Urban Coast Institute Joins Partners for Shark River Basin Resilience Tour

The Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute (UCI) joined the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), municipal and county officials, federal representatives, community organizations, and local residents for a Shark River Basin resilience tour on Aug. 24.

The tour, which coincided with New Jersey Flood Safety Week, unofficially kicked off work on a regional climate resilience study for the estuary that the UCI will contribute to as a project partner. This effort is part of Building a Climate Ready NJ, a resilience initiative of the NJDEP funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"The science is clear: Sea level is rising, and will continue to do so into the future," UCI Acting Director Tom Herrington said in opening remarks at Maclearie Park in Belmar. "Heavy rainfall is becoming more frequent and is projected to increase in the future. Nowhere are these two impacts more threatening than right here at the Jersey Shore. That is why Monmouth University feels it is so important to work with our partners and communities and bring the resources of the university, its faculty and students to help build community and ecosystem resilience to the growing threat of coastal and inland flooding."

The tour included stops at sites where natural and nature-based resilience projects had been completed or were underway throughout the watershed. Attendees first gathered at Maclearie Park, where Belmar Mayor Caitlyn Donovan highlighted recent upgrades along the borough's bayshore and future priorities for the area.

The group then proceeded to the South Riverside Living Shoreline in Neptune Township. There, American Littoral Society staff led a presentation on how raised dunes, plantings, and other measures had stabilized the waterfront, provided ecosystem benefits, and now offer flood protections for the roadway and neighborhood behind it.

The trip concluded at Memorial Park in Neptune City, where Wall Mayor Erin Mangan, Avon-by-the-Sea Mayor Mayor Ed Bonanno, Shark River Cleanup Coalition members Bill and Arlene Sciarappa, and Monmouth County Commissioner Erik Anderson discussed steps that could be taken to make the Shark River Bay healthier and stronger in the face of climate threats.