wetland restoration in Jamaica Bay US Army Corps of Engineers plan for restoring wetlands in Jamaica Bay

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“The views, opinions and findings contained in this report are
those of the authors(s) and should not be construed as an
official Department of the Army position, policy or decision,
unless so designated by other official documentation.”
HUDSON RARITAN ESTUARY ECOSYSTEM
RESTORATION – JAMAICA BAY UPDATE
JAMAICA BAY TASK FORCE MEETING
LISA BARON
PROJECT MANAGER, CIVIL WORKS
NEW YORK DISTRICT
MAY 10, 2022
1
File Name

2. AGENDA
• Past Marsh Island Restoration Success
• HRE Ecosystem Restoration
 Ongoing Projects including Stony Creek
Marsh Island
 Future Jamaica Bay Marsh Islands and
Perimeter Sites
• Spring Creek North Ecosystem Restoration
Project
• Spring Creek South (Howard Beach) Multi-
Purpose Feasibility Study
File Name
2

3. JAMAICA BAY MARSH ISLAND RESTORATION- PAST SUCCESS
Elders East
Elders West
Yellow Bar
John F. Kennedy
Airport
JoCo
Yellow Bar - 2012 (47 acres)
Elders East- 2007 (40 acres)
Elders East- 2011
• >2000 acres of Marsh
Islands have been lost
since 1924
• Restored 160 acres
• HRE Recommendation of
170 acres
Elders Center
Duck Point
Stony Creek
Pumpkin Patch
(East & West)
Elders West- 20010 (43 acres)
Black Wall and Rulers Bar (30 acres)
Black Wall and Rulers Bar

4. JAMAICA BAY MARSH ISLANDS CONSTRUCTION 4

5. BUILDING THE ISLAND - GRADING
5

6. VEGETATING THE ISLAND – TRANSPLANTING
6

7. July 2010
October 2006
Photo courtesy of Galvin Brothers, Inc.
October 2006
RESTORATION OF ELDERS EAST

8. Elders East 2011
ELDERS EAST - 2007

9. ELDERS EAST - 2011

10. BLACK WALL and RULERS BAR
PRE-RESTORATION

11. YELLOW BAR, BLACK WALL AND RULERS
BAR MARSH ISLAND RESTORATION 2012
11
Yellow Bar: 46 acres, $17.3M
Black Wall: 20 acres, $2.1M
2007
Rulers Bar: 10 acres, $1.311M
Sponsors: NYSDEC,
NYCDEP, PANYNJ, NPS

12. 12
Yellow Bar: 44 acres, $17.3M
Black Wall: 20 acres, $2.1M 2007
Rulers Bar: 10 acres, $1.311M
Sponsors:
NYSDEC
Planting Effort at Black Wall and Rulers Bar (July 2013):
Jamaica Bay EcoWatchers, American Littoral Society,
Jamaica Bay Guardian and Community Volunteers

13. HRE RESTORATION PROGRAM
• Chief’s Report (May 2020)
recommended 20 individual
projects that will restore a mosaic of
621 acres of habitat including:
 381 acres of estuarine wetlands (w/ 6
miles of tidal channels), 50 acres of
freshwater riverine wetlands, 27 acres
of coastal and maritime forest, 39
acres of shallow water habitat and 52
acres of oyster habitat;
 Installation of 2 fish ladders (or
potential removal) and modification of
3 weirs modified to improve fish
passage (24 miles) on the Bronx
River.
 1.6 miles of stream bank and 72 acres
of stream bed and channel
restoration.
• Construction authorized in WRDA
2020.
Jamaica Bay
6,8
1,2,5
1,2
1,2
6,7,8
4
4
All Marsh
Islands: 1,2,5
1,2,3
1,2,3
6,7,8
6,7,8,9
8,9
1,3,5
1. Estuarine Wetlands
2. Tidal Channel Restoration
3. Maritime Forest
4. Oyster Reefs
5. Shallow Water Habitat
6. Freshwater Wetlands
7. Streambank Restoration
8. Bed Restoration
9. Fishway
10.Sediment Forebay
6,8
1,2,5
1,2
6,8, 10
Fully funded cost: $624,772,000 (FY22)

14. HRE ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION
Pre-Construction Engineering Design (PED) Projects
• $1,200,000 included in the 2022
Consolidated Appropriations Act
• $25,978,000 in the Addendum to
2020 Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act to complete PED for first 4
HRE Projects (5 sites) and
CONSTRUCT STONY CREEK
MARSH ISLAND!
• Local Sponsors: NYCDEP, NYC
Parks
• Project Partners: NY/NJ Baykeeper
(Oysters)

