Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab
In Spring 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Philadelphia District partnered with the State of New Jersey, The Wetlands Institute (TWI), and the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center to launch the Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory (SMIIL). The initiative is designed to advance and improve dredging and marsh restoration techniques in coastal New Jersey through innovative research, collaboration, knowledge sharing and practical application.
Seven Mile Island, New Jersey was chosen to host an Innovation Lab due to the presence of existing and historic dredged material placement sites, confined disposal facilities, federal and state channels including the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway (NJIWW), extensive tidal marshes, and the location of The Wetlands Institute that serves as a field laboratory and base of operations. SMIIL goals focus on maintaining safe navigation channels while retaining dredged sediment in the system to benefit natural ecosystems and coastal communities.
SMIIL Project Information
Articles in Print
- Seven Mile Times, 05/2020: Improving Dredging and Marsh Restoration Techniques
- BoatU.S. Magazine, 10/2019: Rebirth of New Jersey Marshland
- Seven Mile Times, 12/2018: Coastal Resiliency
- Seven Mile Times, 12/2017: Effects of Rising Sea Level
- Seven Mile Times, 12/2016: Beneficial Reuse of Dredge Materials
Web Resources
- NJ Spotlight News online article: On New Jersey’s barrier islands, a needed focus on saving bayside seashores
- Story Map article: One Person’s Trash is Another Person’s Treasure: How dredged sediments can help rebuild drowning coastal marshes
- Podcast: Protecting Fragile Coasts and Improving Community Resilience
- Video: Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab project overview
- Podcast: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA)
- Wetlands Institute online article: Can Dredge Materials be Beneficial to Marshes?