Project SummaryLower Cape May Meadows - Cape May Point, Feasibility Study |
Name Lower Cape May Meadows - Cape May Point, Feasibility Study Region Mid-Atlantic State New Jersey Location Southern tip of New Jersey Date of this update
Habitat degradation
The Lower Cape May Meadows consists of a 1.3 mile long, 350 acre area of undeveloped oceanfront land containing a state park, bird refuge, and freshwater wetlands. These wetlands are one of the most important migratory stopovers in North America for birds of prey, shorebirds, songbirds, and waterfowl drawing thousands of tourists each year. It was named on of the top ten bird watching areas in North America by Nature Conservancy magazine. These bird watchers contribute more than $10 million to the local economy.
In addition, this area is an important breeding area for both rare and common birds along with being home to a variety of rare and endangered plant and animals as well. This area also acts as a buffer to reduce inundation to surrounding communities of Cape May Point and portions of West Cape May. Cape May Point is a small residential community of approximately 600 homes just to the west of the Meadows at the confluence of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
Lower Cape May Meadows suffers from severe long term and storm induced erosion. The high rate of erosion is caused by the interruption of sand flow by the Cape May Inlet jetties which were constructed around 1911. This erosion has left the existing freshwater ecosystem in the Meadows substantially degraded through saltwater intrusion and drainage pattern alteration. Breaches of the dunes fronting the Meadows have resulted in alterations to the freshwater wetlands and their ability to support the unique and endangered animals and plants which reside there. It is estimated that an additional 147 acres of habitat will be lost between the years 1993 and 2050 if shoreline erosion is to continue unabated.
Project alternatives currently being formulated. Legislative authority for study from WRDA 1986.
Still in planning stages, but will probably exceed 150 acres of restored freshwater wetland habitat which also should include Phragmites managment.
An incremental cost-benefit analysis will be performed.
Lead: COE - funding
Others: USFWS, EPA - review and certification of report
State government: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) - funding
Local government
Private industry
Public interest groups
Educational Facility
Other partnerships
Federal $750,000 Non Federal State government $708,000 Local government Private industry Public interest groups Total $1,458,000
Federal Non Federal $42,000 Total $42,000
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Initiation date April 1994 (start of study) Completion date May 1998 (completion of feasibility study) Current stage currently in planning stage
Carmen Zappile
Project Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: PL-PC
Wanamaker Building
100 Penn Square East
Philadelphia, PA 19107-3390
(215) 656-6576
carmen=g=zappile%pl-pc%nap@vines.nap.usace.army.mil
Reconnaissance Study completed August 1994. Construction of project around the year 2000.
This page was last updated on Saturday, 24-Jun-2000 11:48:47 EDT
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comments to lawrencea@fas.usda.gov