Engaging the Public at Shell Middens to Address Climate Change Impacts: Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida) at Shell Bluff Landing (8SJ32)

Summary

Shell Bluff Landing (8SJ32) is a dense coastal shell midden with occupation spanning 6,000 years, located in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The site is threatened by climate change impacts and coastal dynamics that include salt water intrusion, flooding, and, most notably, erosion exacerbated by wave action from the Intracoastal Waterway. Since Shell Bluff Landing was acquired by the State of Florida in the 1980s, land managers employed numerous strategies to manage and track the erosion at the site. However, these efforts have proven largely unsuccessful. In 2016, the Florida Public Archaeology Network partnered with the Reserve to monitor and record changes at the site through the Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida) program. The site serves as a training venue for engaging the public in citizen science monitoring and climate change impacts. Monitoring efforts have documented changes to the site including meters of shoreline loss following Hurricane Matthew.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18694