Living Shoreline Planning Series accepting applications for 2026 Cohort!

Informational Webinar: February 17, 2026
Applications due: March 3, 2026

The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) invite coastal communities, Tribes, and non-profit organizations from across New England to apply to participate in our Living Shoreline Planning Series, which will offer free training and technical assistance to help guide you and your team through the process of identifying and developing a conceptual design for a living shoreline.

Up to 10 applicants from across New England will be selected to participate in the Living Shoreline Planning Series, which will consist of five online learning-facilitation sessions and one in-person site visit. Participants will work with staff from Woods Hole Group and Stone Living Lab throughout the Planning Series to apply the tools and techniques presented in the training sessions to develop conceptual designs, cost estimates, and monitoring/maintenance plans for living shoreline projects to reduce erosion and coastal flooding and increase resilience, with co-benefits such as improved habitat and public access to coastal resources. Participants will identify a proposed project area in their application.

Expected outcomes for participants of the Living Shoreline Planning Series include:

  • Development of an industry-standard conceptual design and associated project narrative for their living shoreline project.
  • An inventory of stakeholders to engage in future phases of the project and an initial outline for how they will be engaged.
  • An opinion of cost estimate and anticipated maintenance and monitoring requirements for their selected living shoreline project.
  • Improved understanding of how to scope and discuss living shoreline projects with representatives from regulatory and permitting agencies, as well as with engineers and project consultants, positioning participants to apply for future funding opportunities.

To apply for this program, please submit the online form below by Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST.

Please join us for an Informational Zoom webinar on February 17, 2026, 11 AM-12 PM EST. Register here: registration link

Please direct any questions about this RFP to Dan Goulart at daniel.goulart@TNC.org. Questions must be submitted by February 17 (either via email or during the webinar). Q&A and a recording of the informational webinar will be posted here when available.

This project is being coordinated through NROC’s Coastal Hazards Resilience Committee. Funding for this project was provided by NOAA [Award Number NA24NOSX473C0118-T1-01] Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to the Coastal States Stewardship Foundation to support the project, “Implementation and Coordination of Ocean and Coastal Management Priorities for the Northeastern United States via the Northeast Regional Ocean Council”. Additional funding is generously provided by TNC.

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