Graveyard Spit Restoration & Resilience Project
The Graveyard Spit Dune Restoration and Community Resilience Project is an innovative nature-based dune and cobble dynamic revetment that will restore and protect Graveyard Spit, located on the northern shore of Willapa Bay in Washington State. The final design and permitting phase of the project was completed in June 2022. Project construction and restoration is expected to occur in 2024-2025, followed by ongoing monitoring and adaptive management.
The project is fully funded through the following sources:
- In December 2022, the project received $9,980,730 in grant funding from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) 2023 National Coastal Resilience Fund to fund Phase 1 of the project’s construction and restoration.
- In April 2023, NOAA announced that they had awarded 3,976,788 in funding for the project through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support implementation and adaptive management as well as monitoring of endangered species and dune conditions. The funding source is NOAA’s Coastal Zone Management Habitat Protection and Restoration Grant Program.
- In August 2023, FEMA announced that the Graveyard Spit Project was selected to recieve $12.87 million in funding via the 2022 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The project team continues to work with FEMA to finalize details to confirm the award.
- The 2019 NFWF National Coastal Resilience Fund provided funding for the project’s permitting and design phase.
Background
The Graveyard Spit project was first conceptualized during community-led discussions around nature-based erosion control options. This was informed by a 2015 Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) analysis of options for maintaining State Route 105 along the Willapa Bay shoreline. A 2018 Planning Assistance to States study between WSDOT and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers further evaluated options and developed preliminary designs and recommendations for the project. The final design and permitting phase was completed between 2019 and 2022 with funding from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund.
The project will maintain marsh and tidal embayment environments; enhance habitat for snowy plovers, streaked-horn larks, Dungeness crab, and salmonids; provide coastal hazard mitigation for the communities North Cove, Tokeland, and the Shoalwater Bay Tribe; and protect region’s primary transportation corridor from erosion, debris, and flooding.
The project team includes WSDOT, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Local community support, organized in partnership with the WECAN community forum, has been instrumental to the development and success of the project.
Purpose
The Graveyard Spit Restoration and Resilience Project will halt the rapid loss of an important sand spit and back-barrier estuary using innovative nature-based engineering and design. By restoring and protecting the marsh and tidal embayment environment, this project proactively prevents impacts of erosion, flooding, and sea level rise on the Shoalwater Bay Tribe and adjacent communities, federally protected species, traditional and cultural resources, public access, the local economy, and the region’s primary highway and utility infrastructure.
The implementation of the project is part of a larger regional strategy to address decades of coastal hazard impacts from erosion and flooding, which came together over the course of four years through a coordinated and collaborative multi-stakeholder planning process.
Project team members visit Graveyard Spit in September 2020
History of shoreline retreat in the Graveyard Spit vicinity. Click to enlarge.
In 2017, WSDOT built a small dynamic revetment on the west end of Graveyard Spit to pilot the concept
Project Goals
The project team worked with local, state, federal, and Tribal partners to develop a collaborative Site Area Management Plan that lays out a broad strategy for the care and management of the Graveyard Spit Restoration & Resilience Project site once the construction and restoration activities are completed. The strategy includes a series of goals and objectives, which include:
1. Prevent further erosion of Graveyard Spit and support the integrity of Empire Spit to protect State Route 105, the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, and nearby communities.
2. Protect and restore sensitive dune, saltmarsh, and intertidal environments and enhance habitat for protected species.
3. Support responsible recreational use and public stewardship of the project site area.
4. Engage in regional coordination and prioritize transparent and collaborative planning and decision-making.
5. Carry out monitoring and adaptive management of the project site area to anticipate and respond to future conditions.
Approximate Timeline
The following is an approximate timeline of events for the construction and restoration phase of the project, pending final NEPA approval and right of way agreements.
| Project Advertisement, Award, and Procurement | Jan 2024 – April 2024 |
| Construction of Dynamic Revetment & Dune Restoration | June 2024 – Feb 2025 |
| Dune, Wetland and Marsh Habitat Restoration | Oct 2024 – March 2025 |
| Post-Construction Monitoring | Starting in 2025 |
Location
The Graveyard Spit Restoration and Resilience Project is located along a 3,800-foot stretch of Willapa Bay’s northern shoreline. The site lies partially on the Shoalwater Bay Tribal Reservation and is directly adjacent to State Route 105. The community of North Cove lies to the west, while the State Route 105 groin and dike protrude out into the north entrance channel west of the project area. East of Graveyard Spit lie Empire Spit and the Tokeland peninsula.
At right: Overview plan for the Graveyard Spit Dynamic Revetment and Dune Restoration Project, developed by WSDOT (click to enlarge).
Contact information
Please reach out to the below contacts with questions, inquiries, or feedback related to the project:
Project manager:
Chelsey Martin, Principal Multi-Modal Planner
Washington State Department of Transportation Southwest Region
Chelsey.Martin@wsdot.wa.gov
Site Area Management Plan coordination:
Henry Bell, Coastal Planner
Washington State Department of Ecology
Henry.Bell@ecy.wa.gov
Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe / ESA bird monitoring:
Larissa Pfleeger-Ritzman, Director
Natural Resources and Environmental Department, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe
lpfleeger@shoalwaterbay-nsn.gov
Dune and dynamic revetment engineering and design:
Garrett Jackson, Hydrology Program Manager
Washington State Department of Transportation
Garrett.Jackson@wsdot.wa.gov