 1,400 acres of tidal wetlands loss in Jamaica Bay since 1924
 Marsh deterioration continues at a rate of over 44 acres per year
 Nitrogen impact on water quality of the bay
HistoryHistory

 Re-create two wetland
islands: Rulers Bar and
Black Wall
 Restore 30+ Acres of
Critical Habitat
 Reduce cost per acre vs
independent contractor
 Provide coastal protection
for vulnerable
communities
 Engage Volunteers and
Youth groups as stewards

 Jamaica Bay Ecowatcher’s and American Littoral Society
 NYS DEC
 ACOE
 NYC DEP
 National Park Service
 NYC DPR
 Community Volunteers

 Began with Sand Placement
by ACOE
 Fall 2012 Seed Collection
by volunteers
 Spring/Summer 2013
volunteers and youth group
planted on Rulers bar-12
Acres
 Black Wall Island seeded –
16 Acres

Community Planting Days

 Experiment
 Effort to reduce cost
 Entire 16 acres
seeded
 Transport of
Equipment a
Challenge

 Initially assessed in April
2014
 Second assessment with the
Environmental Firm in Late
May 2014
 No growth noted over the 16
acres
 Similar results were reported
for Adjacent Yellow Bar
Island Agreement Reached for Environmental Firm to Procure 40,000 plugs to
plant in 2014 and 2015

 2013 – 88,000 plugs
on Rulers Bar
 2014 – 54,000 plugs
on Ruler’s Bar and
Black Wall
 2015 – 25,500 Plugs
on Black Wall
 167,500

Fence MaintenanceFence Maintenance

• Over 3000 volunteers participated

 Corporate/Non-Profit Partners
 NYC Audubon
 Google
 HarborLAB
 Mitsui
 Sony
 Georgia TAP
 Aveda
 Bloomberg
 Estee Lauder
 Green Teens
 Hour Children
 Citizen’s Committee for NY
 NY Cares
 FDNY Youth
 NYC Parks Resiliency Corps
Corporate/Non-Profit Partners

Restoration Corps Youth Group

Black Wall Osprey PlatformBlack Wall Osprey Platform
 Platform placed Summer 2014
 First nested pair of Osprey Spring 2015 with 2 young

 Seeding does not seem to
be a viable option
 Distance between plugs
during planting can be
increased
 Cost of Fencing installation
and maintenance
unnecessary vs benefit
Lessons LearnedLessons Learned
 Tremendous cost savings can lead to more restoration efforts in the bay
 Habitat and ecology of the sites quickly restored

 Restored 30+ Acres of Salt Marsh
 Community-led Marsh Restoration is a sustainable and economically-
viable model for restoring wetlands
 Planting of Plugs reduced from $2.25 per plug to $1.00 per plug
 Provided a “green infrastructure” answer to the problem of community
vulnerability, and engaged community members as stewards
 Restored critical wildlife habitat
 Demonstrated the strength of partnerships between Governmental
Agencies, Communities, Stake holders and Local Non-Profit groups
 Provided much need youth employment

OSPREY HUNTING OVER THE NEW ISLANDS