Improving Habitat and Protecting Communities at Wreck Pond

This guest post was written by Zack Royle, Habitat Restoration Coordinator for the American Littoral Society, as part of our #StrongerCoast campaign. Here, Zack describes the work being done to restore a coastal pond in Spring Lake, NJ.

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey. The strong winds, driving rain, and (perhaps most critically) high storm surge caused wide-spread destruction. Roads and residences were flooded in the small Jersey Shore community of Spring Lake. The storm also cut an inlet into Wreck Pond, a 73-acre coastal pond situated on the town’s southern border. That may have marked the first time a natural inlet connected the pond to the Atlantic Ocean since the original inlet was replaced by pipe during the 1930s.

A view from Spring Lake Beach, NJ, of the completed 600 foot fish passage culvert and 800 foot pipe that connect Wreck Pond to the Atlantic Ocean. Photo Credit: American Littoral Society

In the past, Wreck Pond was known as a fishing and recreational hotspot. Locals speak fondly of catching large “stripers” from the 1st Avenue and Railroad Bridges, and tell stories of kids swimming and playing in the warm waters. Old-timers also speak of the river herring (alewife and blueback herring) runs. In early spring, hundreds of river herring would migrate into Wreck Pond, travelling up its tributaries to spawn.

However, Wreck Pond became notorious in recent years for pollution and flooding. Even a small rain could push out enough bacteria to force a beach closure, while strong storms often resulted in damaged homes and property around the pond.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) funded and partnered with the American Littoral Society to restore and improve the Wreck Pond inlet. Because the natural opening made by Hurricane Sandy was filling fast, it was decided that the natural inlet created by the storm would be too costly to maintain. Instead, project partners pursued the installation of a box culvert specifically designed for fish passage.

As in other areas along the Atlantic Coast, the number of spawning river herring in Wreck Pond had drastically decreased, with evidence pointing to the current pipe as a contributing factor since it limited fish passage, particularly after it was extended in the early 2000s.

“I have been sampling Wreck Pond for river herring since 2006 when the original pipe was extended out to 800 feet and have seen a decrease in abundance,” said Captain Al Modjeski, Habitat Restoration Program Director for the Society. “I am sure there are multiple reasons behind the decrease, but by adding the secondary culvert, we will be able to improve access for fish and hopefully begin restoring river herring local populations.”

Capt. Al Modjeski and a volunteer collect fish from a fyke net during a spring fish sampling event in search for adult river herring. Photo credit: American Littoral Society

As an added bonus, the box culvert was designed to not only facilitate better fish passage, but also improve water quality through increased tidal flushing while reducing the risk of flooding for local residents. Recognizing these benefits, additional local, state, and private partners joined the project to secure further funding and add additional project components such as dredging and living shorelines.

“Basically, what came from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy was our [Spring Lake’s] ability and the ability of all government agencies involved to include Federal, state, county, local, and non-profits to collaboratively address community needs and work together to quickly find solutions that would improve the resiliency of the communities associated with Wreck Pond and maximize benefits from governmental funding,” said Spring Lake Borough Administrator Bryan Dempsey. “We were able to plan, fund, and implement a restoration project that helped people, improved agency interaction, and allowed for common goals to be reached more efficiently and effectively.”

In November 2016, the box culvert was completed. Its ability to provide flood mitigation was quickly tested early the next year when a large Nor’easter hit the region on March 14. Despite the significant rainfall and high storm surge, the pond did not overflow into the surrounding neighborhood and no properties were damaged by Wreck Pond flooding.

One of several sections of the 5.5’ x 8.5’ x 600’ culvert installed that connects Wreck Pond to the Atlantic Ocean. Photo Credit: American Littoral Society

The ecological impact of the culvert is currently being assessed. The Society has monitored river herring in Wreck Pond since 2014 and there are prior surveys from 2006 to 2008 that provide older reference. While it will take time to quantify a change in river herring abundance or fish community assemblage post construction, early results appear to show an increase of species entering Wreck Pond, with large schools of Atlantic menhaden and snapper bluefish seen near the pond-side culvert entrance. In addition, pinfish, needlefish, and larger fluke appear to be more abundant.

Zack Royle, Habitat Restoration Coordinator for the Society, has noted that “several young-of-year alewife were recently caught near the culvert by seine, presumably preparing to make their egress into the Atlantic Ocean. This is exciting news and gives proof that habitat upstream is suitable for spawning and that the culvert was needed.”

Zack Royle tags an adult river herring with a PIT tag during a spring fish sampling event. Photo Credit: American Littoral Society

This project has also allowed the Society to engage the community, both through educational outreach to local schools and a citizen science monitoring program, as well as through the creation of a dedicated website. The Society has provided in-class lessons to approximately 500 students from St. Catherine School, Monmouth County’s Communications High School, St. Rose High School, and Wall High School. These in-class lessons are coupled with field trips that provide students with hands on experience conducting different types of scientific monitoring.

These engagement efforts have been well received by students and community members. It is helping to connect people to their local environment, and foster an appreciation for the natural world around them and the services it provides.

