Republican Governor Chris Christie, 53, is fighting shore-front homeowners in court for easements that the Army Corps says it needs before work can begin to build protective dunes. It’s not just the tourism industry at stake: The four Jersey Shore counties have combined property value, for tax purposes, of $293.5 billion -- about a third of the state’s total.

Changing Tides

Sand pumped from the ocean floor, though, requires replacement about every four years, plus emergency repairs when storms strike. Year to year, funding gets less certain, as congressional Republicans object to the 66 percent federal cost share. Warmer ocean temperatures in the next century, meanwhile, will lead to stronger and more frequent typhoons and hurricanes worldwide, according to 2013 research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a journal of the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit group.

Seaside Heights, made famous by the drunken escapades of Snooki and her housemates, was devastated in October 2012 by Sandy. The Casino Pier’s roller coaster plunged into the ocean, becoming a symbol of the storm’s might. Funtown, a pier several blocks south, was badly damaged, and then destroyed a year later when fire swept the boardwalk.

Under a plan approved this year by the state, the Casino Pier’s owners intend to rebuild its amusements over sand instead of over water. As part of the deal, Seaside Heights is trading 1.4 acres of a public beach -- valued at more than $4 million -- for 67 acres of out-of-town wetlands, a parking lot and an historic carousel.

Budget Gap

The borough says it has no choice: Struggling with a smaller tax base, it asked the state this year for help to close a $2.7 million budget gap. In a town where just 3,000 people live year-round, the swap is “a critical way to stimulate the local economy,” according to a state filing.

“While we’re losing some beach, we’re also going to be able to pick up a lot of beach through the Army Corps project, so the public will be able to use that,” Christopher Vaz, the borough administrator, said by telephone. The out-of-town wetlands, he added, was the best conservation move. “We’re mostly asphalt,” he said.

Construction will start in September on the Casino Pier expansion, according to Maria Mastoris, a spokeswoman for the owner. Environmental rules made duplicating the original design too costly, she said, and too risky in the event of another storm.

“It’s always been a tourism town,” Mastoris said by telephone. “It’s definitely going to bring more tourism to us.”