Dredging and other coastal-restoration techniques offer promising solutions to the urgent problem of habitat loss from sea-level rise. However, unknowns about these relatively new techniques can make it challenging for practitioners to implement them. That’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Philadelphia District partnered with the State of New Jersey, The Wetlands Institute, and the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center to launch the Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory in Cape May County, New Jersey. The laboratory serves as a proving ground for using natural and nature-based features to provide ecological uplift and enhance resilience for ecosystems and coastal communities.
Learn about various initiatives underway to advance habitat creation and beach and marsh-restoration techniques within the Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab, including lessons learned from a suite of “beneficial-use” projects, which focus on finding environmentally beneficial uses for dredged materials that are also economically feasible. economically or environmentally uses for dredged materials.
The content is relevant to anyone interested in coastal resilience projects, best practices, lessons learned, and approaches, including those focusing on habitat restoration for beach- or marsh-nesting species, like American oystercatcher or saltmarsh sparrow. This webinar is open to USFWS and partners.
Speaker Information: Dr. Lenore Tedesco is the Executive Director of the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. She has a PhD from the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, and a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Boston University.
Her research interests are in wetland, estuary and stream restoration, water resources, and environmental education. Since coming to The Wetlands Institute in fall, 2011, Dr. Tedesco has focused her research and conservation activities on coastal and wetland ecosystem dynamics and restoration. Current projects include restoring critical habitat for colonial, wading and marsh-nesting birds, designing and constructing beneficial use marsh restoration projects, and evaluating the impact of sea level rise on wetland and coastal ecosystems. She is a co-founder of the Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory along with the USACE and the State of New Jersey.
Check out the post webinar questions and answers here.
Questions? Contact Bridget_Macdonald@fws.gov or Christine_McCue@fws.gov