William Bowen is the oldest living resident of Money Island. He remembers a time when there was a wide, sandy beach in front of his home.
Now workers are helping him replace the small, sandy ground that was washed away in super storm Sandy last year. Mr. Bowen says he will not leave his home.
Money Island is not an island. It is a village of small, older homes in the wetlands of southern New Jersey.
Money Island sits where the Delaware River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Mayor Robert Campbell says it seems Hurricane Sandy was a powerful influence on New Jersey officials. He says state agencies are now making policies aimed at forcing people to move away from the coast. The government is requiring use of strong, structural supports to raise houses high above flood levels. And he says new costly rules are being ordered for waste and water systems.
Blue Acres is a state program that buys houses in flood zones. Renee Brecht is with the environmental group The American Littoral Society. It opposes using millions of government dollars to protect a small number of houses from rising sea levels.
Ms. Brecht says sea walls and other costly measures will only work for a short time. She would like to make much of the area a natural preserve for local wildlife. She notes a nearby project led by another organization, the Nature Conservancy. It turned 86 hectares of badly damaged neighborhoods into a protected area for plants and wildlife.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25