Habitat Restoration slated for Slade Dale Nature Sanctuary

On Thursday, March 16, 2018, the American Littoral Society's Habitat Restoration department was awarded $15,000 by the New Jersey Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (NJCWRP) to restore portions of the marsh edge at the Slade Dale Nature Sanctuary in Point Pleasant, NJ. 

The project will get underway in September 2018 and is the first in New Jersey to use recycled Christmas trees to restore marshland. Trees for the project came through a municipal donation/collection effort.

Other funding sources and partners for the restoration project include the National Oceanographic Aeronautic Administration; US Fish and Wildlife Service; Point Pleasant Rotary Club; Borough of Point Pleasant; Nature Conservancy; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Atlantic Lifts, Dock, and Bulkheads; and Pinelands Nursery.

Slade Dale Sanctuary is a 12.93 acre preserve located along Beaverdam Creek in Point Pleasant, NJ. Historic aerial imagery shows the shoreline to have eroded an average of approximately 300 feet since 1930, and the current vegetation composition of the site shows evidence of marsh retreat. 

To halt this erosion and regain marsh habitat, a branchbox breakwater and several Christmas tree vanes will be constructed, and native marsh vegetation will be planted.

For more information on the project go to https://www.littoralsociety.org/living-shorelines.html or contact Capt. Al Modjeski, Habitat Restoration Program Director for the American Littoral Society, at alek@littoralsociety.org.