“I remember old timers talk about the stripers they’d catch there when a natural inlet existed prior to the Army Corps of Engineers sealing it up,” said Michael Perry a local resident trained as a citizen scientist to help monitor Wreck Pond. “After that it turned rancid and subjected south Spring Lake to damaging floods. The new culvert has helped mitigate these problems, so it’s exciting to witness the recovery and new vitality of the estuary.”

According to a note from Communications High School teacher Jeanine Gomez to Julie Schumacher, Habitat Restoration Technician for the Society: “The kids really enjoyed you (the Society) coming into the classroom and were so excited to get in the field. The ability to get students out and in the field helped to recharge my own love of teaching.”

The citizen science monitoring program, which was developed in October 2016, currently has over fifty volunteers helping the Society monitor water quality and tide elevation. This program provides important information that can be used to better assess the health of Wreck Pond post construction.

The work is far from done. Wreck Pond and the larger Wreck Pond Brook Watershed still face several ecological challenges. The Society and USFWS are committed to building upon the success of this project to overcome those challenges. Already, the USFWS and Society are working to install a fish ladder over Old Mill Pond Dam. This will open up almost an additional one mile of spawning habitat for river.

Workers from Simpson & Brown install the sheet piling of a coffer dam needed to construct the fish passage culvert. Photo Credit: American Littoral Society

“The federal, state, county, municipal and volunteer efforts to restore the pond as a habitat for native and migratory fish plus waterfowl is unprecedented,” said Jay Amberg of Seagirt Department of Public Works.

With the culvert project and upcoming fish ladder, along with effective monitoring and outreach, Wreck Pond can once again become a healthy, ecologically vibrant coastal pond supporting a large spawning river herring population, a diverse community of fishes, and an active, engaged population of men, women, and children that can and will enjoy the natural benefits it provides.

Building a Stronger Delaware Bay

This guest post was written by “Captain Al” Modjeski, Habitat Restoration Program Director for the American Littoral Society, as part of our #StrongerCoast campaign. Here, Captain Al describes work to restore multiple beaches along the Delaware Bay.

A horseshoe crab on the sand at Reeds Beach. Photo credit: Steve Droter

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy’s powerful westerly winds caused a storm surge so strong it stripped the sand right off most of the beaches on the New Jersey side of Delaware Bay. The sand was washed into adjacent marshes, exposing large sections of peat and leaving the sand well above high-tide line.

In the storm’s aftermath, conservation groups rallied together with community and state leaders, local biologists, and local contractors to deal with the environmental damage.

“It was a crisis response; we were racing against a firm deadline of the horseshoe crabs arriving on the beach,” said Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society. “But we were also intent on rebuilding habitats along Delaware Bay in order to strengthen the ecology, communities, and economy of that area. We set out to build partnerships and relationships that would invest everyone in working for a healthy and resilient Delaware Bay.”

The immediate concern was that nearly 70 percent of horseshoe crab beach habitat was destroyed and its loss imperiled not only the horseshoe crabs that spawn there, but also shorebirds like the Federally listed red knot, which stop on those beaches each spring to feed on crab eggs before flying to their nesting grounds in the Canadian Arctic. The birds and crabs help fuel a multi-million-dollar annual ecotourism industry in New Jersey’s Bayshore region.

“The horseshoe crabs can’t lay eggs on these beaches because the exposed sediment is anoxic [devoid of oxygen]. If the crabs were to lay eggs here, they would just die,” said local biologist Larry Niles. “In just one day, these very important beaches went from highly suitable to unusable.”

Horseshoe crabs spawning on Thompsons Beach as restoration finishes just in the nick of time. Photo credit: Shane Godshall, American Littoral Society

Within days after the storm had passed, just over a mile of damaged horseshoe crab beach habitat was restored. With further funding from the Service and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the team was able to continue efforts and by 2017 had restored eight Delaware Bay beaches to their pre-Sandy footprints by bringing in more than 200,000 cubic yards of coarse-grained sand and removing 2,000 tons of rubble. The team also designed and constructed five inter-tidal oyster reefs to keep the sand on the beach, while beginning work to restore portions of the marsh behind those beaches.

“No one seemed to care about [Reeds] beach before,” said local resident Harry Bailey. “Storms came and destroyed the beaches, and no one came to fix it. These organizations came in; now the beach is built up, the horseshoe crabs are back, and birders from all over the world come here to see the birds.”

Harry Bailey, resident of Reeds Beach. Photo credit: Steve Droter

“The economy of Cape May County is so heavily tourism dependent, and more and more people come to the bay because of the scenic beauty and the wildlife,” said Cape May-Lewes Ferry Marketing Manager Michal Porch. “It’s in our best interest to maintain the economy and peoples’ jobs by protecting and preserving the environment.”

For the construction companies involved, millions of dollars of the grant funding went directly to them and further stimulated local businesses indirectly.

“It’s what drives our economy down here,” said JR Heun of H4 Enterprises. “Without the tourism, the infrastructure wouldn’t be there for us to have our workload.”

However, this restoration may mean more to the bay communities, the residents, the businesses, and the economy of the bay than simply protecting streams of revenue.

