Learn more about the Esker Point Beach & Palmer Cove Coastal Resilience Plan!



Project Site Background:
Esker Point is a coastal, municipally managed, public park located in the Town of Groton. The project site
is a low-lying coastal park resource that is currently highly susceptible to the impacts of storm surge (i.e.
Superstorm Sandy, Irene), intense precipitation events, and longer-term sea level rise issues. As indicated
on the initial conceptual designs by The Nature Conservancy, the project area has been and will continue
to be subjected to routine coastal flooding, extreme episodic

Project Background:
The Esker Point and Palmer Cove Coastal Resilience Project was identified as a priority project during the
Southeastern Connecticut Regional Framework for Coastal Resilience (nine municipality regional
collaborative) largely due to potential of the Project to help serve as a catalytic example for other
municipalities around Long Island Sound looking to manage storm surge and sea level rise implications
prominent in coastal Connecticut and along the East and Mid-Atlantic coastal areas of the United States.
This Project will serve as a novel demonstration site to education the public, academic community,
municipal/regional planning/development departments, and elected officials on net-positive coastal
responses that balance risk reduction, enhanced public amenities, and improved ecological integrity and
function (i.e. resilient triple bottom line) in a highly desirable, coastal public park. The resulting
conservation outcomes, once installed, will help to better manage coastal erosion/storm surge, increase
the quantity and quality of habitat, and maximize stormwater runoff infiltration and water quality
improvements in the adjoining tidal embayment of Long Island Sound.

Project Outcomes:
This project will result in meaningful enhancement of a critical coastal natural resource for all people of
Town of Groton and beyond. This project will serve to demonstrate exactly how we as a society can reduce
risk from extreme weather and climate, improve the quality of life for residents that utilize public parks
and other amenities, and help to enhance the environment (i.e. resilient triple bottom line). This speaks to
the ultimately value and benefit of this Project well beyond the project area boundaries across Connecticut
and elsewhere along the Nation’s coastlines.
The initial conceptual designs completed for the Project by The Nature Conservancy and Town of Groton
proposes the installation of living shorelines, restoration of riparian and maritime scrub/shrub habitats,
installation of pervious materials in a parking lot, and a stormwater management bioswale. Project will be
administered and managed by The Nature Conservancy and the Town of Groton – Parks and Recreation
Department.