NJCRC partner Long Beach Township has been honored by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and New Jersey State League of Municipalities with an Innovation in Governance Award for its ongoing work to stabilize and restore bay islands for coastal resilience. Click here to read an article about the project in the March issue of the League’s NJ Municipalities Magazine written by Mayor Joseph Mancini and Long Beach Township Marine Education Field Station Director Angela Andersen.
The township is currently working with partners including the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute and Stockton University Coastal Research Center on a Clam Cove Living Shoreline project which aims to protect a 22-acre wetland parcel adjacent to the field station. To create a breakwater that will protect the marsh island, the team is installing a hybrid reef composed of oyster castles and bags of recycled shells collected from local restaurants. The NJCRC’s Field Site Visit Workgroup conducted a trip to learn about the project in the fall.
“The local, regional and statewide relationships that the township has been developing since Superstorm Sandy have created the tapestry of innovation and building blocks for making ideas become implementable and meaningful projects,” the article notes. “These legacy projects are investments in community and coastal habitats whose benefits will be realized for the foreseeable future.”
Long Beach Township has received funding support for the project from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the New Jersey Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, and New Jersey Resources. Click here to view the full issue and archives of NJ Municipalities Magazine.