The N.J. Department of Environmental Protection announced today that Ocean City will receive a $5 million grant to restore the tidal marsh on Shooting Island.
The project will provide a beneficial way to use material dredged from the city’s lagoons and waterways. The material will be used to restore the original outline of the uninhabited island, which covers about 150 acres near Ocean City’s Riviera and Ocean Reef neighborhoods. Material also will be spread in a thin layer to rebuild the marshes.
The work will restore habitat and create a living shoreline to help protect plants and wildlife. It will rebuild an important buffer against coastal flooding. Shooting Island shields year-round neighborhoods from storm surge, and healthy wetlands are a great defense. The project most likely will use material dredged from nearby state waterways that include Carnival Bayou, Venetian Bayou and Ocean City Lagoon.
Ocean City Business Administrator George Savastano traveled to Point Pleasant today on Earth Day for the announcement of the new awards under the DEP’s Natural Climate Solutions Grant Program.
“In Ocean City, we’re blessed to live in such a beautiful place,” Mayor Jay Gillian said. “But we also have a special responsibility to take care of our marine environment and to be prepared for the future. Everybody wins with this grant: boaters, fishermen, birders, kayakers … anyone who enjoys using our bay waters.”
“I want to thank the DEP, ACT Engineers, our city team and everyone who helped put this program together. Ocean City continues to be a leader in seeking innovative solutions, and we now have received more than $15 million in grants since 2017 to maintain our bayside waters and wetlands.”
