Portion of Higbee Beach WMA closes for restoration work

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is closing a portion of Cape May County’s Higbee Beach Wildlife Protection Area in advance of a $37.5 million restoration project that will start later this month.

The Higbee Beach WMA Restoration Project will result in over 400 hundred acres of restored and enhanced wetland and upland maritime habitat. 

For managing flood risk from periodic storm surge events and future sea level rise, the work includes a 6,861-foot earthen berm system fitted with flow control structures designed to control tidal inundation of eastern portions of the Higbee WMA along an alignment within the marsh that balances stakeholder objectives for restoring as much salt marsh as possible within, while protecting freshwater habitat and groundwater resources.

Also, the top of berm elevation was set is 7.5 feet which was deemed appropriate given the design goal of providing a reasonable level of tidal inundation protection to the upper watershed, considering the landscape context and regional flooding pathways.

The upcoming program, which will improve wildlife habitats and tidal flow to marshes, is expected to keep the section of the protected beach closed until December 2026.

The boundaries of the work were closed to the public on January 29.

The project is funded with Natural Resource Damage funds and co-led by DEP’s Office of Natural Resource Restoration and Office of Coastal Engineering in partnership with Fish & Wildlife.