Racing to Save Scotch Bonnet Island as Rising Seas Threaten Stone Harbor

Lenore Tedesco doesn’t need to venture far to witness sea-level rise. She tracks its relentless advance from her window at work.

Tedesco, who serves as the executive director of the The Wetlands Institute located in Stone Harbor , stood by the nonprofit’s large conference room window in late May, surveying an expanse of salt marsh known as Scotch Bonnet Island. It was a idyllic Jersey Shore scene: osprey hovering over thousands of acres of spartina grass rippling in the breeze.

However, over time, her perspective has shifted towards something more disturbing. The once-stable marshland has been fragmented by newly formed channels of advancing water.

These open bodies of water were previously marshlands," Tedesco explained, pointing towards the grass. "The marsh has turned into mudflats and open water. Everything you can see as open water here was once covered with vegetation.

It’s akin to what is occurring about an hour north by vehicle in Atlantic County, Rutgers University Marine Field Station In Tuckerton, where the nearby wetlands are likewise vanishing due to increased flooding occurrences.

Researchers understand that elevated sea levels will eventually engulf this New Jersey coastline climate study facility.

Scientists say that saving marshland is imperative because it provides food, refuge, and habitat for three-quarters of shore birds; filters water and removes contaminants; and protects communities from storm surge.

Scotch Bonnet Island, together with New Jersey’s other tidal wetlands, is gradually disappearing beneath the waves. Narrow streams of water are starting to converge into larger ponds. The Scotch Bonnet Channel, which runs through the bay connecting the barrier island to the shore, has expanded by 70 feet since 1970.

In New Jersey, an increasing amount of open water is emerging, essentially causing a loss of land area.

‘Increasing frequency of flooding’

Tedesco, possessing a Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics, points out that the rate of sea-level increase exceeds the marsh’s inherent capacity to rejuvenate following flooding, which is a component of the tidal process along the Jersey Shore.

Researchers indicate that the sea-level increase in New Jersey is occurring at double the worldwide rate. By the year 2100, they predict the water level might climb between 2 to 5 feet along the coastline. This is concerning considering New Jersey’s 200,000 acres of tidal marshes, which serve as crucial habitats for various bird species and wildlife.

"The rising incidence of floods is leading to nesting failures and decreases in bird populations," stated Tedesco.

In 2024, under Tedesco’s leadership, the Wetlands Institute partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey DEP Division ofFish and Wildlife to elevate approximately fiveacres of Scotch Bonnet Island using sediment.

The state and the Army Corps have been testing alternative methods in other areas to counteract the loss by importing sediment extracted from adjacent waterways and depositing it onto wetlands to elevate them as part of their strategy. Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory , a program initiated in 2019 aimed at enhancing marsh restoration using innovative dredging methods.

Sturgeon Island and Gull Island Concerns have also arisen within the boundaries of the Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory.

Scotch Bonnet Island, located near Stone Harbor Boulevard in Cape May County along the Intracoastal Waterway (NJIWW), is among the "islands" of marshland scattered across the coastline and linked by waterways. This island resides within the approximately 18,000-acre Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area, overseen by the Department of Environmental Protection’s fisheries and wildlife section.

Since 1941, as reported by the Army Corps, this 86-acre island has seen over a third of its landmass disappear. The rate of erosion appears to be accelerating. According to projections from the partners involved in the initiative alongside researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, an additional third might vanish by 2050.

Along with the increase in sea levels, the region’s past use of dikes for salt hay farming has changed how water moves through the area, making the problem worse. Excessive development hasn't improved matters either.

‘Negative feedback loop’

Coastal wetlands inherently restore themselves through the deposition of sediments and organic material during regular tidal movements and flood events. However, the tide levels have risen, exacerbating the flooding issues.

The marshes struggle to cope and transform initially into low marsh areas, subsequently into mudflats, and ultimately into expanses of open water. When these pools grow larger, they link with tidal creeks which extract additional sediment from the marsh ecosystem, thereby speeding up the degradation process even more.

Tedesco refers to it as a "negative feedback loop."

How Scotch Bonnet Island came into existence

Efforts to elevate Scotch Bonnet Island commenced in October when teams constructed a safeguarding barrier using coconut fiber logs around a section of wetland. A contractor working for the Army Corps utilized sediment extracted from the Intracoastal Waterway, depositing approximately 25,000 cubic yards of sand and soil onto the island.

The initiative elevated the terrain by 2 to 4.2 feet, expected to prevent land erosion for approximately twenty years with no additional assistance. This heightened section has become an open stretch of soil. According to Tedesco, signs of plant life and bird activity have started appearing again at the site.

Tyler Kinney, who works as a project manager for the Division of Fish and Wildlife, mentioned that it will be several years before vegetation covers the regenerated section of Scotch Bonnet Island once more.

"You have a natural seed supply encompassing it," Kinney mentioned, referring to Spartina alterniflora , often known as cordgrass. "There's no need for planting. The spartina is capturing the seeds drifting from the marsh, and it's beginning to recolonize naturally. Within two to three years, this area should blend in with the surrounding marshland."

Kinney suggests that up until now, the laboratory has facilitated the creation of approximately 100 acres of wetland in the Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area and around 300 acres across the coastal area.

Sediment to raise the land comes from dredging performed to keep channels navigable. It has to be tested first to see whether it is free of contaminants. But scientists say there simply is not enough clean sediment available to raise all of New Jersey’s threatened wetlands.

‘A precipitous loss’

Scotch Bonnet Island is part of a larger effort to save tidal wetlands.

LeeAnn Haaf, a scientist with the nonprofit Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, estimates about one-fifth of the state wetlands are no longer keeping pace with sea-level rise.

We're nearing a critical juncture that many scientists and researchers... are concerned about," Haaf stated. "Should we hit a specific level of accelerated sea-level rise, we could begin witnessing a dramatic decline. However, we haven't reached that stage yet.

Haaf is a member of the New Jersey Tidal Wetland Monitoring Network, established in 2019. This network comprises 15 collaborators such as universities and nonprofit organizations. Within this framework, they have set up surface elevation tables (SETs). These tools are mobile instruments created for monitoring shifts in elevation, along with initiating related activities. website and mapping tool to display its work.

SETs enable us to quantify very minute variations as small as a millimeter," Haaf explained. "This level of precision is crucial for studying tidal wetlands.

Kirk Raper, a DEP researcher, mentioned that the network comprises roughly 245 SET sites, where records for certain locations date back to as early as 2011.

"This serves as an initial assessment of the statewide impacts," Raper stated.

The DEP estimates 61% of the state’s coastal wetlands might be vulnerable.

Joshua Moody, an additional researcher from the DEP, mentioned that assembling the collaborators, installing the SETs, and "gathering all the information" presented a significant challenge. He explained that now, researchers have finally started monitoring the reduction in the state's wetland areas.

Mettea Yepsen, who leads a DEP bureau, referred to wetland restoration initiatives such as the one at Scotch Bonnet Island as "an ongoing educational experience." She mentioned these efforts seem promising; however, she believes it’s still premature to evaluate their full effectiveness.

When you add significant sediments to a marsh, it naturally causes disruption," Yepsen explained. "We observe that plants and wildlife either perish or move away from the area." He continued, "The recovery is gradual as new plant life returns and fauna repopulate; however, this process provides us with valuable insights.

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