Rice University, BCarbon and Scenic Galveston have launched an innovative project to protect the Kohfeldt Marsh near Texas City from sea level rise through the design and creation of a living shoreline. The effort combines land conservation with carbon credit financing, supporting marshland resilience against erosion and climate change. As part of a special credit course, Rice students will be actively involved in the design of the shoreline.
The estimated $1 million construction cost of the project will be recovered through carbon credits issued under BCarbon’s living shoreline blue carbon protocol. Carbon credits are permits that allow companies to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide, with each credit representing one metric ton, and can be traded or offset by reducing emissions elsewhere. The living shoreline reduces emissions via the preservation and enhancement of coastal ecosystems—such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes—which naturally absorb and hold large amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The term “blue carbon” refers to the carbon captured and stored by these ecosystems. The project will be the first of its kind to be implemented using this new protocol, which has been developed over the past two years by coastal scientists, engineers and conservationists.
“BCarbon was started out of a stakeholder process at the Baker Institute at Rice University for this very purpose — to design and implement creative approaches that will become a part of the economy of the future,” said Jim Blackburn, CEO of BCarbon and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice. “Nature has value, particularly relative to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a time when we need to remove a lot of carbon dioxide. This project represents one small step in the ongoing transition to what will become the economy of the 21st century.”
Unlike traditional seawalls, living shorelines are engineered to work with nature. They incorporate rock or concrete structures that help break up waves and prevent marsh erosion while also encouraging marine life to thrive. Over time, oysters colonize the hard surfaces, and seagrass takes root in the calmer waters behind them. These natural elements, along with the protected marsh, form a self-sustaining “living” shoreline.
BCarbon, a nonprofit carbon credit registry, created this protocol to mitigate the impact of rising sea levels on coastal marshes. Coastal scientists agree that without intervention, these marshes will eventually drown due to climate change-driven sea level rise. Once marsh plants die, their roots can no longer hold the soil together, leading to rapid erosion and the release of large amounts of stored carbon. Living shorelines help counteract this process by trapping sediment and supporting marshland stability, allowing the ecosystem to keep pace with rising sea levels. These marshes absorb and store approximately two tons of carbon dioxide per acre per year . The longer they remain intact, the more carbon they remove from the atmosphere, making them a crucial tool in climate resilience and carbon sequestration.
“Our coastal marshes are incredibly important to our coastal fishery,” said Lalise Mason, chairman of Scenic Galveston, a private nonprofit conservation trust. “White and brown shrimp, blue crab, flounder and all types of finfish come to the marshes early in their life cycle and stay until they are mature. Without these marshes, the coastal fishery would be only a fraction of what it is today. Here at Scenic Galveston, our aim is to protect and expand our coastal marshes and habitat in any way that we can.”
The 3,000-foot living shoreline for the Kohfeldt Marsh will protect approximately 300 acres of marshland adjacent to Scenic Galveston’s conservation preserve, which is also a significant habitat for coastal and migratory birds along Galveston Bay. Scenic Galveston has already constructed a 2-mile living shoreline project from nearby Virginia Point to Swan Lake with the new project being a next stage in the protection of this vulnerable shoreline.
“Since we completed our Virginia Point shoreline in 2016 in conjunction with Texas General Land Office, Galveston Bay Estuary Program, National Fish and Wildlife Federation and other partners, the coastline — which was eroding badly — has begun to be reclaimed, and we have seen enhanced avian utilization of our shoreline, including several species new to the preserve complex,” Mason said.
A unique aspect of this initiative is Rice’s collaboration, where students will gain real-world experience as part of a special credit course.
“This special credit course is quite amazing,” said Philip Bedient, the Herman and George R. Brown Professor of Engineering and director of the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center at Rice. “The students will get wonderful exposure to a real project. They will study the ecology of the site, the physical features of the construction area, and they will design a project to meet these specifications. They will get in the marsh and get their feet wet. They will work on permitting, which is significant. In all, this is an excellent effort, and SSPEED Center is a proud participant.”
The course at Rice is funded through a gift from Carbon Royalty Corp., aimed at supporting nature-based engineering solutions.
“This project is among the most amazing I have worked on here at Rice,” said Blackburn, who is co-director of the SSPEED Center. “It is really neat to watch the students have actual physical contact with the marsh as they design this living shoreline, fill in the permit application forms and apply for carbon credits. This is a very real learning experience.”
The land for the Kohfeldt Marsh project was generously donated to Scenic Galveston by Texas Gulf Coast Holdings, a partnership established by the heirs of Franz Kohfeldt, one of Texas City’s earliest landowners. Craig Mallery, Kohfeldt’s great-grandson, expressed his family’s pride in continuing their legacy of giving back.
“From donating land for parks, an elementary school and the Bayou Golf Course, the Kohfeldt family has a long history of supporting Texas City,” Mallery said. “We are delighted to partner with Scenic Galveston to preserve this beautiful marsh.”
Valero, which operates a refinery in nearby Texas City, is partially funding some of the preliminary studies for the project. The project’s progress will be shared publicly through a subcommittee led by Scenic Galveston, Blackburn, marine technology expert Chris Ordonez and other coastal stakeholders. Interested individuals and organizations can participate in discussions and stay updated on developments. For more information, contact jim.blackburn@bcarbon.org.