The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

South Cape May Meadows Preserve n/a

“Essentially, we are developing methods inspired by nature that protect people from the forces of nature.”

-Moses Katkowski, marine conservation coordinator

In late August the East Coast braced itself as Hurricane Irene made landfall. In New Jersey, Governor Christie declared a state of emergency, and a mandatory evacuation was issued for Cape May County. Residents pulled their boats out of the water and tourists’ vacation were cut short as thousands of cars lined the Garden State Parkway fleeing our coastal towns, expecting the worst. 

Cape May has often suffered at the hands of Mother Nature –the town of South Cape May, an active beachfront community just 70 years ago, sits at the bottom of the sea today. This haven for tourists couldn’t withstand shifting sands and regular flooding and fell victim to the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944. The once bustling beach town became a wasteland – the remnants of South Cape May scattered on the ocean floor. 

By 1981, when The Nature Conservancy purchased the site of the former town, its wetlands were being used as cow pasture.  

The Meadows:  One of nature's great comebacks

In 2004, the Conservancy and partners launched a project to return the preserve to a productive natural state that would provide habitat to wildlife and reduce coastal flooding in nearby communities.

“We worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to do a project that was part engineering, part conservation science and art,” says Bob Allen, director of conservation. “We restored part of a stream that hadn’t been seen in 100 years, rebuilt the beach and dunes to be stronger, and strengthened a few of South Cape May’s old roads to encourage the wetlands to hold stormwater run-off.”

 Long a globally renowned birding spot attracting about 300,000 visitors a year, today the restored 218-acre South Cape May Meadows preserve deserves that reputation more than ever as it hosts species in a variety and numbers not seen in years. In the spring and summer, endangered piping plovers nest on the replenished beaches and feed in foraging ponds. By the fall, the preserve sees the full force of raptor migration and in winter a snowy owl may be spotted flying over the dunes.

On August 28^th, as Hurricane Irene crashed into the shores of New Jersey we wondered how the preserve would fare. 

Nature did her job.

The preserve’s beaches, dunes, and wetlands absorbed much of the rain, wind, and surging ocean waters and nearby communities didn’t flood.  

Looking Ahead

In the coastal landscape of New Jersey, The Nature Conservancy is developing other ways to use nature to reduce impacts of storms while protecting and restoring habitats that we all benefit from.  Among these are “Living Shorelines” projects that restore habitats using natural materials in place of the stone and steel that disrupt the natural resilience of our coasts.

“Essentially, we are developing methods inspired by nature that protect people from the forces of nature,” says Moses Katkowski, marine conservation coordinator for the Conservancy.  “The end result is more wildlife habitat and safer communities.”