Learn About Ocean City's Back Bays With Free Lecture

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Curious about Ocean City's back bay system and wetlands? The Environmental Commission is hosting a free lecture and Zoom session on "Ocean City’s Back Bays: Past, Present and Future."

The lecture, held on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the City Hall Council Chambers, will be led by ACT Engineers, Inc. and Ocean City High School Student Environmental Association students. You can also join via Zoom at this link.

"Sea level rise and storms pose increasing threats to the health of marshlands in Cape May County. The back bay system and wetlands in the areas near Ocean City provide critical habitat, offer recreation, and protect the barrier island from storms and coastal flooding," Ocean City said.

According to the city, it received two grants to help protect and restore Shooting Island, a 150-acre uninhabited island across from Ocean City's Tennessee Avenue.

These grants helped create a living shoreline on Shooting Island and fund a shellfish nursery, which is called an upweller, at the Bayside Center. Shellfish grown in the upweller will be used on the island and in the bay to help protect and stabilize the back bay system, the city said.

"Ocean City High School teachers and students will share what they have learned about the back bay ecosystem, raising shellfish from seed, and maintaining the upweller," Ocean City said.

ACT Engineers' Dr. Nick Brown will explain Ocean City's Back Bay Adaptive Management Plan and its path toward improving the ecosystem.