Restoration efforts at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge are complete and officials say it’s strong enough to withstand future storms.
Officials call it one of the largest and most complex coastal restoration projects since Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern seaboard.
The project, which began in June 2015, closed dune breaches worsened by Sandy and restored about 4,000 acres of land.
Al Rizzo, the project leader for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Coastal Delaware National Wildlife Refuge Complex, said it should buy the refuge at least 30 years before it starts to unravel due to sea level rise.
“We’ve had a couple Nor’easters within the last month or so and historically...over the last years after the breaches occurred, Prime Hook Beach Road would be inundated, and we haven’t had any flooding yet, so I think the communities are going to benefit quite well from this,” Rizzo said.
The 30-year projection, Rizzo said, was based off of a Sea Level Affect on Marsh Migration (SLAMM) model, meaning that if they use a half meter sea level rise scenario, they anticipate the area to stand for at least 30 years.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell praised the project, saying the improvements to Prime Hook have made it more resilient, but that doesn’t mean communities nearby can let their guard down.
“I think that the natural areas that are built to do what Mother Nature intended are going to do very well and we’ve already seen that," Jewell said. "I think that the built environment is going to continue to have challenges."
Jewell said the project, which rebuilt dunes and reconstituted Prime Hook’s saltwater marsh, will allow the area to withstand even larger storms than Hurricane Sandy. She added it’s also led to a rapid recovery of biological species and vegetation.
“...Both in the water and on the land - the birds, the turtles and the fish, because that was what was intended here, and much quicker than the biologists every thought it was going to recover,” Jewell said.
Jewell also paralleled the restoration of Prime Hook to a jury’s recent decision to acquit Ammon Bundy and others standing trial for the occupation of the Oregon refuge. She said lands like the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge are “America’s public lands” where work is done to maintain biodversity, public access and recreational resources.”
She said she was disappointed in the jury’s verdict.
“But I also said we very much respect our form of justice here and certainly accept the decision of the jury, but we remain concerned about the safety of our employees in the refuge and the safety of our visitors - that’s of paramount importance to us,” Jewell said.
Comparing it to Prime Hook, she said, “The one thing that I hope for is that we’re able to respect the incredible work of the people here.”
Though the beach area is fully restored, Rizzo said it may take three to five more years before marsh plants fully grow back.
The project used $38 million in federal funding.
