Once facing rapid erosion, North Cove beach was recently deemed one of the nation’s ‘best restored beaches’
January 23, 2025
By Maddie Gard, WSG Science Communications Fellow
A decade ago, the northern shore of Willapa Bay was washing away — along with the homes and businesses of the North Cove community. Rapid coastal erosion along North Cove beach in Pacific County, Washington was causing over 100 feet of beach to disappear annually into the ocean on average. Willapa Bay experiences large tides, offshore waves, nearshore currents, and strong seasonal storm surges that combine to transport millions of cubic yards of sediment on the sandy coastline. Cape Shoalwater was the fastest eroding landscape on the West Coast at the time, with approximately 640 of North Cove’s original 766 land parcels already lost to the waves. Without intervention, culturally and historically significant lands to the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, 800 acres of local cranberry farms, and key sections of State Route 105 were at stake for erosion or flooding.
The community needed someone to advocate for the economic value of the land in order to boost their requests for restoration support, and Kevin Decker, Washington Sea Grant (WSG) coastal economist, answered the call. Thanks to this collective work, in 2024 the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association selected North Cove beach as one of the nation’s Best Restored Beaches.
Seeking to mitigate ongoing shoreline erosion and protect the remaining North Cove community, Willapa Erosion Control Action Now (WECAN) was formed in 2015. This ongoing initiative was assembled by North Cove community leaders such as Chairwoman Charlene Nelson of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, Pacific County Commissioner Lisa Ayers, and David Cottrell, the commissioner of Pacific County Drainage District No. 1, to coordinate activism targeting the erosion issue.
To save North Cove and restore the beach, WECAN needed funding and resources. Kevin Decker, WSG coastal economist, became involved in the restoration initiatives by the community’s request. Funding for restoration projects are often prioritized based on net benefits. Yet, at the time, no one was considering the economic value of the community homes and properties being swept away.
By reporting the historic and projected economic losses of properties lost to shoreline erosion, Kevin illustrated the financial incentives for funding organizations to support North Cove’s restoration and coastal resilience efforts. In his economic analysis, Kevin found that if no action was taken to stabilize the shoreline, approximately 280 more residential properties and $30 million in property value would be lost by 2060.
“There was already a lot of energy and effort catalyzed by the North Cove community and Shoalwater Bay Tribe. My analysis provided the justification that was needed to take action …and the community did a great job of promoting it,” Decker says.
Photo courtesy of MyCoast Washington’s North Cove Seamobile Project
Decker’s report, The Economic Toll of a Disappearing Community, has been included by WECAN in several funding requests to support investing in solutions to the shoreline erosion. The report caught the attention of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and Pacific Conservation District, and restoration projects began later the same year Decker’s report was published.
The North Cove community created cobblestone berms along the beach by strategically placing 46,500 cubic yards of cobbles, gravel and pebbles. They planted native vegetation and designed wood structures to create a natural and dynamically stable beach that shields from wave energy and retains sand. Today, the stretch of shoreline is a healthy recreational beach enjoyed by both the public and wildlife species of interest.
“With beach stabilization, the North Cove community can begin to look toward the future instead of worrying about whether their community will exist tomorrow,” Decker says. “Stability means people will start investing in their community, improving their homes, building wealth through home equity, and passing homes on to their families. It means a positive economic outlook for North Cove.” If North Cove’s nature-based approach is maintained overtime, the natural berms and sand dunes will adjust to waves and water levels, providing the community with long term coastal resilience to climate change and sea level rise.
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Washington Sea Grant, based at the University of Washington, helps people and marine life thrive through research, technical expertise and education supporting the responsible use and conservation of coastal ecosystems. Washington Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, education, outreach and technology transfer.
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JAN
2025