PRESERVING THE LAST OF ILLINOIS’ SHORELINE: ECOLOGICALLY-DRIVEN SHORELINE STABILIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR INLAND LAKES

Abstract

Illinois Beach State Park (IBSP) represents the last contiguous 6.5 mile pristine shoreline within the State of Illinois. Geologically speaking, the park sits atop a migratory beach-ridge characterized by sand ridges separated by low wetland swales which are home to over 650 species, some of which are rare and threatened. The land itself provides a visual history of the layering of the primary frontal dune marching lakeward as the beach-ridge migrated south. Human development, however, has stabilized the beach ridge to the north, cutting off sand supply to the park. The very coastal process that created this landform will eventually lead to its ruin. Approaching this problem, a number of hydrodynamic and sediment morphology numerical models were used to determine the areas of highest erosion rate within the park.