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Joint Base Langley-Eustis Fort Eustis Shoreline Management Update and Coastal Resiliency Plan
Hardaway, C. Scott Wilcox, Christine A. Rae, Claire M. Kowal, Julianna C.
Hardaway, C. Scott
Wilcox, Christine A.
Rae, Claire M.
Kowal, Julianna C.
Abstract
Fort Eustis is an Army installation in Eastern Virginia on the James River. It is part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis and was established in 1918. Prior to the establishment of the installation, the area was an important site for Indigenous Tribes and early Colonists, and, as such, contains over 200 known archaeological sites. The installation covers approximately 8,000 acres on Mulberry Island and the adjacent uplands and includes 22 miles of tidal shoreline along the James River and several smaller tidal creeks. The shoreline is experiencing and is continuing to experience significant erosion that threatens vital installation infrastructure and archaeological sites. A shoreline management plan was developed for the installation by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s Shoreline Studies Program in 1997 to address the eroding shorelines using nature-based living shoreline systems to mitigate erosion and protect both infrastructure and archaeology. Since that time, some of the recommended protective structures have been implemented around the installation’s shoreline, but many areas remain unprotected, especially those areas exposed to the highest energy environments on the open James River, which contain a significant number of the area’s archaeological sites.
This project is supported by the Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program to update the original shoreline management plan to enhance existing protective structures and develop additional ones to create coastal habitat, protect vital infrastructure and archaeology, and enhance the overall coastal resiliency of Fort Eustis. Incorporating coastal threats like storm surge, flooding, and sea-level rise into their design, a total of 116 new protective structures are proposed for construction around the installation, as well as the enhancement and modification of many of the existing structures, resulting in an additional 57 structural recommendations at Harrison Road. With the implementation of this updated shoreline management plan, Fort Eustis and its infrastructure and archaeology will be better suited to withstand erosion and other coastal hazards for decades to come.
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2025
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Virginia Institute of Marine Science
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Milligan, D., Green, C., & Hardaway, J. (2025). Joint Base Langley-Eustis Fort Eustis Shoreline Management Update and Coastal Resiliency Plan. Virginia Institute of Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.25773/Z2DJ-EN22
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https://doi.org/10.25773/Z2DJ-EN22