Department of the Interior Grant for Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief at Gandy’s Beach, NJ077

The entire coastline of the Delaware Bay has suffered from erosion particularly during storm events. Hurricane Sandy furthered the decline and erosion of that shoreline. Continued erosion and storm damage of Gandyâ¿¿s Beach and adjacent wetlands threatens an abundant diversity of natural wildlife habitats including open marsh, salt ponds, exposed mud flats, shrub dominated areas and shallow water habitat. The Nature Conservancy measured shoreline retreat at Gandyâ¿¿s Beach to be about 130 meters since 1930. These habitats provide breeding, foraging, and resting areas for many species of migratory birds, including shorebirds, wading birds, raptors and waterfowl. During the spring hundreds of thousands of shorebirds including ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres), the federal candidate red knot (Calidris canutus), semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla), and sanderlings (Calidris alba) forage and rest on the shores of the Delaware Bay and nearby salt marshes.

The proposed project will perform ecological data collection for Hurricane Sandy coastal resiliency living shoreline restoration projects. The grantee will collect data related to coastal resilience benefits such as: vegetation cover, oyster population, and sediment accretion. Information will be obtained through project visits, vegetation surveys, and other methods. This project will contribute to the assessment of this emerging resilience technique’s understanding, cost effectiveness, and ecological benefits. This project is authorized by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, Public Law 113-2.