Jamaica Bay – Rockaway Parks Conservancy – West Pond Living Shoreline Restoration Project

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Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, Gateway National Recreation Area, NYC Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Vincent Sapienza and elected officials celebrate the reopening of the West Pond Loop Trail and completion of the living shoreline project. (November 2021)
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge – West Pond

Project Overview

In May 2019, the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy (JBRPC) contracted with Dirtworks Landscape Architecture, PC to finalize design of a living shoreline at West Pond in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Gateway National Recreation Area, in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS). Final design was completed in July 2020 and permitted for construction in 2021.

As a living shoreline, the restoration project uses natural features to protect West Pond and adjacent loop trail, limiting erosion along this vulnerable shoreline while enhancing the shoreline with native plants creating much needed habitat in Jamaica Bay. During design, JBRPC worked in close collaboration with community stakeholders, including the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers and American Littoral Society, and other project partners such as the Billion Oyster Project. Construction began in May 2021 and was completed in November 2021. Read more here.

Rockaway Wave: Wetland Restoration (August 6, 2021)

The restored shoreline was planted with over 200,000 native grasses and shrubs, 6,000 of which were planted by volunteers, limiting erosion and providing new habitat for wildlife.

PROJECT FACTS

  • 2,400 linear feet of shoreline restored with 51,000 cubic yards of sediment
  • 9+ acres of habitat created and 14-acres of habitat restored
  • 5,000 biodegradable shell-bag breakwater structures creating a system of breakwaters to attenuate wave energy and protect the edge
  • 200,000 native grasses and shrubs planted
  • 100 fascines (recycled trees) to stabilize the shoreline
  • 15 coir logs to stabilize the shoreline and limit erosion
  • Historic outfall on the north end of West Pond reconstructed and repaired

Original Source: http://www.jbrpc.org/westpond