In July 2025, the Engineering With Nature Playbook Project Development Team traveled to Lake Superior to view locations that offer opportunities or serve as examples of nature-based solutions to enhance coastal resiliency throughout the Great Lakes.

Objective

• Examine sites around Lake Superior that present opportunities and/or examples of nature-based solutions to improve coastal resiliency around the Great Lakes.
• Engage with tribes of Lake Superior Chippewa to hear their concerns and learn about traditional approaches to coastal protection.

Activities

• Visited rocky beaches, armored urban shorelines, sand and clay bluffs, and waste rock sites.
• Examined the erosion and deposition patterns along the shorelines, including the nature of materials being transported, and the types of conventional and natural infrastructure occurring along the coast.
• Met with representatives from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and toured their marina, beach, marshes, and encroaching stamp sands.
• Met with representatives from the Fond du Lac Band and toured their rice lake, historic burial site, and a remediated EPA Area of Concern.

Key Take-Aways

• Tribes have experienced multiple coastal challenges and emphasize sustainable solutions that USACE should learn from and implement.
• Valuable information was obtained during the trip that will inform the development of the Playbook.