Published 9.3.2025 by the Cape May County Herald
Beach nourishment – the practice of pumping sand from the sea floor onto eroded sandy beaches – has been making headlines in New Jersey lately. Beach nourishment projects are most often cost-shared with the federal government. With each of these stories, the same question is often posed – is it worth it?
Nearly all of America’s sandy coastlines are eroding. The causes are well understood. Dammed rivers have cut off natural sediment supplies, sea levels are rising, and coastal storms are becoming more intense. As a result, shoreline communities (many of which see their populations increase twentyfold during summer months) require regular restoration to remain viable.
Despite their small size and short peak seasons, Shore towns in the Garden State generate billions of dollars in local, state and federal tax revenue every year. They provide teenagers with their first jobs and many families with some of their most cherished memories. They are economic engines that rely on healthy, accessible beaches to attract visitors, protect
property and support local businesses.
Critics often point to the federal government’s annual investment of $100 million to $200 million in beach nourishment as wasteful. But far greater sums are spent each year on wildfire prevention, flood control and drought mitigation in other parts of the country. Those investments are widely accepted as necessary. Coastal protection should be no different.
One of the bedrock principles of any investment decision is return on investment. For beach nourishment, it provides a solid return. According to research from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, every $1 invested in beach nourishment generates $200 in tax revenue. In total, U.S. beach tourism brings in around $36 billion per year, four times what has been spent on beach nourishment in the past century.
Another age-old misconception is that federal beach projects benefit only private property owners. In reality, the Army Corps of Engineers requires guaranteed public access before it conducts beach nourishment. These are public beaches, and the funding supports public use, public safety and public infrastructure.
I’ve worked with dozens of coastal towns across the United States. Many are small municipalities with billion-dollar economies that could be devastated by a single major storm. Thanks to beach nourishment and coastal protection structures, many of these communities are far safer today than they were a decade ago. Without ongoing coastal protection efforts, millions of Americans will face rising economic risk, increased flood exposure and irreversible loss of public shoreline.
Beach nourishment is not a luxury. It is a strategic investment in basic national infrastructure, economic stability and public safety. The question shouldn’t be whether we can afford to continue funding these projects, it’s whether we can afford not to. While it may not be cheap, New Jersey’s beaches are worth the price to save them.
Dan Ginolfi
Stone Harbor
Editor’s note: Dan Ginolfi is the executive director of the American Coastal Coalition, a nonprofit representing coastal communities in Washington, DC. The coalition’s mission is to work with Congress and the Corps of Engineers to protect coastal communities from hurricanes and flooding by securing federal appropriations for beach nourishment and resilient coastal infrastructure.