Description
Gandy’s Beach Preserve, located along an undeveloped shoreline on the Delaware Bay, provides valuable habitat for a variety of fish, migratory birds, horseshoe crabs and other wildlife. The shoreline and tidal marshes near Gandy’s Beach and Money Island act as a natural buffer from storm effects to the homes, businesses and roads in this area of Downe Township. Over time these vulnerable areas have eroded badly—in fact, the Gandy’s Beach shoreline has shrunk by nearly 500 feet since 1930.
The Nature Conservancy teamed up with The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Rutgers University, and other organizations at Gandy’s Beach and Money Island to increase the resiliency of tidal marsh, beach and oyster habitats to impacts of climate change and sea level rise. Strategies included installing oyster reef breakwaters, coir logs, and vegetation along the Gandy’s Beach shoreline and Nantuxent Creek.
