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Volunteers restore island in Mon. Beach
printed originally in Atlanticville on May 22, 2008

MONMOUTH BEACH - A small flotilla of boats, filled with plants, volunteers and tools, converged on Shrewsbury Island in Monmouth Beach last week.

The May 13 event was phase two of an effort to restore a habitat that had been degraded by an invasive plant, common reed, which had developed into a dense exclusive stand in three areas on the 20- acre island in the Shrewsbury River.

The project was a joint effort among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, the borough of Monmouth Beach, and the American Littoral Society, with some funding from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Restoration Center and Restore America's Estuaries (RAE).

The volunteers at the event, who also provided the use of their boats, came from the partner organizations and the Urban Coast Institute at Monmouth University, West Long Branch. The group was joined by Monmouth Beach Mayor Susan Howard.

Phase one of the project was completed earlier this spring when project contractors excavated the areas of common reed and placed the spoils in upland areas.

To stabilize the spoils and enhance the upland habitat, the group planted native trees and shrubs and sowed grass seed on the spoil piles. The excavation removed the common reed phragmites, which crowds out native vegetation and reduces the diversity of habitat and wildlife, according to a press release from the American Littoral Society.

The excavated areas can now be flooded by the twice-daily tide, allowing fish access, bird foraging and the establishment of native marsh grass, according to the release.

Beginning in June, the American Littoral Society will work with high school students from the Marine Academy of Science and Technology at Sandy Hook to supplement the recovering marsh grasses with new plants in the recently excavated areas and then monitor its progress over the growing season, which runs through October. They will also remove much of the trash that has been washed ashore from litter in the river.

Salt marshes are important to many birds and fish, crabs and other marine life. Salt marshes also have the ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and offer a natural antidote to global warming, according to the press release.

Unfortunately, tidal marshes have been lost and degraded throughout the region due to coastal development, pollution, dredging, sudden marsh die-off and other, unknown reasons, the release states.

"This is an important step to building awareness in the community about the need to protect and restore our invaluable coastal habitats, which have been neglected for so long and are so vital to our quality of life," Bill Shadel, habitat restoration director for the American Littoral Society, said.