Nauset Spit-Orleans will also narrow through time until it will overwash, 

 an inlet will form, and the spit north of Nauset Heights will be lost— perhaps 

 fusing to Nauset Spit-Eastham as the inlet channel shifts. Oane stabilization 

 along Nauset Spit-Orleans will only increase the rate of barrier narrowing as 

 occasional overwash widening will be prevented. 



Overwash will continue at Old North Beach and Nauset Spit-Eastham. Exten- 

 sive dune stabilization can reduce overwash activity for a period of time 

 resulting in calra back-barrier conditions necessary for the establishment of 

 salt-marsh vegetation. Artificially established dunes will continue to narrow 

 in the absence of washover sediment in upwind positions, and these foredunes 

 will eventually be destroyed with incessant shoreline erosion. Salt-marsh 

 peat behind the barriers will continue to restrict inlet formation. 



Without artificial dune and salt-marsh establishment, new dunes and salt 

 marshes will form along those parts of the barrier within the correct eleva- 

 t tonal ranges. However, it may be many years before high dunes are once again 

 present on Nauset Spit-Eastham. A continuous dune line may not reform and 

 appear at; it did prior to 1978. New dunes, if artificially established, 

 snould be constructed well landward of the berm crest to allow for future 

 shoreline erosion. Natural dunes will form toward the back of washovers in 

 drift lines and expand eastward. 



Salt marshes can also be established effectived on washover flats. Care 

 should be taken to plant Spartina patens and Spavtim. alterrdflova at eleva- 

 tions within their natural range along the spit system. Plantings should also 

 be conducted only in areas that are not subject to continued overwash or high- 

 energy conditions (.swift currents near inlet channels or long fetch directions 

 on the bay side). 



Rapid shoreline erosion, high rates of littoral drift, and harbor condi- 

 tions render rigid structures ineffective in a practical sense. By working in 

 association with natural processes, segments of the migrational cycle can be 

 expanded but not restricted. 



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