Assessing bulkhead removal and shoreline restoration using boat-based lidar

The Washington State Department of Ecology performed before and after boat-based lidar surveys of a shoreline restoration project involving the removal of ~800 feet of armoring from the base of a historic feeder bluff at Edgewater Beach, along Eld Inlet in South Puget Sound. As part of the restoration project, 700 feet of bulkheads, two rock revetments, a large wood and rock groin, and several large boulders were removed or realigned from the site in fall 2016. Removal of the armoring is expected to reconnect the historic feeder bluff at the updrift end of the project site with the adjacent beaches, restoring nearshore habitat and sediment supply to the drift cell. This poster will present an assessment of geomorphological changes to the beach and bluff associated with the bulkhead removal, and the opportunity to utilize this monitoring technology for documenting the physical processes and habitat functions restored through projects of this type