U.S. Fish & Wildlife to Restore Bay Beaches

COURT HOUSE – Representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will meet the media April 2 to answer questions about a $1.65-million project to restore five beaches on Delaware Bay in Cape May County.
The service, in partnership with the American Littoral Society and the state Department of Environmental Protection, is removing debris and replacing two to three feet of sand lost to storm surge and coastal erosion after 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Work teams will deposit about 45,500 tons of at Kimbles Beach, Moores Beach, Reeds Beach, Cooks Beach and Pierces Point, according to a release.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is coordinating the restoration effort to restore those five local beaches that suffered severe erosion from Hurricane Sandy. The project’s goal is to replenish the beaches by early May. Using $1.65 million in Hurricane Sandy mitigation funds from the Department of the Interior, the restoration effort will trace the coast of Delaware Bay, where large debris including chunks of asphalt and bricks, concrete pipes, slabs, and pilings will be cleared and approximately 45,000 tons of sand will be deposited at area beaches.
A replenished shoreline will encourage the return of horseshoe crabs for seasonal spawning, whose eggs are a food staple for the declining migratory bird, the red knot. The service is supporting the effort in partnership with the American Littoral Society, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers.
This project is the first of 31 to begin that make up a larger, $102-million effort funded by the Department of the Interior to restore coastal marshes, beaches, dunes and barrier islands to make them more resilient to future storms, protect and restore wildlife habitat and mitigate flooding and sea level rise.
In addition to protecting coastal communities, the beach restorations will restore seasonal spawning grounds for horseshoe crabs, the eggs of which serve as a crucial food source for migrating shorebirds including the red knot, which is currently being considered for listing on the federal endangered species list.
Among those expected to attend: Brian Braudis, refuge manager, Cape May National Wildlife Refuge Capt. Al Modjeski, project manager, American Littoral Society, and Tylar Greene, public affairs officer, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Northeast Region.