A Delaware group's Backyard Stewardship Program joins communities like Big Stone Beach to protect horseshoe crabs.
Since the late 1990s, one of the most influential advocates for horseshoe crabs has been based out of Delaware.
Ecological Research & Development Group, led by Glenn Gauvry, has conducted research, raised awareness and led efforts to preserve the ancient species in the Delaware Bay and worldwide.
Over the decades, Gauvry has found a way to include local communities in protecting horseshoe crabs by setting up "backyard sanctuaries" around Delaware's coastline. Big Stone Beach is the most recent addition to this collection of sanctuary communities.
What transpired is a conservation effort that is largely community-led, aiming to educate the public and preserve a species that predates all flying insects and has saved countless human lives.
Horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay
The Delaware Bay ecosystem and horseshoe crabs' symbiotic relationship has played out over millions of years.
To date, the Delaware Bay is the world's largest spawning grounds for horseshoe crabs, and millions of eggs laid annually on its shores are proof of that.
Eggs laid by horseshoe crabs also provide a critical food source for migratory shorebirds like the endangered red knot. Both species have seen population declines that have caused concern among ornithology and conservation communities. As the crabs wriggle around on the seafloor, they aerate the sediments and promote a critical nutrient cycling process that benefits all types of organisms.
Horseshoe crabs also play a crucial and often overlooked role in human health. Their unique blue blood contains a substance called Limulus amebocyte lysate, which is so sensitive to contaminants that it is used in the processes of vaccine testing. However, the widespread demand for its blood has led to unsustainable harvesting practices.
After the blood of horseshoe crabs is extracted, the crabs are then released back to their habitat; but they are left vulnerable and often die soon after.
Glenn Gauvry started ERDG, which advocates for and educates about horseshoe crab populations, in 1995. A major initiative he has advocated for is the group's Just flip 'em Program, which brings attention to the hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs that die each year after being stranded upside down and encourages bystanders to flip the creature over.
What is backyard stewardship?
Gauvry's knowledge of horseshoe crab protection paid off when it came to establishing the Backyard Stewardship Sanctuary Program with ERDG.
Written in Delaware's Code is a stipulation that horseshoe crab harvesters must receive written permission from property owners adjacent to the shores they plan to use before harvesting horseshoe crabs.
The Backyard Stewardship Sanctuary Program simply uses this section of Delaware's Code to its advantage by asking people who live along the coastlines to opt-in to the program. In doing so, they are put on an official list with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. If a horseshoe crab harvester happens to wind up on their property, the homeowner can contact DNREC, who will enforce the bylaws of the Delaware Code.
All that ERDG asks of its backyard stewards is to prohibit the harvesting of horseshoe crabs adjacent to their property, to avoid hardening shorelines - which inhibits the ability of horseshoe crabs to spawn - and to actively participate in the Just flip 'em Program.
Over the past nearly 25 years, ERDG has worked with 11 different communities around the coast of the Delaware Bay, who have all agreed to abide by the three rules.
Big Stone Beach 'transforms' into sanctuary
Big Stone Beach, a small, quiet community nestled between Bowers Beach and Slaughter Beach, is the latest addition to ERDG's backyard sanctuary community.
Gauvry tried to get the Big Stone Beach community on board years ago, but hadn't amassed enough community support. Since there is no governing body overseeing these communities, Gauvry said it's important that each individual in the community is on board to joining the program.
But things changed about a year ago when community member John Hofmann reached out to Gauvry after hearing about the program and inquired how the community could get involved.
Hofmann and his wife Nancy decided to spearhead the sanctuary movement in Big Stone Beach after seeing a horseshoe crab harvester collect a large number of crabs off their shores and haul them away.
"We didn't really want to see that happen again, because all of us down here spend our mornings flipping crabs," Hofmann said. "This guy undid what we spent a year doing in just a couple of days."
After a few meetings, Big Stone Beach's community was on board. The residents were asked to write their own words for a plaque that is on display near their shores.
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"This integration [with ERDG] transformed our beach into a designated sanctuary for horseshoe crabs," the plaque says. "Far from being merely symbolic, this partnership embodies our collective dedication to compassionate coexistence with other species and underscored the importance we place on preserving both our beach and its rich natural resources."
To Gauvry, Big Stone Beach and the 10 other communities that have signed on to this program are an example not just of grassroots conservation, but an act of compassion of the purest form.
"[These communities] are a gateway for education to a broader audience, and it's a gateway to one's heart," Gauvry said. "They ought to be really proud of themselves. They might be small, but they stand up; and people who stand up get things done."
Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.