Streamlining coastal restoration monitoring : a US Army Corps of Engineers practitioner’s guide to metric prioritization and field versus remote sensing approaches

<jats:p>Despite the increasing availability of remote sensing technologies, environmental monitoring methodologies remain inconsistent for coastal restoration projects, and this limits the ability to accurately compare performance and benefits between restoration types. This technical report addresses these challenges by systematically prioritizing coastal monitoring metrics and summarizing traditional field methods against emerging remote sensing technologies to support streamlined monitoring decisions for coastal ecosystem restoration projects. Through a targeted review of 375 monitoring metrics across 15 coastal restoration types and a structured workshop with nine US Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) restoration practitioners representing eight districts/divisions, this study identified 44 commonly referenced metrics and prioritized 16 high-ranking metrics based on project familiarity, logistics, regulatory drivers, and forecasting utility. The prioritized metrics, focusing on flora/habitat and geomorphological parameters, were then used to form the basis of a coastal ecosystem restoration monitoring case study using both traditional ground-based methods (real-time kinematic [RTK]-GPS surveys, vegetation plots) and advanced remote sensing technologies (uncrewed aircraft system [UAS]–mounted lidar, multispectral imagery). This technical report summarizes and synthesizes key findings from the workshop and case study and provides decision-making frameworks for optimizing the trade offs of traditional and emerging monitoring technologies based on specific project objectives.</jats:p>