Stories from the Bay |
Update By: Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC
The construction teams in Fortescue and Thompson's are now moving as fast as possible to finish the restoration work before the arrival of the horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay. Each company follows a different procedure for building Fortescue and Thompson's beaches. At Fortescue, the town rebuilt an existing berm of rubble that protected the beach road after Hurricane Sandy destroyed the berm. They then capped it with unformed concrete. H4's excavator moves slowly down the reformed berm to load sand on the inter-tidal beach to create an out-of-tide roadway for the bulldozer (see video above). Subsequent sand is used to push out the high tide line out from the berm and away from the impingement hazards. On Thompson's Beach, the Wickberg Marine team pushes sand out from a staging area, where trucks dump their loads. The excavator loads an all-terrain dump truck that hauls the sand out to the end of the existing beach, where the bulldozer spreads the sand to extend the beach. The sand for both sites comes from local sand mines, keystone businesses for both Cumberland and western Cape May Counties. On a visit to the Ricci Brothers Company sand mind, I spoke to Sam Ricci Jr., who explained they are among the smallest of sand mines in the area, whose sand is used for construction and the making of glass. Ricci Bros, which employs 16 people at union wages, uses a five-story machine that separates sand by grain size and sells to highly specialized markets. Our sand purchase is among their largest (see video above). Boomer Heun of H4 in front of bulldozer on Fortescue Beach. Excavator dropping sand on Fortescue Beach. Staging area at Thompson's Beach while a furious southerly wind whips up the Bay. Steve Green pushing out Thompson's Beach. Steve Green standing beside his bulldozer. Sam Ricci Jr. of Ricci Bros Sand Company standing before his family's sand plant. Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.
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Update By: Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC In the video above, Humphrey Sitters counts 16,000 red knots on Egg Island Point, just east of our new beach. The flock is the largest concentration in the hemisphere. The construction of Fortescue Beach has finally reached that early stage know to most people in construction where they say “it's all labor”. The early logistical problems have been ironed out and our goal is simple, to get as much sand onto the beach as fast as is possible. On Tuesday and Wednesday, H4 hauled over 4000 tons of sand. The beach gradually takes shape. Boomer Huen and Eric Johnson use the excavator and front end loader to get the sand from the road to lay down a new sandy berm along the sea's edge. From here, they will build out the inter tidal zone. It's hard to describe the importance of this berm and intertidal zone. In our other beaches constructed over the last two years, horseshoe crabs immediately used the beaches to lay eggs, quickly achieving densities high enough for shorebirds to find eggs on the surface. The number of knots and shorebirds in general in the area is staggering. Above is an iPhone video taken by Alindi Fojtik of the University of Georgia, who was operating a boat with Humphrey Sitters of the International Wader Study Group. They were tasked with counted the shorebirds of Egg Island, just east of our new beach in May 28th 2014. They were counting shorebirds by boat while David Mizrahi and I were counting from an airplane. On that day, we counted over 16,000 red knots, the largest concentration in the hemisphere. Our new habitat will help them. In the last two days, Thompson's Beach moved into the beach building phase after Steve Green and Mark Zsorey moved most of the rubble and pilings out of the inter-tidal zone. The transformation in the beach is dramatic. In the last two days, Wickberg Marine and Dunrite Sand have moved over 200 truckloads carrying over 4,000 tons of sand to Thompson's. The rebuilding of Thompson's will be an interesting experiment in our work. Through the work of Steve Hafner of Stockton, we are beginning to understand more about how sand moves on the Delaware Bay. Unlike the Atlantic Coast, where there is a predominate long shore drift southward, sand on the bay moves towards inlets with only a gentle assist from long shore movement. The prevailing westerly winds also guide sand movement. At Thompson's, there is no nearby inlet and there is not likely to be long shore movement because our beaches are bounded by two remnant homesteads protected by tons of rubble. Thus, the beaches are protected indentations into the marsh. Still, we will accommodate the wind movement of sand by placing more on the western side. Stockton University's sediment transport study will track this and use it in developing a baywide model of sand movement. Boomer lifting sand onto Fortescue Beach. A comparison of Thompson's Beach with and without rubble. Trucks use our newly restored roadway out to Thompson's. The number of trucks will put it to the test. Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.
