Healthy Shorelines

You can turn your lawn and lakeshore into a healthy shoreline! Our award-winning Healthy Shorelines Initiative provides grant assistance to homeowners for shoreline projects that reduce erosion, decrease runoff, and improve water quality and habitat. Projects include refacing existing concrete seawalls, installing new bioengineered or glacial stone seawalls, planting lake-friendly landscaping, and more.

While traditional mowed lawns and concrete seawalls have long been the accepted norm, they aren’t natural or healthy for our lakes. They decrease plant life and animal habitat along the shoreline, create added wave action, and contribute to erosion, algae growth, and muck – among other problems.

Healthy shorelines combine rock seawalls and native plants both on the land and in the water. Bioengineered and glacial stone seawalls help slow wave action, stabilize the shoreline, promote aquatic plant growth, and provide habitat for aquatic creatures. Lake-friendly landscaping includes native plants that slow runoff, filter pollutants, and reduce erosion – among other benefits. With proper planning, natural shorelines can also be incredibly beautiful and low-maintenance, and they don’t interfere with recreation.