Bob Makin

@ReporterBMakin

Birders are very familiar with the “pools” along the Wildlife Drive of Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, renowned for their abundance of waterfowl, shorebirds, and other water birds. Within the impoundments, 239 bird species have been reported to eBird.org, including impressive high counts of shorebirds and waterfowl. It all enjoys plenty of tourism.

But there is a nagging problem: These man-made diked wetland habitats with water control structures, also known as impoundments, are vulnerable to sea level rise and extreme weather. Through a $470,000 federal grant, Bernardsville-based New Jersey Audubon is studying the importance of these impoundments that can be managed through manipulation of water levels.

This refuge is just one of 170 coastal impoundments stretching from Massachusetts to Virginia that New Jersey Audubon is studying as part of a three-year project to assess the vulnerability of these ponds to sea level rise in this era of climate change.

Impoundments are often drained in the spring to expose mudflats for migrating shorebirds, and then raised in the fall to provide open water for ducks and other water birds through the winter. Researchers are identifying which impoundments are critical for supporting wildlife habitat and for serving the human population.

Their value to birds is apparent to anyone who has watched tens of thousands of shorebirds roosting and feeding in the impoundments of Heislerville WMA in southern New Jersey, or to the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors to the wildlife drives and trails at Brigantine’s wildlife refuge.

“With sea level rise, some of these impoundments can and ultimately need to be saved, others can’t,” said Nellie Tsipoura, senior research scientist and director of Citizen Science for New Jersey Audubon in a news release. “This is a really exciting project and a novel regional approach for more focused efforts to reduce climate vulnerability to human communities while enhancing ecosystem functioning and value.”

“The Coastal Impoundment Vulnerability and Resilience Project” is funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior via the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. New Jersey Audubon and its partners are mapping and cataloging all state, federal, and privately-owned coastal impoundments in the study area. The team, which includes National Wildlife Federation, Conservation Management Institute of Virginia Tech, Princeton Hydro, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is looking at 45 clusters of impoundments, collectively numbered at 170.

The project has five objectives:

Develop a comprehensive GIS catalog of coastal impoundments from Virginia to Massachusetts, including location, size, elevation, proximity to human communities, and hydrological features

Assess societal importance, ecological value, and climate vulnerability

Prioritize impoundments and focus on how they can be saved through climate-smart management, restoration, and conservation

Educate local managers and stakeholders on the issues and potential solutions

Get youth involved.

“Superstorm Sandy was a powerful reminder in 2012 that, in addition to being valuable, these coastal impoundments are also extremely vulnerable,” said Eric Stiles, president and CEO of New Jersey Audubon. “Damaging and expensive breaches to embankments occurred at numerous impoundments in the path of the storm, such as in Brigantine and the Meadowlands. Ongoing sea level rise, especially at the accelerating rates predicted through climate change, will greatly compound these threats. That’s why this study is so vital.”

Tsipoura said New Jersey Audubon and partners will develop a ranking of impoundments based on metrics related to their ecological value, importance to human populations and potential for maintaining their structural integrity. The results of analysis and prioritization can serve as the basis to develop management plans and make cost benefit decisions about the long-term management of the sites, she said.

New Jersey Audubon said it expects the work to be completed by Oct. 15. Visit www.njaudubon.org.

Staff Writer Bob Makin: 732-565-7319; bmakin@gannett.com