A PHOENIX ARISES FROM IRENE’S TOTAL DESTRUCTION

LIVING SHORELINE UPDATE                                   

By  Bill McGrath

Photo taken 9/12/2011

Two weeks ago hurricane Irene wrecked havoc on our living shoreline. When the eye passed over I quickly ran over to Allen Road Beach to inspect the damage. Allen Road was barely passable with a foot of water covering the road. I made it through only to find that most of the biologs had disintegrated or were missing. The living shoreline was entirely covered by about 18 inches of water. Even though it was covered with water, I could clearly see that ALL of the vegetation in the living shoreline was completely sheared off at the surface from the fierce wave turbulence.

The photo above was taken about two weeks after total destruction. It clearly shows amazing re-growth from protected rhizomes still intact under the Coir matting. The 470 rhizomes I inventoried before hurricane Irene were still completely intact. This should insure vigorous growth next spring after the spartina goes dormant during the winter.

Photo taken 9/12/2011

The above photo shows what remains of the upland row of biologs. Notice the far background. It shows how far the living shoreline has contributed to the beach. The sand trapped by the living shoreline would have wound up in Amherst Inlet. The rhizomes are still intact under the Coir matting that is covered over with sand previously trapped by the biologs.

                                                             Photo taken 9/12/2011

This photo looking south, also shows how the living shoreline increased the beach by trapping the sand before it winds up in Amherst Inlet.

                                                            Photo taken 9/12/2011

This photo shows the re-generation of the spartina after being completely sheared off at the surface by hurricane Irene.

Photo taken 9/12/2011

This photo shows the erosion from hurricane Irene along the hardpan scarping. A small amount of the upland American dune grass along the face fell victim to the storm.

Photo taken 9/12/2011

The phragmites is aggressively taking over the American dune grass which will be complete in about 3 to 4 years. Hurricane Irene exposed the extremely aggressive phragmites rhizomes along the eroded scarping.

THE ONLY BLOG ON THE INTERNET DEDICATED TO WATCHING GRASS GROW!

LIVING SHORELINE UPDATE    07/23/2011

by Bill McGrath

Photo taken 7/22/2011

I took an inventory of the living shoreline yesterday afternoon and again this morning. At this point, out of the 2400 plants that were planted, 470 survived. The ones that survived are extremely healthy and vigorous (see above photo). So much so, that it is very doubtful that any future storm could destroy them. So, from that point of view it is a success. The plants are now 16” to 20” tall. Most of the ones that didn't make it through the storms in June were covered over with too much sand to survive. Only a very small percentage were actually washed away. We have tweaked our design so this should not happen in future phases.

The 470 plants that are thriving there now have rhizome roots that will grow under the sand and spread out over the winter. In the spring you should see new sprouts coming up to fill in the bare spots. So, although we are only 20% successful, eventually nature will make us 100% successful. This is a “learn as you go” project for us and anyone else that wants to plant a living shoreline in these conditions. We are sort of blazing the trail here by trial and error.

In some areas of the country this species (spartina alterniflora) is considered an aggressive, invasive nuisance that is very difficult to eradicate. A single plant will spread into a circular clone, clones coalesce to form stands or meadows. Let’s hope that happens here.

 A similar type of rhizome plant that is also very aggressive is the common reed (phragmites australis) . You will see it growing on both sides of the Allen Road Boardwalk where it is aggressively taking  over the American Beach Grass (Ammophila breviligulata). Reaearch has shown that Phragmites rhizomes can spread as much as 80 to 100 feet per year.

The above drawing shows how the rhizomes are expanding under the Coir matting we laid down that is now buried under 7 to 10 inches of sand. As you can see, it is highly doubtful that a storm would rip these out after all these rhizomes are intertwined under the Coir matting.

It’s only a matter of time (3 to 5 years) before the entire 12 ft. by 200 ft. will be completely covered with vegetation. The benefits to the environment will be:

·       Sucking up the harmful nitrogen runoff before it gets a chance to further degrade Barnegat Bay.

·         Stopping the erosion of Allen Road Beach.

·         Trapping sand from the littoral drift before it ends up in Amherst Inlet.

·         They support microorganisms that neutralize pollutants found in water.

·         They support a number of fragile benthic and marine life.

BSHCA is looking into the next phase of our living shoreline which may begin this summer or fall. The next phase will involve planting Spartina patens between our existing living shoreline and the scarping (cliff area). This area is shown in the photo below:

Photo taken 7/22/2011

Spartina patens is also a very aggressive cordgrass similar to Spartina alterniflora that we previously planted. Spartina patens grows better at a slightly higher elevation than the Spartina alterniflora. The site we have chosen in the photo above is perfectly suited for the Spartina patens. Also, this area is more protected from the onslaught of an occasional nor’easter.

We plan on stabilizing the scarping on the right side of the photo with the following native salt tolerant bushes:

·         Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)

·         Marsh Elder (Iva frutescens)

·         Grounsel Bush (Baccharis halimifolia)

LIVING SHORELINE UPDATE 6/17/2011

THE LIVING SHORELINE IS ALIVE AND WELL!

Photo taken Thursday June 16, 2011

 The healthy spartina that survived a very turbulent month of May, have doubled and in some cases tripled in height since we planted them over a month and a half ago. There is no question that we lost a lot of plants. A few were lost from being undermined but, most were lost by being covered over with sand.

 Right now, since many of the surviving plants are so healthy, we are talking about supplementing the bare spots with additional plants. I plan on taking an inventory and reporting on how many of the 2,400 plants survived shortly ... Stay tuned!

Sadly, our living shoreline was the backdrop for a candlelight vigil Wednesday night for Ryan J. Worrall, the popular recent graduate of Central Regional high school, who died of accidental drowning while canoeing offshore in Barnegat Bay on June 10th. The vigil was attended by several hundred friends and relatives. Although I didn't know Ryan personally, my heart and prayers go out to the Worrall family as I am sure all of BSHCA members do as well.

Photo taken Thursday June 16, 2011

Remains of votive candles on the beach behind our living shoreline

 the day after the candlelight vigil for Ryan J. Worrell.

WEEK 4 -- ALLEN ROAD LIVING SHORELINE POST CONSTRUCTION REPORT

At last the winds have changed and the tide receded to its normal levels and even lower. The entire project site is covered over with 6 to 8 inches of sand on top of the coir matting. With the easterly and northerly winds the water line is about 4 feet in front of the first row of biologs. 

Photo taken June 2, 2011

Even though the spartina that was planted over a month ago was covered over with 6 to 8 inches of sand, a large percentage of the plants grew thru the sand to reach sunlight.

Photo taken June 2, 2011

At this point in time, it is not known how many plants did not survive out of the 2500 plugs that were planted. We also do not know if any additional buried plants that are not visible will grow thru the sand. Sometime next month I plan on taking an inventory of the surviving plants.

Photo taken June 2, 2011

The plant shown above grew thru the deposited sand measuring 6 inches from the coir matting where it was originally planted, to the existing beach surface. The original plants were 6” to 8” tall when planted in the coir matting.

It is apparent that it would be unwise to use the biologs in future phases of this project. It would be better to just use the 900 series coir matting and pinning it down as I have previously outlined in my week 3 report.

The biologs proved to be very effective in extending the beach by elevating it above the mean high water line.

Submitted by

BSHCA member

William E. McGrath, PLS

Riparian Consultant

WEEK 3 -- ALLEN ROAD LIVING SHORELINE POST CONSTRUCTION REPORT

The Shoreline continues to be battered with sustained southerly and easterly 15 to 25 knot winds, with tides running 1 to 2 feet above normal. Additional sand bags were place along the front row and tied together. The entire project is now covered with 4” to 8” of gravelly sand.

Photo taken May 17, 2011

Even though a substantial amount of sand covers the spartina, the rhizome plants still grow through the sand to reach the surface. At this point in time, it is not known how much sand cover it takes to prevent the plants from having sustained growth.

 Photo taken May 18, 2011

It is noted that in future projects biologs may not be needed because the plants, as long as they are well anchored, seem to tolerate the water turbulence. The biologs are a hindrance because they trap sand. It would be better to just use the heavy duty 900 Coir matting alone by burying and staking the leading and trailing edges. In this way the water can easily ebb and flow over the matting and plants without accumulating any sand. In order to do this, we would have to eliminate the metal staples that don’t work very well, in favor of ½” x 1” x 16” wooden stakes with ¼” holes drilled thru the top to connect the matting to the stakes driven just below beach surface and attached with plastic zip ties. The plants could then be tied with jute twine to the matting much the same way as tomato plants are tied to stakes. The savings by eliminating the biologs for the 200 feet would be about $ 4,000. That savings could be utilized for increased shoreline footage. That would also make the project less labor intensive. We could probably do 320 lineal feet for what it cost us to do 200 feet.

Submitted by

BSHCA member

William E. McGrath, PLS

Riparian Consultant

WEEK 2 -- ALLEN ROAD LIVING SHORELINE POST CONSTRUCTION REPORT

With sustained southerly and easterly 15 to 25 knot winds, the tide continues to remain 1 to 2 feet above normal. The front row of biologs continue to be battered by heavy waves that are sometimes reaching the toe of the scarping and completely inundating the entire project with at least a foot of water.

Photo taken May 11, 2011

Note the spartina growing under water

We received 300 free recycled 50 lb. feed bags from Manchester Hills Estate Farm and Winery in Ohio. Fred Bekiarian, Bill Grochowicz, Bill & Marion McGrath continued to fill sand bags and place them along the face of the front row of biologs to help save the project from complete destruction. The spartina seems to thrive under water but, it was being covered over by more and more sand from the waves being trapped between the two rows of biologs. The accumulated sand was used to fill the sand bags and replaced out front along the face of the biologs.

Submitted by

BSHCA member

William E. McGrath, PLS

Riparian Consultant

WEEK 1 -- ALLEN ROAD LIVING SHORELINE POST CONSTRUCTION REPORT

5:00 PM Sunday May 1^st the living shoreline was completed with the goose netting installed around the entire perimeter. All that remained to be done was to plant about 9 more flats of spartina alterniflora that was left over.

That evening the beach was subjected to strong 20 knot winds from the south and east. The biologs held but the splashing over the top deposited about 6 inches of sand on a 6 ft. x 20 ft. section on the north end. There was additional sand deposited from the splashing on the south end but only about a third of what was deposited on the north end. Additionally, there was sand creeping in under the logs at the seams in two or three places.

Monday evening it was decided that we had to place sandbags along the first row of biologs in order to save our project.

Tuesday evening the shoreline was battered with even stronger winds and waves from the southeast. Bill Grochowicz, Fred Bekarian, Bill and Marion McGrath immediately placed 100 sandbags along and on top of the logs for about 40 ft. of the north section and about 30 ft. of the south section.

Photo taken May 5, 2011

On Wednesday we noted that a 4 ft. section of the end of a biolog gave way about 60 or 70 feet from the south end. We also noted that the front row of logs actually sank in places. In some places the logs sunk as much as 12 inches. In the area where the biolog failed we noticed that 4 to 6 inches of sand washed out from under the matting taking the previously planted spartina with it. This left the staples partially exposed. The area amounted to a 6 ft. x 12 ft. section. We immediately placed another 100 sand bags along the failed area and added more bags on the north and south end. We used the sand that splashed over the logs to fill the bags. This seemed to work quite well but, it was noted that we would need more sandbags to stop the sand from splashing in and to fortify the front row of logs for any major storm. 

Saturday morning Bill and Marion McGrath returned to bang down the staples that were exposed and planted two additional flats of spartina to fill in the empty spaces.

Submitted by

BSHCA member

William E. McGrath, PLS

Riparian Consultant

ALLEN ROAD LIVING SHORELINE POST CONSTRUCTION REPORT

ALLEN ROAD LIVING SHORELINE POST CONSTRUCTION REPORT

The BSHCA “Living Shoreline” was completed 5:30 PM Sunday May 1, 2011 as the goose netting was installed around the entire 424 lineal feet perimeter of the project.

We had 85 volunteers Saturday including Mayor Varano and various council members, BSHCA members, Girl Scout Troop 94, Potter School children and local residents.

We had 41 volunteers on Sunday including the Superintendant of Central Regional, the Central Regional baseball team and their girlfriends, BSHCA members and local residents.

Close to 400 photographs were taken by Nancy Wieme our webmaster and BSHCA Director and can be seen on our website at: http://www.berkeleyshores.org

Or more specifically for Saturday 4/30/2011 at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/berkeleyshores/LivingShoreline#

Or Sunday 5/1/2011 at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/berkeleyshores/LivingShorelineDay2#

Our grant source allowed our one third share for the cost of the project to be paid by labor at $15 per hour per worker/volunteer.

The cost breakdown amounts to 85 volunteers times $15 times 4 hours (average) equals $5,100.00 for Saturday. 41 volunteers times $15 times 4 hours (average) equals $2,460.00 for Sunday. This totals $7,560.00 which more than covers our share of the cost. 

The Barnegat Bay Partnership utilizing federal grant sources, covered the cost of the materials which amounted to almost $7,000.00. Berkeley Township covered the cost for the state and federal permits. Berkeley Shores Homeowners and Civic Association besides organizing the project, covered the cost for refreshments (coffee, donuts, pizza, water, etc.) and contingency materials such as gloves, shovels, fertilizer, wire, equipment rental, etc.

Submitted by

BSHCA member

William E. McGrath, PLS

Riparian Consultant

LIVING SHORELINE VOLUNTEER WORK FORCE PLAN

SUPERVISOR, TEAM AND REGISTRATION COORDINATOR:   Vic L.

REGISTRATION & TEAM ASSIGNMENT CAPTAINS: Lucille P and Marion M.

TEAM CAPTAINS:    Howard H. (Team #1), Fred B. (Team #2), Mike T. (Team #3)

REFRESHMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:  Bill G.

SURVEYING AND STAKE-OUT:  Bill M. and employee/helper.

TASK ASSIGNMENTS:

   TEAM #1:

# 1 - Carrying biologs and positioning at staked-out location.

# 4 -  Pounding the 2” x 2” x 48” oak stakes in on each side of the biologs at the marked locations leaving 12” of the stake exposed.

# 7 - Cutting a 3/8” V notch on the outside of the oak stakes or ¼” drill hole 1” to 2” down from      the top of biologs.

# 12 - Tying the coir matting with string every 12” at the coir along the splice.

# 16 - Placing the upland row of biologs and staking.

   TEAM #2:

# 2 -  Carrying oak stakes to location.

# 3 -  Marking biologs every 23 inches with a magic marker starting at 6 inches in from the end.

# 8 -  Cutting the 9 gauge galvanized wire with wire bolt cutters. Length to be determined in the field.  Cinching the stakes with the 9 gauge wire over the biologs.

# 13 - Measuring and poking the plant holes thru the coir matting every 12” each way.

# 14 - Inserting 1 tbl. fertilizer in each hole.

    TEAM # 3:

# 5 -   Carrying the coir matting rolls to the site and rolling out along the first row of biologs and

           tucking the edge of the roll under the biologs.

# 6 -   Snipping/cutting one strand of coir mat to allow room for 2” x 2” biolog stakes.

# 9 -   Measuring and the coir matting every 12” each way and securing with metal staples.

# 10 - Securing the coir matting with the wire staples where marked.

# 11 -  Rolling out and cutting the second coir matting with a 6” overlap.

# 15 -  Inserting the plants in the holes.

  

LIVING SHORELINE ORGANIZATION AND JOB TASKS

A.  Job Captains to supervise and assign volunteers to a group of tasks listed below.

B.  Registration Captains to sign in volunteers and assign to teams #1, #2 or #3

C. Bill McGrath to stake-out biolog placement with his employee Saturday morning.

TASKS:

1. Carrying biologs and positioning at staked-out location  (males)
   
2. Carrying oak stakes to location. (males or females)
   
3.  Marking biologs every 23 inches with a magic marker starting at 6 inches in from  the end. (female)
   
4.  Pounding the 2” x 2” x 48” oak stakes in on each side of the biologs at the marked locations leaving 12” of the stake exposed. (young males)
   
5.  Carrying the coir matting rolls to the site and rolling out along the first row of biologs and tucking the edge of the roll under the biologs. (males or females)
   
6.  Snipping/cutting one strand of coir mat to allow room for 2” x 2” biolog stakes. (females or students)
   
7.  Cutting a 3/8” V notch on the outside of the oak stakes or ¼” drill hole 1” to 2” down from the top  of biologs. (male)
   
8.  Cutting the 9 gauge galvanized wire with wire bolt cutters. Length to be determined in field. Cinching the stakes with the 9 gauge wire over the biologs. (male)
   
9.  Measuring and the coir matting every 12” each way and securing with metal staples (female or child)
   
10.  Securing the coir matting with the wire staples where marked. (male or female)
    
11.   Rolling out the second coir matting with a 6” overlap. (male or female)
    
12.  Tying the coir matting with string every 12” at the coir along the splice. (female or student)
    
13.   Measuring and poking the plant holes thru the coir matting every 12” each way. (two person team measuring and poking holes (male, female or student)
    
14.   Inserting 1 tbl. fertilizer in each hole. (male, female or child)
    
15.   Inserting the plants in the holes. (male, female or child)
    
16.   Placing the upland row of biologs and staking. (males)

FIGURES 1, 2 and 3

FIGURE 1

Project failure in Brick by private homeowner professionally installed by an environmental services company. Coir matting and Spartina alternilflora completely destroyed by nor’easter early April, 2011.

FIGURE 2

LIVING SHORELINE ORGANIZATION AND JOB TASKS

A.    Appoint 3 or 4 Job Captains to supervise a group of tasks listed below.

            Example: Fred, Howard…..etc.

B.    Appoint two Registration Captains to sign in volunteers and assign tasks listed below. Example: Marion, Lucille…..etc.

C.   Bill McGrath will be there at 7:30 with his equipment and a helper to stake-out the first row of biologs then proceed to stake-out the second row.

TASKS:

1.    Carrying biologs and positioning at staked-out location  (males)

2.    Carrying oak stakes to location. (males or females)

3.    Marking biologs every 23 inches with a magic marker starting at 6 inches in from the end. (female)

4.    Pounding the 2” x 2” x 48” oak stakes in on each side of the biologs at the marked locations leaving 12” of the stake exposed. (young males)

5.    Carrying the coir matting rolls to the site and rolling out along the first row of biologs and tucking the edge of the roll under the biologs. Note the oak stakes for the upland side of the biologs should not be driven until the coir matting is rolled out and tucked in.  (males or females)

6.    Cutting the 9 gauge galvanized wire every 30” with wire cutters. We need 200 30” lengths cut from 5 100’ long rolls. This wire will be used to cinch the stakes over the biologs. (female or child)

7.    Measuring and marking the coir matting every 12” with a magic marker for the wire staples. (female or child)

8.    Securing the coir matting with the wire staples where marked. (male or female)

9.    Cutting a 3/8” V notch on the outside of the oak stakes 2” down from the top for the wire cinches. (male)

10.   Cinching the stakes with the 9 gauge wire over the biologs. (male of female)

11.   Rolling out the second coir matting with a 6” overlap. (male or female)

12.   Measuring and marking the coir matting every 12” with a magic marker for the plant holes. (female or child)

13.   Cutting the plant holes thru the coir matting where marked.  (male or female)

14.   Inserting 1 tbl. of Osmocote 18-6-12 fertilizer in each hole. (male, female or child)

15.   Inserting the plants in the holes. (male, female or child)

16.   Placing the upland row of biologs and staking. (males)

FIGURE 3

LIVING SHORELINE VOLUNTEER WORK FORCE PLAN

SUPERVISOR, TEAM AND REGISTRATION COORDINATOR:   Vic L.

REGISTRATION & TEAM ASSIGNMENT CAPTAINS: Lucille P and Marion M.

TEAM CAPTAINS:    Howard H. (Team #1), Fred B. (Team #2), Mike T. (Team #3)

REFRESHMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:  Bill G.

SURVEYING AND STAKE-OUT:  Bill M. and employee/helper.

TASK ASSIGNMENTS:

   TEAM #1:

     # 1 - Carrying biologs and positioning at staked-out location.

     # 4 -  Pounding the 2” x 2” x 48” oak stakes in on each side of the biologs at the marked

              Locations leaving 12” of the stake exposed.

     # 7 - Cutting a 3/8” V notch on the outside of the oak stakes or ¼” drill hole 1” to 2” down

              from the top of biologs.

    # 12 - Tying the coir matting with string every 12” at the coir along the splice.

    # 16 - Placing the upland row of biologs and staking.

   TEAM #2:

     # 2 -  Carrying oak stakes to location.

     # 3 -  Marking biologs every 23 inches with a magic marker starting at 6 inches in from the

              end.

     # 8 -  Cutting the 9 gauge galvanized wire with wire bolt cutters. Length to be determined in

              the field. Cinching the stakes with the 9 gauge wire over the biologs.

     # 13 - Measuring and poking the plant holes thru the coir matting every 12” each way.

     # 14 - Inserting 1 tbl. fertilizer in each hole.

    TEAM # 3:

      # 5 -   Carrying the coir matting rolls to the site and rolling out along the first row of biologs

                 and tucking the edge of the roll under the biologs.

      # 6 -   Snipping/cutting one strand of coir mat to allow room for 2” x 2” biolog stakes.

      # 9 -   Measuring and the coir matting every 12” each way and securing with metal staples.

      # 10 - Securing the coir matting with the wire staples where marked.

      # 11 -  Rolling out and cutting the second coir matting with a 6” overlap.

      # 15 -  Inserting the plants in the holes.