CAPE MAY – Before we get into the winding story of Cape May Meadows, we’ve got something to say: You should go visit. Seriously, this is one of the most important stopovers for migratory birds on the entire planet, and you can just waltz over for free, with free parking, and experience one of the most diverse habitats on the East Coast.
Drive towards Sunset Beach in Cape May Point. It’s right there on the left on Sunset Boulevard. You don’t have to be some birding expert to appreciate what’s here; there’s beauty for anybody with their eyes open to see it. Pardon our interruption…
The Nature Conservancy is the largest private protector of lands in the world, and right here in Cape May County, they’ve brought land back from the brink.
At Cape May Meadows, the “brink” meant a failing wetlands ecosystem overrun with invasive phragmites, breached dunes that let saltwater into important freshwater habitats, and land that could no longer support nesting birds.
The Meadows has…
- Free parking + ADA access
- Miles of trails
- An accessible boardwalk trail
- Accessible benches
- Osprey livestream
- Interactive digital kiosk with bird calls
- Water bottle fill station
- Device charging spots (solar power!)
- An 80-foot bird blind
This collapse happened over several decades. A notable year was 1944, when the town of South Cape May was abandoned after the Great Atlantic Hurricane struck. As you can guess, devastating tidewater surges flooded the town, winds toppled buildings; it was chaos. Feckless development and storms invited destruction.
The Nature Conservancy bought 200 acres here in 1981, but restoration efforts began in earnest in 2004 with help from the Army Corps of Engineers. The land endured intense hardship between purchase and restoration. The “Perfect Storm” of 1991 breached the main dune system and worsened flooding. The breach also created that awful potion: brackish water.
Between 1995 and the restoration project, more than 150 acres of coastline had eroded into the ocean. Without a large-scale project, devastation like this would continue at speed.
The Conservancy laid out several ambitious goals for the property when the 2004 restoration began.
Control Invasive Phragmites
Phragmites – aka the common reed – is a highly invasive species that chokes out native species wherever it grows. By 2004, phragmites had taken over nearly every inch of fertile ground at the Sotuh Cape May Meadows. Damon Noe, critical lands manager at The Nature Conservancy, told us that they tried everything to get rid of it: burn-downs, chemical control and even the introduction of two moth species that eat phragmites. Today, phragmites are largely under control, but Noe stressed that “there’s no silver bullet” to keep them at bay.
Increase Beach + Dune habitat
As you can see in the photos, a lot of land that’s walkable in 2025 was completely underwater in 2004. That’s bad not only for the creatures who rely on this land, but for the humans who live nearby. The goal: increase habitats for beach-nesting birds and protect nearby communities against flooding by bringing in massive amounts of sand and sediment. Dunes help keep floodwaters at bay and grow grasses where birds can forage, hide and mate.
Create levees and water-control structures
The Meadows is equipped with a low-head weir that allows The Nature Conservancy to adjust water levels on different portions of the property. In spring, the Meadows might drain marshland so shorebirds like greater yellowlegs and the semipalmated plover can forage the mudflats for invertebrates. The water control structure was a life – and property – saver when Hurricane Sandy made landfall in 2012. The Nature Conservancy lowered water levels in some of the main ponds before the storm hit, allowing the Meadows to absorb an additional 10 inches of rain that would have otherwise flooded the Cape.
Restore Freshwater Flow
Freshwater right on the ocean? Actually, freshwater flows naturally in these coastal wetlands. Development and storms, over a long period of time, broke down the barriers between fresh and salt waters. Many migratory bird species, and their food, rely on fresh water. Firming up the barriers between wetlands and the ocean was one of the most essential parts of restoration.
So yes, Cape May Meadows is a nature preserve. But to say that this property is “all natural” betrays the hard work it took to achieve today’s harmony. Today, more least terns – tiny migratory shorebirds – breed in the Meadows than anywhere else in the state. Twenty years ago, one would be hard-pressed to find a single mating least turn on these lands.
But there’s only so much change an ecosystem like this can take in a short period of time. Damon Noe is proud of the restoration work that he and The Nature Conservancy have accomplished. But as water levels and temperatures rise, the challenges ahead will only ramp up. Storms, especially in the summer, are flooding marshes more than they ever have. Storms that would have once been a “no biggie” are now seriously encroaching on important breeding grounds.
“Summer storms are increasing in intensity and frequency, and if that happens in the middle of migration season, there go the birds. The habitat floods, all the birds are dead,” Noe said.
Hope for the Future
Noe isn’t ready to give up. He’s an out-of-the-box thinker. He told Do the Shore that the Army Corps of Engineers uses excess sand from the Conservancy’s properties to build up nearby Cove Beach. In exchange for the sand, he struck a deal: The Corps would help create flood-proof “sand islands” on the Meadows’ shoreline, which migratory birds can rely on even as tides surge.
Work on these sand islands, which are islands in the sense that they are surrounded by lower-elevation sand, began in fall 2024.
Noe told Do the Shore: “The sand beds are raised about 2.5 feet above the surrounding beach. The beach used to have almost a bowl shape to it. As part of the sand bed project, the Army Corps of Engineers filled in this bowl-like area so the beach became level. Then they created the 2.5-foot raised beds on top of the leveled beach.”
Construction of the islands, which are surrounded by fences that can’t be easily climbed or burrowed beneath, was finished March 1. Dune grasses have been slowly growing here. The beach grass, too, is a real Goldilocks situation: It can’t be so high that predators can hide, but can’t be so short that the birds are easily spotted.
Noe laughed and said: “Everybody wants to eat a baby egg.” It’s true: These birds are easy prey, and their habitats are smaller than ever.
“Up and down the coast, the beach-nesting birds struggle because beaches are getting smaller,” he said. “These birds need those protected habitats. Most beaches are now surrounded on three sides by buildings.”
Noe helped spur early results at the Meadows by placing carved wooden replicas of shorebirds all around the sand islands. These replicas, combined with speakers that play bird calls, tell the flesh-and-blood birds that this is a safe place to rest. They also draw attention away from the real birds.
And it’s working.
“I was out there the other day, and there are over 100 nesting birds already,” Noe said.
Contact the author, Collin Hall, at 609-886-8600, ext. 156, or by email at chall@cmcherald.com.
This article was written as part of a paid sponsorship with The Nature Conservancy.
