Alaskan property owners and communities can use this handbook to better understand and evaluate erosion problems and alternative solutions. As more local officials and community residents understand the factors contributing to community erosion problems, the better able they will be to monitor, describe, seek assistance for, and make decisions about local erosion issues.

These components, along with the characteristic profiles of eroding shorelines and typical energy sources, are explained in this handbook. The fundamental principles and means of controlling erosion are presented to enable users to understand potential solutions. Sources of additional guidance for evaluation, design, and implementation of alternative solutions are also presented.

The handbook does not classify erosion according to location—such as coastal or riverine—because the fundamentals of erosion and erosion control are the same regardless of where they occur. Each community and its environment has unique problems and features that merit special attention. The discussions in this handbook address both the general and site-specific aspects of erosion.