Update By: Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC
Fortescue beach begins to take form as a constant line of 24 ton trucks deliver sand and H4 operators lift it over the sea wall and onto the intertidal edge of the sea. On Monday, March 23, they hauled 2,000 tons. The benefit of our work became apparent on Tuesday, March 24, as the high tide washed against the derelict bulkheads that once protected this road south out of Fortescue connecting it to Raybin's Beach. In the clip above Boomer Huen's bulldozer heroically extends the high tide line out against the Delaware Bay waves lap the new shoreline. When horseshoe crabs arrive in May, instead of a bulkhead death trap, they will find a well-defined beach with deep sand to lay their eggs. Over the last two decades, the town has fought to maintain this beach and road out to its tiny suburb Raybin's Beach, using construction debris as a last resort. Despite this, the small community, active since at least 1932, now looks close to being extinguished by the sea. Our beach-making will write another chapter for the endangered community, but the uncertainty of Delaware Bay coastal planning leaves open whether there will be more. The work at Thompson's proceeds slowly but promises more results throughout the week. Wickberg Marine staged its machines on Monday in preparation for beach building on Tuesday. Steve Green removed the old bulkhead boards on the beach, removing a long significant threat to horseshoe crabs. The beach is now ready for sand. H4 Building at the beach on Fortescue. Thompson's Beach bulkhead deadwood readied for disposal. George Kumar of Maurice River Township tend his gill net off of Thompson's Beach. Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.
Update By: Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC Both projects, Thompson's Beach and South Fortescue Beach continued under a cold and very wet snow storm this past Friday (March 20, 2015). Just the five mile difference made for snowfall on Fortescue, but rain on Thompson's. With rubble removed in the first section of Fortescue beach, Boomer Huen started building the beach on South Fortescue. With 7 trucks carrying loads of sand from Ricci Brothers Sand Plan, we were able to place over 1,000 yards of sand. The geographical orientation of this new beach will be similar to those on the Cape May peninsula including North and South Reeds Beach. Like them, the Fortescue Beach will be vulnerable to persistent westerly winds characteristic of the bay. Consequently, the beach will lose sand, we expect it to move towards Raybins Creek inlet which lies on our beach's southern flank. This will be no loss, as it will improve horseshoe crab breeding habitat in inlet, adding area and protective shoals for crab breeding and foraging birds. Across the Maurice River, our new beach at Thompson's Beach will have similar value, but its east-west orientation provides natural protection from damaging westerly winds. Steve Green with Wickberg Marine loaded 10 truckloads of rubble this past Friday with the help of Maurice River Township who will recycle the rubble into crushed concrete used in roads like ours. Come May, the 0.3 mile of new beach at Fortescue will include a berm out of the high tide, providing vital habitat for May shorebirds. The shorebirds in this picture taken in 2013 are usually pushed out of the area by the high tide or are crowded into small places making them vulnerable to predators. Rabin Creek inlet at low tide. This inlet will be charged with new sand as we lose sand from Fortescue. Another part of our project, a study by Stockton University's Steve Hafner and Dan Barone will help determine how sand moves in the bay. Steve Green load Thompson's beach rubble onto Maurice River Township Trucks. Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.
