Back

Print this Page

Apr. 18, 2006

Mayor praises federal-state effort to create habitat promoting plant, animal diversity

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will help Woodbridge Township restore eco-diversity to 27 acres of tidal wetlands along Woodbridge Creek, Mayor Frank G. Pelzman has announced.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Woodbridge Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project takes place at 1:30 p.m. April 24 at Port Reading Avenue and Watson Avenue in Woodbridge.

The Woodbridge restoration project is part of the larger $1.78 billionNew York and New Jersey Harbor Deepening Project conducted by the USACE and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“This is a terrific Earth Day present,” says Mayor Pelzman. “We are pleased that these federal and state agencies have joined us in mounting an aggressive campaign to preserve our natural resources.”

Woodbridge Creek is an estuary of the Arthur Kill, which connects Newark Bay and Raritan Bay. The creek’s wetlands are salt marshes with freshwater influence and a traditional diversity of vegetation. In recent years, an invasive form of reed (Phragmites australis) has infested the area and drastically reduced plant and animal diversity.

The Woodbridge Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project will remove an estimated 72,000 cubic yards of phragmites. The site will be re-graded to recreate the native salt marsh that will restore the preferred habitat for nesting birds and juvenile fisheries. The area will be re-planted with approximately 378,000 marsh plants and native vegetation designed to aid the daily tidal flushing process.

USACE officials believe the restoration project will not only enhance the local ecosystem but contribute to the overall harbor deepening project. “This is a significant step in the development of a world class harbor estuary,” says Colonel Richard J. Polo, Jr., USACE District Engineer.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the $7 million Woodbridge Creek Ecosystem restoration project to build and preserve wetlands in New Jersey. Land for the site was donated by the Township of Woodbridge and property access granted by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. This project is part of the ongoing $29 million environmental mitigation program in the Hudson Raritan Estuary and being implemented in conjunction with the $1.6 billion New York and New Jersey Harbor Deepening Project. The project was awarded to Rencor Inc., of New Jersey.

The Corps and the Port Authority will be restoring approximately 23 acres of tidal wetlands with an additional 27 acres being set aside for state preservation. This restoration work will offset potential, unavoidable habitat impacts related to the deepening of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Additionally, in the future, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the NJDEP will restore 17 acres of tidal wetlands to provide compensatory restoration for the 1991 Exxon Bayway Oil Spill. The combined sites, including preservation, total nearly 67 acres and will be set aside as a wetland conservation area for the State of New Jersey.

Back