| DEP
RECEIVES $1 MILLION GRANT TO RESTORE WETLANDS
IN LOWER COHANSEY RIVER WATERSHED
(04/20) TRENTON - The
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
today announced that it had received a $1 million grant
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's North American
Waterfowl Conservation Act to restore tidal wetlands along
the Delaware Bay in the Lower Cohansey River Watershed in
Cumberland County.
"This significant wetlands protection
will benefit local residents and the environment,"
said DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell. "More than
70 percent of the acres slated for protection and restoration
comprise vanishing wetland habitat, critical not only to
fish and wildlife but also to local residents and farmers."
The restoration project will focus on enhancing
the Lower Cohansey River Watershed for waterfowl, shorebirds,
songbirds, and raptors. The area's unique habitat provides
critical resting, feeding and nesting areas for these bird
species. Improvements will also focus on the habitat for
freshwater spawning species such as alewife and blueback
herring.
Restoration will enhance the surrounding
marshes by managing the area's water level through the rebuilding
of a dike and the placement of water control structures
to regulate tidal flow and to control flooding. These enhancements
will provide the only managed exposed mud flat on the New
Jersey side of Delaware Bay for shorebird feeding during
high tide.
As the land and wildlife respond to restoration
efforts, eco-tourism may flourish with increased recreational
opportunities such as fishing, crabbing and birding for
area visitors.
Local residents will also benefit from
the project's flood control protecting private homes and
farms as well as protecting an established coastal evacuation
route. Water management efforts will also help prevent any
potential oil spills in Delaware Bay from reaching the area.
The grant funding is part of a $3 million
cooperative restoration project involving the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, DEP, the Cumberland County Engineering
Office, Ducks Unlimited, and the New Jersey Waterfowl Stamp
Advisory Committee. The work is expected to begin in early
2005 and will take approximately two years to complete.
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