Lightning Point Restoration

Restoration Project Priorities

• Shoreline Protection

  The Lightning Point Project began with strategic land acquisitions of undeveloped coastline tracts adjacent to protected and public lands owned by the State of Alabama, Mobile County  and the City of Bayou La Batre. Mobile County acquired 83+ acres of land prior to 2016 through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, while TNC acquired an additional 77+ acres with funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Shortly after, TNC conducted a competitive process to select a qualified firm to perform restoration designs for Lightning Point. Moffatt & Nichol ultimately won this contract and began their services in fall of 2017.

• Habitat Restoration

  Today, the Lightning Point Shoreline Restoration Project comprises a mix of natural and hardened infrastructure spanning nearly 689,000 m². Among the project’s most notable features include: 

  • 1.5 miles of overlapping segmented breakwaters and jetties along the shoreline–on both sides of the Bayou La Batre navigation channel to provide a buffer from waves and boat wakes for commercial shrimp boats and other vessels–constructed with rock and restored marsh.
  • Scrub-shrub upland, tidal flats and marsh habitats created from more than 300,000 m³ of repurposed dredged material and more than 10,000 newly excavated meters of tidal creeks connecting old marsh to new marsh, collectively enhancing the ecological functions of the ecosystems.
  • A shoreline expansion, by more than 600 feet, that adds significant buffer against future coastal storms. 

  This effort also included planting 90,000 plants from a local nursery and utilizing more than 600 cubic yards of recycled oyster shells (from local restaurants) that mimics nearby natural coastal marshes and barrier islands to buffer the coastline and support wildlife, like birds and diamondback terrapins.

• Community Access

  Bayou La Batre’s vibrant, water-dependent community utilizes Lightning Point area for fishing, boating and recreation. This project enhances the City of Bayou La Batre’s existing boat ramp and parking lot with a groomed walking path, a pavilion, benches and fishing access platform for community use and enjoyment by those living, working and visiting the Bayou La Batre region.

• Long-Term Monitoring & Adaptive Management

  Since completion of the major components in 2020, the project is being monitored for five years to track performance metrics and highlight corrective actions as needed. Dauphin Island Sea Lab conducts biological monitoring (marsh vegetation – extent, diversity and density, water quality, submerged aquatic vegetation, and sediment analysis). Moffatt & Nichol handles structural monitoring with focus on shoreline position, shoreline elevation across the entire restoration area and integrity of the breakwaters. The City of Bayou La Batre with support of Mobile County oversees maintenance of the public amenities, including mowing and minor maintenance.

  The project design life is 25 years and was developed from modeling efforts incorporating future site-specific sea-level rise trends and wave dynamics. To plan beyond 25 years and for severe hurricane impacts, TNC worked with Moffatt & Nichol to develop a long-term site sustainability plan with adaptive management strategies to maintain appropriate breakwater crest elevation and to supplement the marsh platform to keep up with sea level rise trends.