Recovery

Severe autumn storms in 1992 accelerated erosion along Strawberry Island's southwestern shoreline, and in December the Niagara River broke through the island into the lagoon interior. By spring, the breach had widened to more than 50 feet, threatening to destroy the island, eroding areas opposite the opening, and silting parts of the lagoon that served as a valuable fish-spawning area. The United States Army Corps of Engineers, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation joined to seek funding, while local businessman Frank Levin and the Strawberry Island Alliance supported protection efforts. The breach was repaired by December 1993 with geotextile fabric, rock, topsoil, and native vegetation, and final plantings were completed in spring 1994, but longer-term protection was still needed against storms, winter winds, and boat traffic. Beginning in 1996, a second phase added more erosion control measures, including geotextile fabric and more than 30,000 cubic yards of stone, and by 1997 it had protected more than 1,000 feet of shoreline. A third phase began in summer 1999 and strengthened the island's western and eastern arms with offshore berms of rock and wetland soil set 100 feet from shore to block waves, trap eroding soils, and encourage wetland vegetation. Contractors and volunteers finished native plantings in spring 2002, and the work reestablished 3.03 acres of wetland using marshland soils removed during an environmental enhancement project at nearby Buckhorn Island marsh.

Grand Island, New York · United States