: The Essex Railroad builds a track across the bottom of the Cove, using gravel brought in
from Danvers.
1849: (May 12) - The Salem Observer notes that the rail is conveyed across the Cove “by an
embankment and bridge.” This line connects Phillips’s Wharf (now roughly where Salem Ferry is
located) to the North River.
1861: “…permanent improvements have been made in the construction of a new sea wall and road
by Collins’ Cove, called Collins street.” - Salem City Documents page 52.
1869-73: Sewers are built along Forrester, Essex, Pickman, Andrew, Brown, and St. Peters Streets. All
empty into Collins Cove. (Salem City Documents, Street Commissioner ’s Reports)
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Collins Cove, 1851
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Salem 1875, US Coast and Geodetic Survey Salem Harbor, showing Salt Marsh along entire edge of Collins Cove.
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1874 - 1900
Main Map: “1883 Birds-Eye view, L. R. Burleigh, Salem, MA.”
1889: The “premises between the foot of Barton street and the car shops of the B. & M. R. R. near
Collins Cove” is filled in. Land is added at the water ’s edge between Collins Street and Lathrop Street,
extending a bit further to fill in a triangle between Lathrop and Beacon Streets. This allowed the
Boston and Maine Railroad to add tracks leading to their repair shops on East Collins Street. (City
Documents, 1889, page 161)
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1889-1890: Following a petition by 48 residents led by George Stickney, the “Webb Street Basin” is
declared a public nuisance. The City appropriates funds to fill it in. In 1889 the City Board of Health
reports that:
“About 8000 cubic yards of gravel have been placed here by the [Boston and Maine] railroad, and
some 600 loads of gravel, loam and other suitable filling exclusive of city ashes have been dumped
here.”
Fill work is completed the following year. This adds the land on the present-day “odd” side of Webb
Street.
(City Council Records, March 15, 1889; City Documents, 1889)
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H. F. Walling, Map of the City of Salem, 1874.
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“G. H. Walker, City of Salem, MA, 1891.”
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1900 - 1955
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1904-09: A main sewer line is constructed beneath Webb Street, part of a larger project that takes
Salem sewage out to Great Haste Island.
1935-36: The Collins Cove Playground, a WPA project, is planned and completed.
1935-1940: City property along Almshouse Road and Fort Avenue is used for a city dump. In 1940
the city completes acquisition of privately held “flats” that fan out from the water to points around
the Cove. The WPA thickens the “neck” by filling in a roughly triangular area bounded by Almshouse
Road and Fort Avenue. They plan a sea wall on its edge, but WPA programs in Massachusetts are
terminated before the wall is completed or perhaps even before it is begun. (City Documents and
Salem Deeds documents)
1943,1944: Coastal Survey maps show a dotted line along the filled-in area along Fort Avenue,
suggesting that the seawall is either unfinished or nonexistent.
1944: Coastal Survey map shows a gap in the infill along Fort Avenue. Perhaps this is a cartographic
error, but more likely erosion, since the Mayor ’s report for 1943 mentions concerns that: “Unless
these projects [sea walls] are completed… the work already done may be washed away by tides and
other conditions.”
1949-50: the City Dump is converted to an athletic field. “Several thousand yards of fill” are brought
in from the City Farm property. The area is graded. (City Documents, 1949; 1950 page 21)
1951: City Engineers map of Salem shows that the filled-in area by Fort Avenue has been expanded
and straightened out, and the gap plugged.
1955: City Engineer reports that 16 inch water mains in Webb Street, Fort Avenue, and Columbus
Avenue were cleaned and re-lined with concrete;
“carrying capacity of these mains had decreased over a period of forty years, due to a reduction in
the internal diameter of the pipes because of the growth of tubercules.” (City Documents 1955 page
67)
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9/9/21, 1:23 PM A Living Shoreline: Collins Cove
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Collins Cove, 1954
9/9/21, 1:23 PM A Living Shoreline: Collins Cove
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1958 - 1980
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9/9/21, 1:23 PM A Living Shoreline: Collins Cove
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1959-60: A new sea wall is constructed from the Collins Cove playground to Connors Road. The
beach wall is also recapped. (City Documents 1959 page 119, 1960 page 3)
1960: Essex Street is continued along the cove to Memorial Drive (formerly Almshouse Road). (This
is present-day Szetela Lane.) (City Documents 1960 page 3)
1973: Coast Survey map shows that the Boston and Maine Railroad tracks were removed sometime
since the last map was made in 1972.
1973: City Engineer reports that a plan has been prepared for : “Essex Street Extension – Rip-rap wall
at Collins Cove.” (City Documents 1973 page 25)
1975: Riprap added at bottom of cove. The rip-rap wall at the base of the cove appears on the
Coastal Survey map.
1979: Filling-in of the small covelet above the playground near Planters Street. It shows a new fill in
1980 at this spot, but still not entirely filled in. This bulge continues until 2003 and disappears
sometime between then and 2010 according to the Coast Survey maps. However, the topo maps
show the shoreline as already filled in there before that.
9/9/21, 1:23 PM A Living Shoreline: Collins Cove
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Collins Cove, 1961
9/9/21, 1:23 PM A Living Shoreline: Collins Cove
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Collins Cove, 1970
Collins Cove, 1980