Communities battle erosion

Two south county communities are taking on the Chesapeake Bay, trying to stem the relentless tide of erosion on their shores.

Franklin Manor and Columbia Beach, two residential enclaves near the base of the Shady Side Peninsula, have undertaken shoreline restoration projects, potentially with help from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Some residents hope that the community effort might also spur Maryland to protect the shoreline between the two neighborhoods at its 470-acre Franklin Point Park.

Over the decades, the bay has gobbled up more than 750 feet along a stretch of shoreline where Deep Creek and Deep...