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Locations of the five salt marsh restoration sites being monitored over a 4-year period

Aerial of initial dredge placement over 380 acres of the Abbotts Meadow Wildlife Management Area

Custom UAV land cover classification maps of Sturgeon Island for marsh vegetation assessment

NFWF Marsh Restoration Monitoring

As part of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NWFW) Coastal Resiliency grant, the EMLab will be assisting the New Jersey Department of Environmental Planning (NJDEP) and The Wetlands Institute (TWI) USACE in data collection, assessment, design, and monitoring of five salt marsh restoration sites (488 acres) around the south coastline of New Jersey. These restoration efforts which include the beneficial use of dredge material and nature-based solutions projects to enhance tidal marshes for coastal resiliency are critical for protecting threatened habitats of at-risk avian, amphibian, and aquatic wildlife.

These large landscape-scale projects will provide a restoration blueprint for other locations along the Atlantic Coast. An urgent and coordinated landscape approach is needed to continue the momentum of states and partners to accelerate coastal habitat restoration techniques that enhance the resiliency of natural systems in the face of climate change impacts.

Led By: Sean Burkholder, Karen M’Closkey, and Keith VanDerSys

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NFWF Marsh Restoration Monitoring

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