Basket Flats Work will Help Protect Communities, Economy and the Bayshore Environment

Basket Flats before restoration work began.

Due to erosion, Basket Flats marsh at the Mouth of the Maurice River has shrunk by 100 feet in the last three years. At the Littoral Society, we believe this special place along the Delaware Bayshore should be protected and preserved. We are working hard to change the fate of this vital area, which is home to residents of Cumberland County, NJ, the oyster docks at Bivalve and Matts Landing, and rare wildlife such as the Saltmarsh Sparrow.
 
To build back the marsh and prevent future erosion, the Society - in concert with the Wildlife Restoration Partnership, Stockton University, Mount Construction Company, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, US Fish & Wildlife Service and NJ Department of Environmental Protection - is undertaking the biggest nature-based shoreline restoration project in the Garden State right now. We are installing rock to protect the existing shoreline and will later plant native grass to revitalize the area. We will also build breakwaters and oyster reefs to reduce the force of waves on the shoreline, prevent further marsh loss, and encourage marsh growth.
 
“We are protecting both the communities and local economies of Delaware Bay and its ecology with this project,” said Tim Dillingham, Executive Director of the Littoral Society. “These projects, because they are larger in scale, will give us a chance to prove that it can be done, and that it can be done collaboratively.”
 
Follow along with us as we #BuildUpBasketFlats.

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