“Our restoration did not just restore the ecologic resource value for birds and crabs, but it also restored Bay-wide faith and hope. In the face of despair, the Bay community saw it had not been forgotten and people’s lives could be restored and even improved,” said Capt. Al Modjeski, Habitat Restoration Program director for the American Littoral Society.

As part of the restoration, the Society began a paid U.S. Military Veteran Intern Program, where local veterans were hired to help with the restoration work and monitoring.

That program “has given me something to do and I’m learning as I’m doing it, so I’m enjoying it tremendously,” said U.S. Army Veteran William Anderson, regarding his internship.

Tim Dillingham, American Littoral Society executive director, tosses shell bags to Beth Freiday of the Service during the 3rd Annual “Shell-A-Bration” at Thompsons Beach. Photo Credit: David Hawkins, American Littoral Society

The Society also held Local Leader Focus Groups to engage surrounding municipalities and community events like annual “Shell-a-Brations,” where hundreds of volunteers were involved in constructing the oyster reefs at restored beaches. Tying together all of those other efforts were yearly “Veteran’s Day on the Bay” gatherings, where the reefs were named to honor U.S. military veterans and the resolve of the Bay community to persevere against all odds.

“I think it’s very important that with this project, these organizations are helping both veterans and youth as well as educating people about the environment and how important it is to take care of it,” said former mayor of Middle Township Tim Donohue. “It’s good to get kids and families involved in the project to understand the significance of the Bay.”

Though it has been only five years since the storm, the Society and its partners hope to continue to holistically restore the Bay, and thereby help create even more sustainable and resilient natural and human-built communities that are informed by events of the past in order to be better prepared for the future.

Changing fortunes on Delaware Bay

One might think a creature named the horseshoe crab would be naturally lucky–and in some ways it is. The prehistoric throwback has retained its basic physiology for around 350 million years, so it’s already far outlasted our own species on an evolutionary scale. Evolved as it may be, its luck has been challenged along the shores of the Delaware Bay. Beaches that traditionally serve as one of the crabs’ major spawning grounds were severely eroded by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and the species is projected to be impacted by continuing shore development, frequent intense storms like Sandy and ongoing sea level rise.

The eggs of mating horseshoe crabs at Delaware Bay will sustain thousands of migrating shorebirds on their long trips to the Arctic. Credit: Gregory Breese/USFWS

Even less fortunate are the migrating shorebirds who depend on their critical stopover at Delaware Bay to refuel on sustaining horseshoe crab eggs on their way to the Arctic—a journey that, for some, clocks more than 18,000 miles annually. Take the rufa red knot for example, a species whose numbers have declined so sharply that it is being considered for federal Endangered Species Act protection. It’s estimated that more than 50 percent of the entire rufa red knot population stops at Delaware Bay, one of the last undeveloped shores on the Atlantic coast, making the area essential to the continuing survival of the species.

Fifty to 70 truckloads of sand are being added daily to five beaches on Delaware Bay that were badly eroded by Hurricane Sandy. Click below to view video of the beaches being replenished.

But sometimes good fortune is the result of foresight. To help both of these species and the beach habitats upon which they depend, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has broken ground on the first of 31 forward-looking Hurricane Sandy resilience projects: a $1.65 million restoration of several beaches along the Delaware Bay. The effort includes repairing storm surge and erosion damage at Reeds Beach, Kimbles Beach, Cooks Beach and Pierce’s Point in New Jersey’s Cape May County and at Moore’s Beach in Cumberland County (all important habitat areas for both crabs and shorebirds). The project involves  depositing some 50-70 truckloads of locally-mined sand daily to re-establish the diminishing coastline, with total sand replenishment estimated at 45,500 tons.

A map of the Reeds Beach restoration area. Inset: Greater Delaware Bay with beach restoration proposals highlighted in red. Credit: American Littoral Society.

Partners in the effort, including the American Littoral Society and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, are coordinating the restoration with the Service’s Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, and with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. These partners have not only been instrumental in helping to implement the Service’s core coastal resilience and habitat restoration goals, they’ve also been seeking to secure further funding to restore additional spans of Delaware Bay shoreline.

Restoration crews have been employing something of a hurry-up offense, as the sand must be added, spread and graded by early May, when the horseshoe crabs typically return for spawning.

Cape May National Wildlife Refuge hosts annual nighttime horseshoe crab tagging events on Kimbles Beach. Credit: USFWS.

Cape May Refuge Manager Brian Braudis says the refuge plans to host horseshoe crab taggings on May 15 and May 29 at 8:30 p.m. when the crabs return, on its Kimbles Beach parcel. Last year, volunteers including veterans, retirees and school children—some bussed in from upstate classrooms—tagged 1,000 horseshoe crabs. With a support network like this, who needs luck?

To read more about U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Hurricane Sandy recovery and resilience projects, visit http://www.fws.gov/hurricane/sandy. To view media coverage of Cape May beach restoration projects, click here. To learn about the Service’s broader conservation and habitat restoration efforts on Delaware Bay, click here.