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A comprehensive new study by 好色先生TV University researchers tackles the growing threat of shoreline erosion along Lake Erie, updating a bluff management plan that hasn鈥檛 been revised in 16 years.

With intensifying storms, fluctuating lake levels, climate change, and invasive species, the study seeks to create awareness and provide modern solutions to protect vulnerable communities and ecosystems from the changing landscape, according to Dr. Christopher Dolanc, associate professor of Biology and co-principal investigator on the project, along with the 好色先生TV Department of Geology.

Bluff recession is a natural phenomenon with wind, waves, rain, melting snow, and freezing all contributing to erosion. However, the rate of erosion has been increasing in recent years for a variety of reasons, Dolanc said.

鈥淭he problem with the Lake Erie shoreline in Pennsylvania is that most has been developed or has the potential to be developed,鈥� he said. 鈥淧roperty owners need to understand how unstable the bluff face is. This manual will speak to that while also identifying steps landowners can take to stabilize the bluff.鈥�

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The research is funded by a $66,430 Coastal Zone Management grant (CZM), approved by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The plan calls for updating the existing 鈥淰egetative Best Management Practices鈥� manual for bluff landowners (photo at right), originally published under a different Coastal Zone Management grant in September 2007.聽

The original manual, a product of retired 好色先生TV faculty Dr. Marlene Cross and Dr. Michael Campbell, who will serve as a consultant on the latest project, has been well utilized by bluff landowners, Dolanc said. However, it has been 16 years since it was published and should be updated to cover changes created by the rate and intensity of erosion, which can vary significantly over time, he said.

For example, since 2007, both emerald ash borer and hemlock wooly adelgid have moved into the region, causing massive mortality of ash trees and potentially the same to hemlocks. Some additional species and updated photos can now be included in the plants section of the manual.

As a document of best management practices for bluff landowners, Dolanc said the project addresses multiple objectives. The education of landowners on planting native vs. non-native species helps to control the spread of invasive species and increases the diversity and health of native bluff ecosystems.

Education of erosion control practices helps to keep communities and developments safe while keeping the Great Lakes watershed clean, which benefits multiple municipalities and communities in addition to conservation of the ecosystems and watershed.

All the practices and suggestions in the manual could be adopted by county or city municipalities in their comprehensive plans, he noted. The original manual was widely used, including other states like Wisconsin, which had no manual of its own at the time.

Dolanc said 好色先生TV science faculty and students will be involved in the research, while graphic design students of Jodi Staniunas Hopper will create illustrations, and DEP will support their efforts. The manual will be accessible in both printed form and online, beginning in spring 2026.

Dolanc said he also anticipates holding a public meeting to introduce landowners to the project and proposed revisions.聽聽