MILTON, Del. (AP) - State and federal officials are celebrating a restoration project at Delaware's Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell planned to join Gov. Jack Markell and Sen. Tom Carper on Friday to tout one of the largest federally funded restoration projects on the Atlantic Coast.
The $38 million project restored 4,000 acres of coastal marsh and rebuilt existing dunes and barrier beach to improve natural defenses against storms and sea-level rise.
This event comes one day before the fourth anniversary of Sandy, a massive storm that expanded dune breaches at Prime Hook, resulting in saltwater intrusion that killed freshwater vegetation and increased habitat loss.
Officials say the restoration of habitat and natural tidal water circulation will enable salt marsh vegetation to return, providing habitat for birds and other wildlife.
