Haldy Gifford, 78, owns the outermost home at the edge of Grassy Sound, a chunk of marshland strung along the Intracoastal Waterway in Middle Township.

Ten years ago this month, the previous outermost home broke from its pilings and drifted into the channel during a powerful nor'easter, floating away as residents watched from the boardwalk that connects the community.

Gifford fears erosion is coming for his home, too. He and his wife, Patty, live their summers perched at the edge of the boardwalk, watching spectacular sunset views a few thousand feet from the Atlantic Ocean.

During a recent September storm, Gifford was blunt as wind whipped his poncho and battered the marsh: "We're going to wash away. There's no saving it."

Unless, he said, there's some major help from the state or fed

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