Update By: Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC With the help of the New Jersey Division of Land Use Regulation, we were cleared to work on Fortescue Beach last Friday, March 20, 2015. It’s a big project! We will be moving over 40,000 yards of sand, nearly twice as much as was used in 2013 on the five beaches between Reeds Beach to Pierce’s Point. Restoring South Fortescue Beach will be vital to achieving the goals of our project. The most important goal is to remove the threat posed by a rubble strewn shoreline. The rubble served as a stopgap attempt to protect the road that connects Fortescue with the five house suburb of Raybin’s Beach. Hurricane Sandy scattered the rubble leaving behind a horseshoe crab death trap. During May crabs would attempt to spawn on the thin strand of sand beneath the crumbling concrete and the bay would sweep the crabs into the rubble. Our project will correct it by removing rubble from the intertidal shore and covering all with all our sand. The second important reason for this project lies in the location of this beach. Just east of south Fortescue Egg Island Marsh stretching out to the horizon. Its the largest continuous marsh on Delaware Bay. A thin sandy beach fronts the marsh providing a good roost for shorebirds including red knots during high tide. At the lower tides the birds seek foraging on Fortecue beach and beaches further west. Our new beach will substantially increase foraging opportunities for the birds. This is important. In the last two years nearly half of the hemisphere's population of red knot were found using Egg Island. Our first job is to remove the rubble and to do that Boomer Huen, one of three partners of H4 construction company, will use the first truck loads of sand to build a safe platform for the excavator. From this perch, the compact car size bucket will lift sand dumped on the road way over the berm onto the beach. Last Friday, we used 15 truckload of sand. On Monday, March 23 we started doing 100 truckloads. This map shows the proximity of South Fortescue Beach to Egg Island. This section of Fortescue Beach shows the rubble to be remove in the intertidal beach and the hazard of the derelict bulkhead and the rubble behind it. Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.
Update By: Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC Earlier this month, this season's restoration work began at Thompson's Beach. Wickberg Marine restored the road out to the Beach. The road once served the community of Thompson's Beach, a small bayside enclave of Maurice River Township. After a series of punishing storms, the State DEP and Maurice River Township gained control of the small overwashed beach community and removed the houses. Two years ago, the DEP's Bureau of Coastal Engineering and NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife removed much of the rubble that residents once used to protect their homes from angry Delaware Bay storms, but left a significant portion at the request of the township. They hoped it would provide protection for the tenuous road that led out to the beach. Unfortunately, the Bay swept crabs onto the rubble as they tried to come ashore in May to breed. Many were helplessly stranded as the tide receded, most dying from desiccation or gull predation. The ReTURN the Favor project, which aims to rescue trapped crabs, saved many last year, but cleaning up the rubble would be better. Moreover, the beach sand was so shallow crabs could not dig nests and lay eggs. Our restoration project at Thompson's Beach aims to fix these problems and support the interests of the community. We will not only fix the road out to the beach and ensure its protection, but we will also remove the killing rubble and place 40,000 cubic yards of sand weighing over 9 million pounds. That much sand demands a reliable road. After years of neglect it needs to be raised eight inches to resist tidal flooding. Our method was to first lay a fabric called marsh mat on the existing unstable road. Then, we dumped crushed concrete on top and started moving dump trucks laden with sand to the beach.
You’re Invited: “Shell-a-Brate” Delaware Bay Resiliency
You and your family are “whelk-come” to join American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation for our Shell-a-Bration on Saturday, April 4 at South Reeds Beach on the Delaware Bayshore. Enjoy a bonfire on the beach, BBQ and oysters, and family friendly activities like a Green Eggs in the Sand Easter Egg Hunt! This family fun day and volunteer event will be held from 2-6 PM, with remarks from conservation leaders and project discussion at 4:30 PM. Volunteers will help us build an oyster reef throughout the day. The approximately 500 foot oyster reef offshore will be built to test whether the reef bars help reduce beach erosion and create calmer water for spawning horseshoe crabs. The Shell-a-Bration is rain or shine. Please park along South Reeds Beach Drive, but be mindful of local residents’ driveways. Dress appropriately; wear closed-toed shoes, warm clothes, and bring a change of dry clothes. Gloves will be provided. The Shell-a-Bration will be a picnic-style event, so please bring blankets and chairs. Join us at 2 South Reeds Beach Drive, South Reed Beach, Cape May Court House, New Jersey. Visit our Shell-a-Bration page to download the flyer and help spread the word. Questions? Contact American Littoral Society at (732) 291-0055 or Conserve Wildlife Foundation at (609) 984-6012. Engaging veterans to assist with our Delaware Bay restoration projects is an important component for our work along the bay. Today the Society started meeting with local veterans interested in working as restoration interns. These paid veteran interns will gain some new skills and help us successfully implement beach and marsh restoration projects, horseshoe crab tagging, and oyster reef building. The veteran interns will be joining the habitat restoration team which already includes two veterans, Habitat Restoration Program Director, Aleksandr Modjeski and Habitat Restoration Coordinator, Shane Godshall. |
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