SALEM — The city has received $1.7 million in state funding to stabilize about 700 feet of eroding shoreline at Winter Island Park.
On Thursday, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and state officials announced the first round of ECO One Stop grant awards, including $1.7 million for Salem to implement a nature-based coastal bank stabilization project targeting Waikiki Beach, Fort Pickering, and the edge of the parking lot.
The project will remove invasive vegetation and use fiber lift arrays and native vegetation to provide storm damage protection and erosion control, improve public safety and pedestrian access, restore native vegetation, and preserve archaeological and historic resources dating back 6,000 years.
The project has received funding from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management since 2023, and has now advanced to a fully permitted design. The project team includes the city, Salem Sound Coastwatch, Barbara Warren Environmental Consulting, Wilkinson Ecological Design, The Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc., and Epsilon Associates.
According to the city, the ongoing erosion of the Winter Island pathways and coastal banks has resulted from waves, storm surges, extreme high tides, regular foot traffic, and excessive invasive plant species such as bittersweet. Much of the southeast-facing coastal bank adjacent to the parking lot has eroded to a steep, vertical face, with particularly severe erosion near the gazebo, where the ground beneath the gazebo has been undermined, leaving its seaward edge unsupported.
The city has also determined a grass strip between the top of the bank and the parking lot is weakened by regular exposure to salt and heavily compacted from foot traffic, limiting the resilience of the turfgrass to withstand tidal impacts and infiltrate stormwater. At the seaward edge, grass roots are exposed, and several sections of the bank have slumped onto the beach below. The parking lot edge isn’t curbed and subsequent stormwater runoff isn’t directed into the rain garden, exacerbating erosion of the shoreline.
Near Waikiki Beach, Fort Pickering’s rampart path and the failing coastal bank are planned to be restored. First, the dense invasive vegetation will be removed. Then, reinforced fiber roll lifts — erosion and sediment control devices — will be installed against the top of the bank. Soils will be placed above the fiber rolls and covered in erosion control blankets to serve as a planting area for native herbaceous species. Sand placed over the embankment for construction access from the beach will remain in place after construction to provide nourishment and additional protection.
At the Fort Pickering headland, the degraded stairs, gullies resulting from erosion, and invasive vegetation will be removed. Fiber roll arrays and foundations to provide stability to the bank will be installed at the landward edge of the bank, then covered with sand and erosion control blankets. Native herbaceous species will be planted on 2,800 square feet of coastal bank. The benches and access will move 2 feet landward due to necessary re-contouring of the slope. There will be a temporary 4-foot metal fence until plantings are established.
On the southern shoreline, more reinforced fiber roll lifts will be installed to protect the Fort Pickering rampart. The city said the footpath will be discontinued given its vulnerability to climate change induced increases in precipitation and southerly coastal storms. The slope will be re-constructed and planted to stabilize the coastal bank. The footpath between the southern shoreline and Fort Pickering headland will be reseeded with native grasses to reduce further erosion.
Certain other paths will also be closed off using physical barriers, signage, or native plantings, with alternative routes being made apparent, according to the city.
The Public Archaeology Laboratory will conduct archaeological monitoring during the proposed excavation for the project. The city said cultural and geological features may be present and deeply buried along the ramparts at Waikiki Beach, the Fort Pickering headland, and the southern shoreline, which could provide significant information on the historic construction and repair work undertaken at Fort Pickering since the late 18th century.
Fort Pickering, believed to have been built in 1643, is the oldest remaining fortified site in Salem and one of the oldest in Massachusetts. Prior to its construction, archaeological evidence indicates Winter Island was first occupied during the pre-contact period by Native American groups who used the land as a settlement.
The city expects to begin construction of this two-year restoration project next July. In 2027, nature-based shoreline stabilization would begin at Waikiki Beach and the headland, and continue in 2028 at the southern shoreline and parking lot edge. More information is available at publicinput.com/d3486.
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202