Braddock Bay Restoration: The last piece of the Rochester Embayment AOC puzzle

Photo By Jess Levenson | To address the gradual loss of a historic barrier beach and the erosion of over 100 acres of wetlands at Lake Ontario’s Braddock Bay, a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative project team has implemented Engineering With Nature principles to provide a sustainable restoration solution. Pictured are the new emergent wetland, barrier beach, invasive species treatment, and channels and potholes.  

GREECE, NY, UNITED STATES

09.30.2018

Story by Jess Levenson 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District

By: Dr. Michael Izard-Carroll and Jess Levenson

To address the gradual loss of a historic barrier beach and the erosion of over 100 acres of wetlands at Lake Ontario’s Braddock Bay, a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative project team has implemented Engineering With Nature principles to provide a sustainable restoration solution. This project completed the last management action necessary for the future delisting of the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern.

A team led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed a hybrid design providing meaningful ecological benefits while also strengthening coastal resiliency. State and local partners are committed to maintaining the barrier beach, monitoring project effectiveness, and applying adaptive management principles that will ensure these benefits are long lasting. The Bay now boasts a 90-percent increase in native plant species and the restored beach has been visited by a wide variety of shorebirds including the federally endangered piping plover.

"This project is a win-win-win," said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer.

Catalyzed by the project, the Town of Greece, New York has invested $1.7 million to revitalize recreational uses that provide access to the bay. “The quality of work and level of follow-through was amazing,” said Scott Copey, Planning Board Member with the Town of Greece. “This is regionally significant and I can’t imagine a better team to handle it.”

Here and across the basin, GLRI is protecting and restoring important ecological systems and having a positive economic impact on local communities.

Braddock Bay Ecosystem Restoration Project
Learn more about this project and the partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and The Town of Greece.

• Date Taken: 09.30.2018
• Date Posted: 10.03.2018 10:35
• Story ID: 295260
• Location: GREECE, NY, US