15. 15
STONY CREEK MARSH ISLAND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
• Execute Design Agreement with NYCDEP (by July 1, 2022)
• Project Management Plan (ongoing)
• Field Investigations:
 Bathymetric/Topographic Surveys (2022/2023)
 Hydrodynamic Data Collection – Tide Gauges and Modeling (2023)
 Bio-Benchmarking (2023)
 Wetland Delineation (2023)
• Plans and Specifications (P&S): Designs, Quantities, Cost Estimates
 30% P&S and Value Engineering Study (2023)
 60% P&S (2023/2024)
 90% P&S (2024)
 100% P&S (2024/2025)
• Coordination with Operations Division for dredging contract (~155,000 CYD)
• Coordination with NPS throughout – Special Use Permit/MOU
• Permitting – Water Quality Certificate
• Biddability, Constructability, Operability, and Environmental Reviews (all design iterations)
and Agency Technical Review (90% P&S)
• Execute Project Partnership Agreement for Construction (2024)
• Ready to Advertise (early 2025)
• Construction (2025)

16. 16
HRE
Restoration
Sites
327 acres of habitat
restoration:
- 206 acres of
marsh islands
- 121 acres along
perimeter
Local Sponsors:
NYCDEP and
NYSDEC (Dead
Horse Bay) in
partnership with NPS
155,000 CYD
62 acres
41 acres
80 acres
215,000 CYD
40 acres
285,000 CYD
29 acres
328,000 CYD
24 acres
352,000 CYD
29 acres
10 acres

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https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Portals/37/docs/Environmental/HRE/HRE%20Final%20Cost%20Appendi
x%20I_20April2020.pdf?ver=2020-05-29-085232-857 – page I-24
CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE - SEQUENCING
Timing dependent on appropriation of funds for USACE, NYCDEP and NYSDEC
January 2025

18. Spring Creek North Ecosystem Restoration
(Continuing Authorities Program)
• Local Sponsor: NYC Parks
with additional funding from NYCDEP
• Total of $7.37M included in the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
• Funds to be used to complete design phase
and initiate implementation
• Restoration of 47-acres including:
 18.3 acres of wetlands
 29 acres of maritime uplands
• Restoration through excavating and
recontouring uplands to intertidal elevations,
removing invasives species and replanting
as well as restoring existing degraded
wetlands with Thin Layer Placement
techniques
• Construction is planned for 2023

19. Spring Creek South (Howard Beach) Multi-purpose Feasibility Study
Ecosystem Restoration and Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM)
• WRDA 2020 - expedite completion of multi-purpose feasibility study for
“ecosystem restoration and hurricane and storm damage reduction”.
• $1.2M included in the Infrastructure Bill and $500,000 in the FY22 Bill to
complete the Feasibility Study in partnership with NYSDEC and NPS
• Need to execute Feasibility Cost Share Agreement with NYSDEC for
$3,000,000/3 years.
• Project could include coastal restoration of 237 acres of degraded
habitat including tidal marsh, freshwater wetlands, scrub/shrub wetlands,
adjacent upland habitats, earthen berm with additional CSRM measures
(such as tide gates in Shellbank and Hawtree Basins).
• Build upon the foundation from information and investments
already made on prior studies, investigations, and design efforts
(including HRE, Jamaica Bay Feasibility Study, East Rockaway
Reformulation, NY Rising, NYSDEC/FEMA Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program and NPS Remedial Investigation).
• This study, in coordination with the NY/NJ Harbor and
Tributaries Study, will provide an opportunity to recommend
natural and nature-based features as well as coastal storm risk
management measures. These measures will reduce risk to
flooding and provide environmental benefits to the community
and Jamaica Bay—resulting in a more resilient and sustainable
shoreline and region.

20. TENTATIVE OVERALL SCHEDULE
JAMAICA BAY RESTORATION
Project 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2032 2033 2034 2035
Spring Creek North
HRE-Stony Creek
Marsh Island
Spring Creek
South Feasibility
Study
HRE-Fresh Creek
HRE-Duck Point
Marsh Island
HRE-Elders Center
Marsh Island
HRE-Pumpkin
Patch West Marsh
Island
HRE- Dead Horse
Bay
HRE-Pumpkin
Patch East Marsh
Island
Feasibility Study
Pre-Construction Engineering
and Design
Construction Above schedule dependent upon funding
and execution of Design Agreements and
Project Partnership Agreements
Monitoring and Adaptive
Management
20
All Funding in-hand
All Funding in-hand
All Funding in-hand for FS
Requires appropriations for design and construction for remaining sites
Requires construction authorization and appropriations for design
and construction

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Lisa Baron
Lisa.a.baron@usace.army.mil
646-385-1429
Questions?