Stakeholder Working Group Tyndall Coastal Resilience
Tyndall Stakeholder Working Group
In 2019, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) Natural Disaster Recovery Division launched the Tyndall Coastal Resilience Program and established the first Stakeholder Working Group. Initially, the group focused on the identification of keystone NBS types from which cost benefits could be gained if upscaled in the future. Key partnerships were established among participants able to seek funding for NBS project planning and implementation at Tyndall AFB. Since its establishment, the Tyndall Stakeholder Working Group has expanded to a coalition of 85 members from 34 organizations who meet regularly to evaluate NBS project concepts, explore delivery strategies, and accelerate development of the Tyndall Coastal Resilience Program. From 2023-2029, the Stakeholder Working Group was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) through the National Coastal Resilience Fund, with support from the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), via grant award to The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The St. Andrew & St. Joseph Bays Estuary Program currently serves as lead coordinator for the Working Group.
In 2022, the AFCEC Natural Disaster Recovery Division finalized the Tyndall AFB Coastal Resilience Implementation Plan (CRIP). As a long-term strategy intended to support both mission assurance and enhance Tyndall AFB’s coastal resilience over the long-term, the CRIP provides the 325th Fighter Wing with a pipeline of project concepts designed to mitigate coastal hazards to the base through Year 2100.
View the CRIP.
For more information, contact Garey Payne.
From 2022-2025, Jacobs led the development of a Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Implementation of the Tyndall Air Force Base CRIP. To satisfy National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review requirements, the Programmatic Environmental Assessment was routed to all relevant tribes and state and federal agencies. Tyndall AFB’s NEPA Program issued a Finding of No Significant Impacts / No Practical Alternative for the Programmatic Environmental Assessment in February 2025. This determination set the stage for a streamlined state and federal permit application review process for an initial suite of NBS projects.
Keystone Nature Based Solutions
Among many of the NBS project concepts identified in the CRIP, four “keystone” NBS projects were selected to advance first through engineering design and permitting phases and to serve as foundational efforts for the scaling of future NBS project implementation at Tyndall AFB. These projects include Oyster Reef Breakwater, Living Shoreline, Submerged Shoreline Stabilization, and Seagrass Enhancement.
Oyster Reef Breakwater
Six oyster reef breakwaters along 2,000 ft of shoreline will enhance 30 acres of oyster and estuarine habitat and protect 794 acres of Tyndall AFB property including the drone runway.
Living Shoreline
Four breakwaters along 1,268 ft of shoreline will enhance 19 acres of estuarine habitat and boost resilience of 485 acres of Tyndall AFB property including the primary airfield, fuel port, and maintenance area.
Submerged Shoreline Stabilization
Twelve breakwaters along 3,500 ft of shoreline will enhance 30 acres of beach mouse and estuarine habitat and protect 3,328 acres of Tyndall AFB property including Buck Beach and U.S. Route 98.
Seagrass Enhancement
Five acres of seagrass habitat enhancement will protect 0.25 miles of shoreline and 1,798 acres of Tyndall AFB property including Buck Beach and U.S. Route 98.
A Regional Partnership
The Tyndall AFB Coastal Resilience Program and the four keystone NBS align with broader regional conservation and sustainability initiatives. The projects are priorities under The Nature Conservancy’s Scaling Up Nature-based Solutions (SUNS) Program initiated in 2020. Through a participatory mapping process, SUNS identified 89 NBS opportunities across the Hurricane Michael-impacted region. Tyndall AFB is also part of the Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape (NWFSL), established in 2022. The Tyndall AFB NBS projects support NWFSL goals to scale NBS and enhance military readiness. In 2024, the Emerald Coast Military Installation Resilience Review ranked NBS implementation as the second highest priority among ten projects for reducing coastal risks at TAFB, based on mission criticality and long-term benefits. Finally, the project aligns with St. Andrew and St. Joseph Bays Estuary Program (SASJBEP) Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan goals to expand NbS implementation, restore seagrass, and enhance St. Andrew Bay communities’ capacity to adapt to coastal change.
Image: Resilient recreation space, Shannon Carabajal
Scientific Monitoring of Nature-Based Solutions at Tyndall Air Force Base
To support scaling and transferability, the project team developed a Scientific Monitoring Plan to track NBS performance, quantify ecosystem services, and evaluate resilience outcomes of the four keystone NBS projects to be implemented at Tyndall AFB. Metrics and methods are transferrable and designed for use across future NBS implemented under Tyndall AFB’s Coastal Resilience Program, across the Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape, and at other northern Gulf coastal sites.
The Scientific Monitoring Plan was developed through a collaborative process among experts in wave-sediment interactions and geospatial monitoring at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, experts in ecology at the Univ. of Florida Center for Coastal Solutions, and experts in coastal and estuarine habitat restoration at The Nature Conservancy. The Monitoring Plan outlines fourteen core metrics to assess project performance, quantify ecosystem services, and evaluate the effect and extent of each NBS project on identified measures of coastal resilience. Each keystone NBS project monitoring protocol outlined in the plan is integrated with the protocols for each of the other keystone NBS project sites and to capture both in-field efficiencies and cost savings across the four initial NBS to be implemented under the Tyndall Coastal Resilience Program.
Image: Restore Project Deployment, Becca Hatchell
