Supported by grants from conservation groups, the Department of Environmental Protection and partners are working to re-establish Delaware Bay beaches that were eroded by Superstorm Sandy.
The project is being conducted in two phases that together will address a large sweep of the bay shoreline in Cape May County from Moores Beach south to Pierces Point.
The first phase, currently underway, focuses on emergency, stop-gap restoration of beaches adjacent to creeks that provide critical shorebird feeding habitat for the upcoming spring migration. The second phase, to be conducted later this year, will focus on improving beaches by removing rubble, old pilings, bulkheads and abandoned structures for long-term habitat enhancement.
The partners are using grants from the nonprofit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Community Foundation of New Jersey coupled with smaller grants from the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust and Corporate Wetlands Partnership to restore the beaches.
“ The restoration of these beaches is a high ecological priority for the Christie Administration in the wake of Sandy and may prove critical to the success of this year’s shorebird migration, especially the migration of endangered red knots ,” said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin . “ We are extremely grateful to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the New Jersey Recovery Fund for providing the grant funds and to all of our partners for carrying out this important work .”
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Dredging Today Staff, April 2, 2013; Image: usace