Although beach nourishment is commonly used to protect human infrastructure, it is rarely used to restore and improve wildlife habitat. To improve horseshoe crab spawning and shorebird stopover habitat in the Delaware Bay, NJ, we have since added sand to 39.4 acres of sand-starved beaches that were severely degraded by Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge and we removed residual rubble and bulkheads.

Our monitoring results demonstrate that investments in improving habitat quality translate into significant benefits for horseshoe crabs and shorebirds while providing improving protection of human infrastructure and expanding recreational opportunities.

Partners: American Littoral Society, Stockton Coastal Research Center, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey