by   Here at Osprey we care about the environment and our beloved New Jersey coast line. We have seen from experience how erosion and beach replenishment can effect both the wildlife that lives along our beaches as well as the people enjoying the beaches New Jersey has to offer. Over the next year or longer, We are going to be monitoring the coast in different locations as a case study in order to better understand how the beach replenishment operations and coastal erosion has been effecting our coastal shores.
   Recently, We had the opportunity to visit Ortley Beach. During our visit we sent up one of our drones to capture aerial images of the erosion that took place after the recent January 2017 Nor’Easter storm that washed much of the replenished sand away and back into the ocean, leaving behind cliffs of sand that prevent people from accessing the ocean.  Many people are upset with what had taken place and they are forced to have to climb down steep cliffs in order to access the waters edge. Some people believe that the replenishment is protecting the million dollar homes along the barrier islands and preventing another Hurricane Sandy repeat. This may be true to an extent, but unfortunately mother nature will always win this battle.
   No matter how much money and sand is used in these replenishment projects, the sand is always going to be washed away and moved by the sea, whether its one storm like the January 2017 nor’easter or a large passing hurricane like Sandy. After the recent storm, many NJ coastal towns were effected, not only Ortley Beach but other towns all over the state as south as Wildwood to towns on Long beach Island and even further north up into Long Branch. All of these towns had replenishment projects done at the cost of millions of tax payer dollars.
   Back in previous years we had photographed locations such as Deal NJ where many jetties including popular fishing spots were covered by the replenishment. These Jetties were homes to many species of fish , crabs and birds that use the jetties to survive. Unfortunately most of these popular fishing spots are now extinct and the people who used them will only have the memories of the great times and wildlife at these once special locations.
   -These next few photos were taken before the Deal NJ beach replenishment project in 2014. This was the Marine Place Jetty. This Jetty which was a fantastic fishing spot and home to many species of wildlife, It has since been dismantled and is now buried under replenished sand , along with many other jetties that were once here, all of the wildlife that once lived there is now gone.
  -Some more photos of the Marine Place Jetty in Deal NJ and the local fisherman enjoying what once had to offer.
-This photo was taken right after the beach replenishment project that took place in Brick Beach NJ. You can see the Bulkhead wall the Army Corps of Engineers constructed as a barrier to block the ocean . You can also see how they fortified the front of the bulkhead with sand . Unfortunately all the sand they had used to create that barrier has since been washed away. Now the residents are left with a large eye sore wall and can no longer access the ocean without using a ladder to climb down to the waters edge.
 -These photos were taken after the recent 2017 January Nor’easter. You can clearly see the sheer cliffs that the public are forced to climb down in order to access the ocean . This is a clearly an issue for people who might be disabled or the elderly and can no longer access the ocean in these areas.
If you are interested in learning more about how Drones can help monitor coastal erosion, Follow this link provided by http://www.QuestUAV.com – https://www.suasnews.com/2017/01/questuav-drones-reliable-accurate-tools-coastal-monitoring/
Stay Tuned to our blog in the future regarding these replenishment operations and coastal erosion.
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