The Neptune Township Committee will introduce tonight a bond ordinance to fund the building of a bulkhead along a portion of the Shark River, but a local environmental group would prefer to see officials take a more natural approach to containing the river.
"We believe a living shoreline is a visually pleasing and ecologically sustaining option," the group Save Shark River said in a posting on its Facebook page.
"In a way, what exists [there now] is a natural living shoreline," Save Shark River's Kira Long told The Gazette. "What we will propose is a revitalized one that includes (but is not limited to) coir fiber logs, sand fill, stone, native grasses, etc."
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), living shorelines are made of organic materials such as wetland plants, submerged aquatic vegetation, and oyster beds. Living shorelines stabilize the shoreline, protect the environment, improve water quality by filtering run-off, and create a habitat for land and water species.
Also, living shorelines made of oyster reefs and marshes are natural barriers against waves. Fifteen feet of marsh can absorb 50 percent of the energy from incoming waves, NOAA says on its web site.
UPDATE: Township officials met with the Department of Environmental Protection about the bulkhead, and a living shoreline "was not found to be acceptable for the project," township business administrator Vito D. Gadaleta told The Gazette.
Although designing the bulkhead has not yet begun, the bulkhead could be similar to the one at the municipal marina, which is made of a wood composite and has a cantilevered walkway, Gadaleta said.
During its meeting tonight, the township committee will introduce an ordinance to secure $1.2 million in funding for the bulkhead.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the municipal complex, 25 Neptune Blvd.
A public hearing on the bond ordinance will be held during the committee's next meeting, on Monday, May 22.
"We believe a living shoreline is a visually pleasing and ecologically sustaining option," the group Save Shark River said in a posting on its Facebook page.
"In a way, what exists [there now] is a natural living shoreline," Save Shark River's Kira Long told The Gazette. "What we will propose is a revitalized one that includes (but is not limited to) coir fiber logs, sand fill, stone, native grasses, etc."
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), living shorelines are made of organic materials such as wetland plants, submerged aquatic vegetation, and oyster beds. Living shorelines stabilize the shoreline, protect the environment, improve water quality by filtering run-off, and create a habitat for land and water species.
Also, living shorelines made of oyster reefs and marshes are natural barriers against waves. Fifteen feet of marsh can absorb 50 percent of the energy from incoming waves, NOAA says on its web site.
UPDATE: Township officials met with the Department of Environmental Protection about the bulkhead, and a living shoreline "was not found to be acceptable for the project," township business administrator Vito D. Gadaleta told The Gazette.
Although designing the bulkhead has not yet begun, the bulkhead could be similar to the one at the municipal marina, which is made of a wood composite and has a cantilevered walkway, Gadaleta said.
During its meeting tonight, the township committee will introduce an ordinance to secure $1.2 million in funding for the bulkhead.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the municipal complex, 25 Neptune Blvd.
A public hearing on the bond ordinance will be held during the committee's next meeting, on Monday, May 22.
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