Healthy coastal habitats are not only important for New Jersey’s fish, birds, and wildlife, but also play an important role in protecting our communities and human infrastructure.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Coastal Program Biologist Danielle McCulloch will discuss how healthy wetlands, maritime forests, and beaches in coastal New Jersey (including Sea Girt!) provide habitat for migratory birds along the Atlantic flyway. Ensuring the health of these coastal habitats also protects coastal communities from storm and flood events, as evidenced during Hurricane Sandy.

Danielle will provide a primer on the imperiled species that depend on these habitats, how U.S. FWS restores degraded coastal habitats, the importance of nature-based engineering, why we need to match the ecology through invasive removal and native plantings, and what we can all do to help.