The Innovation Lab advances dredging and marsh restoration techniques through innovative research, collaboration, and practical application. It is the result of a groundbreaking partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the State of New Jersey, The Wetlands Institute, and the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center.
“The Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab is pioneering the effort to advance innovative approaches to restoring these marshes and reversing decades of damage.”
THE SMIIL encompasses more than 24 square miles of tidal marsh, coastal lagoons and bays behind the barrier island communities of Avalon and Stone Harbor. It is bisected by the NJ Intracoastal Waterway and the home of five beneficial use project complexes.
USACE Engineers and Barnegat Bay Dredging Crew Site Inspection and Planning – Sturgeon Island
Dredged material placement on Sturgeon Island to build marsh resiliency
USACE ERDC Scientists and Engineers testing a new dredging technique – Sturgeon Island
TWI Scientists monitoring wading bird colony to document site usage at restoration sites – Gull Island
The Wetlands Institute scientists servicing an automated sampling system in the Avalon marshes
USACE ERDC scientist monitoring marsh restoration – Gull Island
USACE scientists collecting data for engineering design – Gull Island
TWI Scientists monitoring water chemistry at marsh enhancement site – Avalon Marshes
