Abbotts Meadow marsh elevation post sediment pumping and placement from an offshore wind port project, five miles from the wildlife area.
Environmental + Sustainability
Pumping during the construction phase to raise the marsh elevation by six feet to support native vegetation and restore sensitive bird habitat.
Abbotts Meadow Restoration Project WSP Project Location: Salem County, New Jersey
Due to poor hydrology and sea level rise, vegetation is converting to large open water areas. Tidal waters become trapped, native vegetation drowns, and deep tidal channels cut through the phragmites “islands.”
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Project Start Date: 1 November 2023 Project Completion: 31 January 2024
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Project Team: WSP USA, Gahagan & Bryant Associates Inc (GBA), New Jersey Department of Transportation Office of Maritime Resources, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife , New Jersey Economic Development Administration Project Background: The Abbotts Meadow restoration project proved that one project’s trash can be an agency’s treasure. The Abbotts Meadow marsh suffered from years of degradation due to human impact and sea level rise. With every tide, water inundated the 365-acre marsh, was trapped, and could not drain out. The marsh was drowning, and wildlife was suffering. Five miles south, a new port was under construction to serve an emerging offshore wind industry, marshalling New Jersey’s transition to clean energy. The port required access to navigable waterways and creating new channels to connect to deep water in the Delaware Bay. Dredging new channels generated approximately 600,000 cubic yards of clean sediment – the equivalent to approximately 45,000 dump trucks of dirt. As project lead, WSP designed the dredging and restoration projects, from concept through full engineering and permit approvals, to hydraulically pump the sediment to the Abbotts Meadow site. Impact: The largest project of its kind in New Jersey, the Abbotts Meadow Restoration project restored 365 acres of the Abbotts Meadow Wildlife Management Area through the beneficial reuse of approximately 600,000 cubic yards of fine-grained dredged material. The project used the dredged material to build up large open water and mudflat areas, re-establish tidal marsh vegetation, increase sedimentation rates, facilitate marsh migration and climate change adaptation and prioritize a matrix approach to habitat restoration that supports critical bird species. The Abbotts Meadow restoration exemplifies how beneficial use of dredged material and fine-grained sediment management techniques can be replicated at other wetland management sites, even on a smaller scale. It also serves as a model for wetland restoration and climate resiliency projects along the coastline. WSP meticulously handled the project’s planning, design, and engineering, and managed the construction of dredging and sediment placement at Abbotts Meadow. Accomplishments & Accreditations: CalGeo Outstanding Project Awards - Medium-Public Category (Honorable Mention)
Prior to restoration, the Abbotts Meadow marsh lacked biodiversity, consistency primarily of open water, mudflats, and phragmites dominated marsh. Photo credit: R.A. Smith
At grade level marker following the marsh clearing.
Natural regeneration of tidal marsh species including sea club rush (Bolboschoenus maritimus) and saltmarsh chord grass (Spartina alterniflora).
Abbotts Meadow placement area 1 post invasive species clearing. A partnership among New Jersey’s Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Protection, and its Economic Development Agency is working to secure the area’s future.
Abbotts Meadow is a model for ecological restoration and climate resilience that simultaneously advances the State’s clean energy transition and decarbonization goals.
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9 csengineermag.com YEA 2024
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