by Patricia A. Miller
Last year hundreds of Ocean County residents trundled their used Christmas trees to area drop-offs, to be used to help build up decimated dunes at Island Beach State Park after Superstorm Sandy.
But this year, the tree donations are not needed, according to the Friends of Island Beach State Park's Facebook page.
"Island Beach State Park advises that they are not accepting Christmas trees as they did last year," the Facebook page states. "The need for specific dune restorations are being evaluated and will be determined in the coming weeks."
Plans for dune restoration at the park will be announced at that time," according to the Friends' page.
"Thank you to all who donated their trees to the dune restoration project last year," the page states.
The state has partnered with the Army Corps of Engineers in a storm damage reduction project from the Manasquan Inlet to the Barnegat Inlet. But Island Beach has been excluded from the plan so far.
Berkeley Township officials have said much of the damage to the Glen Cove, South Seaside Park, Good Luck Point, and other waterfront sections of the township was caused by dune breaches at Island Beach.
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