Increase Resilience of Beach Habitat at Pierce's Point, Reeds and Moore's Beach; New Jersey - Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief

This is an announcement for issuing a single source financial assistance award to American Littoral Society in Highlands, New Jersey. This announcement is for notification purposes only. The intent of the award is to Increase Resilience of Beach Habitat at Pierce¿s Point, Reeds Beach in Cape May County and Moore¿s Beach, in Cumberland, County, were severely damaged by the storm. These areas serve as critical spawning habitat for horseshoe crabs which, in turn, serve as food source for the red knot, an important shorebird being considered for inclusion on the Federal Endangered Species List. There was a loss of 2 to 3 feet of sand on all of these beaches and the force of the storm placed most of this sand well above the normal high tide line and out of reach of spawning crabs. The portions of the beaches that did remain covered with debris, including chunks of asphalt and bricks strewn throughout the substrate, which will have a significant impact upon crab spawning by negating their ability to dig in to lay eggs. In addition, larger debris such as concrete pipes, slabs, and pilings have created impingements hazards and will further hamper or prevent spawning. These beaches also serve as habitat for a number of other shorebirds, including ruddy turnstone, sanderling, dunlin, and short-billed dowitcher.

This project will restore some of the most critically important stopover habitat for migrating shorebirds in Delaware Bay. The berm that will be constructed will ensure resiliency of the habitat to future storms and the long term support of horseshoe crab spawning. This project is authorized by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, Public Law 113-2.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5, intends to make a sole source award of a Cooperative Agreement to American Littoral Society. 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 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.