SRCC Busy in Neptune

 

Some major developments have recently been proposed in Neptune and SRCC was right there to examine the details of the proposals and to make sure everything was done to protect water quality in Shark River. 
Jumping Brook Corporate Park has been approved by the Neptune Planning Board and will be located off Jumping Brook Road Behind the AIG building.   SRCC took a proactive approach to this plan and notified the applicant that their stormwater management plan was insufficient.   After meeting with Ed Lippincott and an SRCC Attorney we negotiated a more suitable stormwater treatment plan that will go much further to ensure maximum water quality downstream.
There is a proposal before the planning Board to build a Loews at the corner of Rte 66 and Green Grove Road.   SRCC met with the developer before they went before the planning board and also met with the local homeowners to help them galvanize their opposition to this proposal. 
We are also ready to assist Neptune Township revise their Master Plan to ensure proper planning in the future.
 

Twice a year since our inception, the Shark River Cleanup Coalition has held river cleanups along the banks of the Shark River Bay.  These events are held in the spring and fall every year and have helped keep the shores of the bay clean, to raise public awareness, and to give us all a chance to know one another.  In the last two years we have added kayaking to the cleanup as well as a barbeque afterwards for all the participants.  Now we want to kick it up a notch and that's where you come in. 

This years Fall River Cleanup has been scheduled for 9am on October 3rd at Memorial Park Beach in Neptune City. We wanted to open it up to everyone so we are adding a general membership meeting to let you have a say.  We start registration at 8:30am and begin the cleanup at 9am.  Everyone meets back at the park at 11:30 am and then we open it up to you.  Ask questions, tell us what you're worried about or things you feel we should be doing.   I will be there as well as the Board of Directors and local elected officials.  Even if you don't have any questions it will give us all a chance to meet and rally around the river we all care so much about.  
 
This year we want everyone to come out and meet one another, enjoy the beautiful Shark River Bay, and talk about the important issues affecting the Shark River.  So please come help us and ask the questions you need answered.



 

Summer is busy for everyone and we're no different.  The local planning boards still meet and developers still make plans to build more.  And we're all trying to enjoy the river we love so much.  This newsletter is to let you know what we're doing to protect  the river so we all have a chance to enjoy it safely.

Horseshoe Crabs Counted
 

For the fourth year in a row, the Shark River Cleanup Coalition with the help of many dedicated volunteers, managed to document and record spawning data for horseshoe crab breeding in the Shark River Bay.  Begun as an Eagle Scout project the annual count has expanded to include a tagging program as well.  Seven beaches are documented on twelve separate nights during the spring and early summer.  Horseshoe Crab numbers are counted and recorded and some crabs are removed from the water and tagged to track their movements.  Horseshoe crabs are long lived and their eggs form an important part of the food chain in estuarine environments.  The data is used to track crab populations as well as their movements and to establish and protect important breeding areas.   If you have a group that wants to learn more please contact us and we'll be glad to do a presentation or check out the PBS documentary "A Tale of Two Species."
 

Dredging Still on Hold
 

There is no further progress to report on getting the Shark River Bay dredged even though everyone agrees that the River is badly in need of dredging.   There was a meeting held in Wall Township in June where NJDEP announce that they are proposing lowering the amount of material to be dredged from one million cubic yards to one hundred thousand cubic yards.  The change is because they have eliminated the dredging of the "historic" channels and will only dredge the current state channels.   This still doesn't address the main issue of where to de-water the material.  Call your elected officials and ask them what they are doing to help get the River dredged.
 

See you at the River Cleanup,