Restoring the “Natural Mosaic” of Thompsons Beach Salt Marsh

Our Team is using Science-based Methods to Elevate the Marsh and Restore the Balance of High and Low Elevation

by Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager

To restore Thompsons Beach, along New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore, our team removed debris from the beach, removed rubble from the road leading to the beach, and placed over 40,000 cubic yards of sand (weighing over 9 million pounds) onto the beach. We were filled with pride when we saw sanderlings and ruddy turnstones feeding this August on horseshoe crab larvae on our newly restored beach. We were delighted to learn that this spring, Thompsons Beach had the highest abundance of horseshoe crab egg clusters out of all the beaches that our team monitors on Delaware Bay.

 
How do we keep the momentum going? How do we ensure our restoration work at Thompsons Beach yields long-term, sustainable results? The answer is clear: we protect the backbone that the beach sits on — the salt marsh behind the beach.

 

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Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Manager for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.