A living shoreline at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
“The Conservancy is ready to restore this vulnerable edge of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at West Pond with a living shoreline that will protect the pond and trail from extreme weather and climate change while enhancing visitor experience and the ecology of the bay with hundreds of thousands of native plants.”
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)
Project Overview
West Pond was breached during Superstorm Sandy and repaired in 2017. The project will protect the breach area and popular West Pond Loop Trail.
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.
The project restored 2,400 linear feet of shoreline with 51,000 cubic yards of sand creating over nine acres of new habitat at the Refuge.
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)
American Society of Landscape Architects, New York awards West Pond Living Shoreline – Dirtworks Landscape Architecture with the 2022 Honor Award, recognizing excellence in the practice of landscape architecture. (March 24, 2022)
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
200,000 native grasses
and shrubs planted
9+ acres
of habitat created
14 acres
of habitat restored
100 fascines
(recycled trees) to stabilize the shoreline
15 coir logs
to stabilize the shoreline and limit erosion
5,000 breakwater structures
made with biodegradable shell-bags creating a system of breakwaters to attenuate wave energy and protect the edge
Historic outfall
on the north end of West Pond reconstructed and repaired
The living shoreline will include a shell-bag breakwater system providing wave attenuation and erosion control, along with fascines and coir logs. Shells were collected through the Billion Oyster Project’s Shell Collection Program and were placed in biodegradable bags by volunteers on Governors Island before being transported to Jamaica Bay.
Construction began in May 2021 and was completed in November 2021. After construction, 6,000 linear feet of the West Pond Loop Trail was restored and reopened.
The project will provide layers of protection along this vulnerable shoreline and new habitat for wildlife in Jamaica Bay.
Photos during construction:
A project by Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy in partnership with:
