The Wildwoods, one of New Jersey’s most popular summer destinations, is preparing for its usual onslaught of tourists and beachgoers. But this summer, North Wildwood, one of The Wildwoods’ towns, is in for a different reality, where most people will be lucky to find remnants of a beach. 

Sand from North Wildwood’s beach is washing away at a devastatingly fast rate and according to Mayor Patrick Rosenello, the state of New Jersey has failed in its duty of protecting his town’s shore, essentially leaving the community to fend for itself when it comes to fighting the erosion. The town did so by trucking in sand from neighboring Wildwood over the past ten years on its own dime. However, the situation has reached a breaking point because 2022 was the final time North Wildwood would truck sand in, and summer 2023 will see no imported sand for the first time in a decade.

Two months ago, North Wildwood sued the state for $21 million, claiming this was how much the town had spent to combat the erosion. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) countersued a month later for $12 million, saying the town had completed beach restoration projects without approval. Unfortunately, Caryn Shinske, NJDEP’s press officer, and Michele Kropilak, manager of the NJDEP’s Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement, have declined to provide any commentary, stating they are unable to do so because this is an ongoing litigation. The legal battle and halt in trucking sand will have major implications for the future of the tourism industry in North Wildwood, as well as the homes and businesses of year-round residents.

“[The state has] dug their feet until it became an absolute crisis, which is where it is right now,” said Rosenello.

Following superstorm Sandy, the state and Army Corps of Engineers spent approximately $800 million on shore protection, but The Wildwoods, which encompass one of the only three free beaches in the state, received three-tenths of one percent of those funds. Rosenello explains that one has to go back to 1962 to understand why the island received such a tiny fraction. That year, there was a powerful storm that destroyed many areas along the shore and triggered a long series of federal and state replenishment projects up through the 90s’.  

“The Wildwoods had the largest beaches in the state of New Jersey, actually the widest beaches on the East Coast. And so getting The Wildwoods into one of those federal projects was never a priority…[but] that began to change in the mid 1990s [when the] North Wall in particular began to lose beach.”

The problem is, at that point, the procedures and regulations to kickstart a project had become too troublesome to make any progress, which leads back to today’s struggles.

Marguerite Wisch owns The Sahara Motel on 18th Street and Alante Motel on 8th Street. She kindly explained all of the problems she’s experiencing and projecting for the upcoming season.

“There is going to be a lot of turmoil this year,” said Marguerite.

She highlighted that incoming guests asked her if there’s going to be a beach when they show up, and others have already canceled their reservations. Local homeowners have also expressed concern over their properties.

“It’s damaging the price of property. From 2nd Street to 7th Street there’s no beach. I own a condo on 6th Street also and the people that live in [the building] are asking ‘Where do we go? What do we do?’ We’re not beach property anymore.”’

Additionally, Marguerite predicts that there will be spillover effects on the motels and streets that still have beachfront access. Both of her motels remain beachfront property, but the motel and beach area will become incredibly dense and unpleasant because of the concentrated influx of people who would’ve otherwise gone elsewhere. Clearly, she is extremely concerned about her guests’ experiences.

“The parking is going to be horrific.”

Marguerite’s and many others situations are incredibly unfortunate, especially when considering how well the tourism industry has done the past couple years. Ben Rose, Director of Marketing and Public Relations of the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Authority explained that The Wildwoods as a whole saw record-breaking tourism in 2021 and 2022, with 2022 being the best year yet. Most of this success is attributed to COVID-19, for The Wildwoods saw a significant increase in tourism volume because all those who would’ve flown for vacation during the pandemic ended up traveling locally.

Nonetheless, Ben’s perspective on the situation aligns with Mayor Rosenello’s and Marguerite’s.

“They need a permanent solution down there as far as affecting tourism. All of the rental properties and all of the hotels that are directly opposite the beach… could be affected because people will no longer be able to just walk straight down to the beach and enjoy [it and the ocean].”

For now, all the locals and tourists can do is wait for the state to step in and start the beach restoration projects that are long overdue. Hopefully such initiatives will begin soon and any future damage will be mitigated.