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Hog Point living‑shoreline project aims to stabilize 4,900 feet of Patuxent River shoreline and protect Navy landing zones
Summary
NAS Patuxent River, partners and a nonprofit detailed a hybrid living‑shoreline and breakwater project at Hog Point intended to slow 7–11 feet per year erosion, preserve helicopter landing zones and local habitat, and is fully funded by a mix of grants and Navy resilience funds.
Officials from NAS Patuxent River and partner organizations told St. Mary's County commissioners April 29 that the Hog Point shoreline restoration is under way and intended to stabilize nearly 4,900 linear feet of Patuxent River shoreline.
Jackie Smith, natural resources specialist at NAS Patuxent River, said erosion in the Hog Point area has averaged about 7 to 11 feet per year and that “in the last 9 years, we've lost about 2½ acres of beach habitat and tidal marshes.” She said erosion threatens two confined‑space helicopter landing zones used by the Naval Test Pilot School and search‑and‑rescue units and that, “without this project, the primary landing zone in that area would be lost to erosion in about 10 to 20 years.”
The project uses a hybrid design that combines engineered breakwaters (sills) and living‑shoreline plantings behind rock structures. Allison Burnett, executive director of Southern Maryland RC&D, said the project’s design includes breakwaters and pocket beaches that will slow wave action and allow sand and marsh grasses to establish behind the sills.
Project partners described the work as fully funded by a combination of two competitive grants, Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) funding and Navy cultural resilience funds; Burnett said the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded $2,400,000 for the project. Contractors have completed multiple breakwater reaches and placed sand fill in some areas; planting of marsh grasses and final stabilization are ongoing.
Officials said the project also creates habitat for diamondback terrapin, horseshoe crab spawning and migrating shorebirds, and preserves a recreational beach. Commissioners and Navy staff said the Hog Point work fills a gap between neighboring engineered shorelines and helps protect range and radar assets along the Chesapeake Bayside.
No formal county action was taken on April 29; presenters described the project as active, funded and in construction.
