DEP grants $4.8M to restore Nellie Bennett Salt Marsh

To protect wildlife habitat, drinking water system; reduce flooding and erosion

Originally published to the front page of the Ocean Star on April 24, 2026

POINT PLEASANT — The Barnegat Bay Partnership will receive $4.8 million to restore 13 acres of the Nellie Bennett Salt Marsh, state officials announced this week.

Residents, council members and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection employees converged at Seagull Terrace off Beaverdam Creek on April 22, when Ed Potosnak, acting DEP commissioner, announced the funding.

The Barnegat Bay Partnership, established to protect and restore the water quality and ecological integrity of estuaries of national significance, is one of the latest awardees of the DEP’s Natural Climate Solutions Program. The program seeks to foster partnerships and invest in natural solutions that provide flood protection and other measurable environmental and social economic benefits, according to Potosnak.

“So today, I am pleased to announce the award of $14.8 million in grants for three projects in Cape May, Cumberland and Ocean counties,” Potosnak said. “The (Nellie Bennett) project will restore marshland and safeguard a school. It’ll protect drinking water infrastructure and homes from flooding right here in the northern Barnegat Bay region.”

The other two projects are the Mouth of Maurice River Project, which seeks to restore 13 acres of marsh along a highly vulnerable marsh island in the northwest reach of the Maurice River mouth in Delaware Bay; and the Shooting Island Project, in which Ocean City will receive $5 million to restore 136 acres of salt marsh on Shooting Island, situated along the Intracoastal Waterway west of Ocean City in Great Egg Harbor Bay.

The work will include elevating and rebuilding the marsh platform using 29,000 cubic yards of dredged material from nearby lagoons, supplemented by municipal compost placed within coir logs (biodegradable tubes used for erosion control) in high marsh areas, according to a press release from the NJDEP.

“Once complete, the restored marshland will provide valuable wildlife habitat and serve as a buffer that protects the Nellie Bennett Elementary School, nearby drinking water infrastructure, local roadways, and more than 150 homes in surrounding neighborhoods vulnerable to flooding and erosion,” the release said.

Dennis Blazak, chairman of the Point Pleasant Environmental Commission, explained the significance of the event, emphasizing the multitude of important effects on the local environment.

“We are here to mark Earth Day; the first Earth Day was in 1970, and back then this was a fully functioning salt marsh,” Blazak said. “What we are doing today is getting funds so we can restore it back to its natural condition and help the Nellie Bennett salt marsh protect the surrounding community and the town of Point Pleasant itself. We’re protecting critical infrastructure like storm evacuation routes, public drinking water supply, and of course Nellie Bennett Elementary School.”

The elementary school, located on the north side of the salt marsh, is named for Nellie F. Bennett, who was active in the local schools, serving on the PTA, school board and many community groups.

Blazak said that the preservation of the marsh will yield positive results, and is only possible because the town was able to acquire the land. “We did have a piece (of the salt marsh) that was in private hands, but over the course of the last 12 months, the town has purchased the whole thing, so it's now 21 acres. The title is with the town itself, so it’ll be preserved forever as part of the list of preserved properties and we’ll return it to a natural condition,” he said.

Acting Commissioner Potosnak said the project is part of the ongoing efforts of recently elected New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill to invest in natural environmental solutions. “Under the Sherrill Administration, the DEP is doing its part to bolster statewide resilience, and responding to one of New Jersey’s most formidable environmental challenges, and that’s flooding,” Potosnak said.

He explained that in both coastal and inland communities, flooding threatens habitats, homes, infrastructure and businesses. “For that reason, the DEP is delivering on its mission to support smart flood mitigation strategies that help neighbors and neighborhoods prevent property loss and those costly repairs from the flooding themselves.” He said partnerships between the DEP and local governments and nonprofits are absolutely crucial for projects like Nellie Bennett.

Point Pleasant Mayor Robert Sabosik was slated to speak, but unfortunately had to miss the event. Sabosik told the Ocean Star that the marsh is a place of extreme cultural significance to the town. “On the first Earth Day in 1970, children could walk across this entire marsh, as it protected the Boro from storm surge,” he said. “We’ve implemented many capital projects to help mitigate flooding, restore our marsh and other environmentally sensitive projects. We also believe in volunteers and support our very active Environmental Commission and other organizations that do so much to help our area. This grant will no doubt have a tremendous impact on these and future efforts”

Councilman Joseph Veni commented on the grant, saying “We’re very excited to accept it today. This is something we’ve been working with for many years alongside our environmental commission. Today is one of the biggest days because we’ve been working on this and we know how important our environment is to us.”

Councilwoman Valerie Coulson also spoke on the importance of environmental protection. “This is very exciting for Point Pleasant Borough to ensure that the living shoreline is maintained. It was a really great thing that the DEP gave us the money to do this because we’re not getting any more shoreline, we have to preserve what we have,” she said.