DOI Project #37; Hurricane Sandy; Restoring Coastal Marshes in New Jersey National Wildlife Refuges, Cape May NWR, Supawna

This is an announcement for issuing a single source financial assistance award to the American Littoral Society. This is DOI project #EBFCM 37. This announcement is for notification purposes only. The intent of the award is to restore and enhance brackish tidal wetland health and resiliency in the Mud, Mill and Baldridge Creek watersheds, Pennsville Township, Salem County, New Jersey. Brackish tidal marshes are a critical component of the Delaware Bay estuary system. The initial phase will be to complete the analysis of site conditions, including but not limited to riparian habitat conditions, drainage, flows, and sediment characterizations, wetland assessment, and topographic surveys and modeling to evaluate the feasibility of removing the stone revetments, and enhancing and creating brackish tidal marshes in the Mud, Mill and Baldridge Creek watersheds. This will be followed immediately by design, permitting, replacement of stone revetments with living shorelines, wetland habitat enhancements and creation of a tidal riverine wetland in Goose Pond. This award is issued to provide financial assistance to collaboratively-developed priority projects in Hurricane Sandy disaster areas that will restore environmental resources through collaborative efforts with local communities. The project is expected to restore ecosystem function, enhance the resiliency of the Mud, Mill and Baldridge Creek watersheds to sea level rise, and to provide improved fish and wildlife habitat. This project was previously vetted and approved for funding by the Department of the Interior. The appropriation for this project is the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriation Act of 2013, Public Law 113-2. Criteria for funding was based on the project¿s ability to yield the greatest return on investment by taking advantage of existing science and regional planning tools for resiliency and by working with states, cities, communities, and partners who contribute to the goals of restoring and rebuilding national wildlife refuges and other federal public assets; and to increase resiliency and the capacity of coastal habitat and infrastructure and to withstand future storms and to minimize the damage incurred.