As a part of his climate change tour of Delaware this week, Congressman John Carney stopped at the DuPont Nature Center Thursday.
The DuPont Nature Center, located at where the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek meet the Delaware Bay, has had a front row seat to the effects of sea level rise in recent years.
A long rock jetty was built along the shoreline decades back to fend off the rising seas. But over time, storms created breaches and hastened the pace of coastal erosion.
The area is also home to horseshoe crabs and shorebirds like the red knot, which was just placed on the threatened species list at the end of 2014.
Dawn Cox, manager of the DuPont Nature Center, says the shoreline erosion has made life difficult for horseshoe crabs and the shorebirds that depend on them.
“This is a vulnerable area and we have spawning horseshoe crabs," said Cox. "It’s one of the hotspots for that and with less shoreline and less sandy area for the crabs to lay their eggs in, that’s going to prevent shorebirds the ample food they need to refuel and go on up to the Arctic.”
Efforts to rebuild the shorelines at Mispillion Harbor were funded last summer by federal initiative to improve coastal resiliency across the country. One ongoing project involves living shoreline developed by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.
Carney says that visiting places like the Mispillion Harbor helps recognize the importance of coastal resiliency projects and their role in supporting the state economy.
“The state has identified the Delaware Bayshore as an ecotourist attraction. And if it’s going to be there, we have to make sure the shoreline is resilient, so these projects are really important," said Carney."
In addition to the DuPont Nature Center, Rep. Carney has also stopped at other areas where sea level rise is a concern, including the Prime Hook Wildlife Refuge, the Inland Bays, and Wilmington’s Southbridge neighborhoods.
His week-long examination of the topic concludes Friday with a roundtable discussion at the DuPont Environmental Education Center on Wilmington's Riverfront at 1:30 pm and a 45 minute Facebook Q&A staring at 3 pm.
