DIAS CREEK – Veterans Day is typically a day of remembrance, but the American Littoral Society used its annual recognition of the date this year to also look forward.
According to a release, at its Fifth Annual Veterans Day on the Bay, Nov. 9, at Cooks Beach near Court House, the society, along with about 30 well-wishers, military veterans, and U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-2nd), took the opportunity to recall the role veterans have played in restoration work on the Delaware bayshore and look forward to future efforts in the region.
Veterans have played an important role in helping the Littoral Society protect and restore Delaware Bay beaches since 2012.
“We created a program for hiring vets as part of the proposal to repair what Sandy did to many bayshore beaches,” stated Capt. Al Modjeski, habitat restoration program director for the American Littoral Society.
“So, veterans were here with us as we put the sand back and they have worked with us as we built the reefs to help protect those beaches from future storms.”
The first event took place Nov. 11, 2015 at South Reeds Beach. That reef was dedicated to all veterans, as well as those who worked with the society’s Veterans Internship Program.
Attendees honored their own military veterans by inscribing that special person’s name on a shell that was then placed on “Veterans Reef.”
More than 20 veterans have worked with the society through a veteran’s internship program that began horseshoe crab habitat restoration work, then expanded to include marsh restoration, oyster reef construction, and monitoring of the projects.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been an ongoing partner in the work, along with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, the N.J. Department of Fish & Wildlife, Stockton University, and Wildlife Restoration Partnership.
The intertidal reefs at Cooks Beach were built by volunteers and Littoral Society staff in August 2019 during the Littoral Society’s annual Shell-A-Bration.
Over the past five years the society has engineered eight reefs designed to preserve Delaware Bay beaches restored following Superstorm Sandy.
Modjeski said the reefs have been successful in stopping beach erosion and increasing the availability of horseshoe crab eggs, critical for migratory shorebirds such as Red Knots. Red Knots and other shorebirds help bring $35 million in tourist dollars to New Jersey’s Delaware bayshore region each year.
In addition to food from Spanky’s BBQ, creating shell memorials, and fun activities such as seining, the event featured Van Drew who presented a congressional proclamation commemorating the event.
In addition to being a leader in efforts to prevent oil and gas exploration and drilling off the Atlantic coast, Van Drew recently brought the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources to Wildwood for an oversight hearing on the benefits and potential challenges for New Jersey’s growing offshore wind industry.
Van Drew was joined by Middle Township Committeeman Michael Clark.
The society’s past beach and reef work provided the foundation for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 10-year regional beach and oyster reef restoration permit, which was signed in April 2019.
This innovative permit will allow the Society to pursue its future conservation work more efficiently and effectively.
The USACE permit, along with permits from the state, a sound restoration prioritization plan, and the Littoral Society’s proven record of success provide a solid framework for more funding and the potential for further national appropriations towards the work.
In the last year, the society’s work has received awards from the Delaware Basin Conservation Act, USFWS Partners Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Going forward, the society plans to restore up to one linear mile of beach and create three intertidal reefs per year, while working with state and federal partners to secure additional funding to hopefully do even more.
The society is also backing a campaign aimed at fully restoring the crab population by 2030 from its current status, which is estimated at only 30 percent of the bay’s carrying capacity.
In the face of more frequent storms, climate change, and sea-level rise, it is clear that long-term efforts are essential to not only restore important habitat but also forge a path for survivability of the bay’s ecology and culture.
With the continued help of veterans and other supporters, the American Littoral Society intends to play a role in future chapters focused on sustaining both animal and human living spaces in the region, while ensuring the coast can more quickly recover from future storms.
