Temporary snow fencing will be installed in coming weeks across several paths at Second Beach as part of an off-season sand preservation effort.
Beach Manager Michael McGourty said the movable fencing will be placed at paths 2, 3, 6 and 7 and remain in place for the off-season before being removed before summer 2026.
The most-used walkways to the beach — paths 1 and 8 as well as the large gap in front of the beach pavilion, which includes paths 4 and 5 — will remain open throughout the fall, winter and spring, he said.
McGourty said the goal is to gather and save as much sand as possible and build sand reserves in the form of dunes to help naturally preserve the beach at 315 Sachuest Point Road.
“We know how important the beach is to everybody and we wanted to get the word out about what is going on,” McGourty said. “We’ve tried different techniques to help keep as much sand on the beach as we can and this is one that was recommended to us recently by a group of beach preservation experts.”
In March, the town’s volunteer Beach Commission received a report from Coastal Systems Research & Planning that outlined several steps the community could take to help preserve Second Beach.
Among the options recommended by the Cherry Hill, New Jersey, environmental firm was doing whatever possible to keep sand on the beach and not removing rocks. The firm also suggested limiting the dune cuts in the off-season to help collect sand better over the seven-plus months when the beach isn’t actively used as much.
The Coastal Systems Research study came after a particularly rough winter 2023 and spring 2024, when significant amounts of sand were stripped naturally from the beach by heavy wave action. That issue was not a problem going into summer 2025.
McGourty said the beach team opted to try beach fencing across several pathways after hearing the study results. Such fencing has been placed around many of the pathways in the past and has helped, he said.
“It’s actually quite fascinating to watch what the sand does and why,” McGourty said. “People assume that it stacks up in front of the fencing, but it seems to be very effective in capturing sand behind it too. It all depends on how the wind is blowing and a number of other factors.”
Facilities & Operations Manager Will Cronin said the Beach Commission has been clear it wants to do whatever reasonably possible to preserve Second Beach, and the fencing switch seemed like a good idea.
Long-term, Cronin said there are no plans to eliminate any of the existing pathways onto the beach permanently.
“Last summer was outstanding for us, but we saw what can happen from 2023-24, so we want to be as proactive as we can here,” Cronin said. “Everyone will still have access to the beach and the fencing seems like a low-cost, potentially high-reward solution.”