Saturday, April 13, 2013
Goal is to have entire park open for peak summer season, access to park is free until May, DEP commissioner says
More sections of Island Beach State Park are now open to the public, nearly half a year after Superstorm Sandy tore through the park's dunes and damaged facilities. Roughly five miles of beach access points - more than half of the nearly 10-mile park - are now open, state Department of Environmental Commissioner Bob Martin said. The park will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, for the first time since Oct. 29, the day Sandy roared into Ocean County. “Thanks to the hard work of park staff, partnerships, volunteers and contractors, we have seen considerable progress in the cleanup and restoration of Island Beach State Park,” Martin said in a statement Friday. “This is all part of the Christie Administration’s plan to have a strong summer…
Friday, January 25, 2013
State Park System officials hoping to reopen entire park by summer
Nearly three months after Superstorm Sandy swamped Island Beach State Park, sections of the park are now open to the public, free of charge. “This partial reopening of Island Beach State Park is an important benchmark in the state’s recovery from Sandy,” Gov. Chris Christie said. “While there is still much work to be done, we know that having even partial access to the park is important to residents and visitors and we are thrilled to welcome them back.” Ocean Bathing Area 1 - four miles south of the park entrance - is now open for walking, four-wheel drive access and sport fishing. Four-wheel drive vehicles with park-issued permits can enter the beach at Ocean Bathing Area 1 or at Gillikin’s Road, which is 1.2 miles north of Ocean Bathing…
Saturday, October 20, 2012
A limited cranberry harvest is now underway at the historic bogs at the state park, after a two-year hiatus
Call it a rite of autumn. For the first time in two years, cranberries are being harvested from the tea-colored waters of the bogs in historic Double Trouble State Park. A sea of crimson berries bobbed gently in the Gowdy bog this week, close to the vintage cranberry and sorting house that is part of the park's historic village. And Joseph Brandt was happy to be there. Brandt and his business partner James Corsey own Southampton-based Honest Berries. The state Department of Environmental Protection granted the company a limited use permit for the 2012 fall cranberry harvest. Brandt hopes Honest Berries will be around a lot longer than that. He'd like a long-term lease to maintain and harvest the bogs. "I'd like to keep if for the next 20…
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Area Supervisor Ray Bukowski wants to offer as much as possible to the public while preserving park's ecosystem
When Ray Bukowski was offered the chance to become the new area supervisor of Island Beach State Park, no one had to ask him twice. "I said, 'Sure, here I am,' " he said in a recent interview at the park office. He put in his time with the state Department of Environmental Protection before he became the overseer of this nine-mile long barrier island that looks much like it must have when Henry Hudson first sailed the "Half-Moon" into Barnegat Bay back in 1609. Bukowski began working for the DEP back in 1992, after he graduated with a degree in environmental science from Stockton State College. He spent nearly 20 years working in a variety of DEP posts - including air enforcement, coastal enforcement and a stint at the DEP's Deputy …
Monday, July 16, 2012
Public information session starts at 6 p.m., followed by public hearing at 7 p.m. in Toms River
State Department of Environmental Protection officials and New Jersey State Police will be on hand Tuesday to discuss the state's Radiological Emergency Response Plan for the state's four nuclear plants. The public information session on the plan begins at 6 p.m. in Room 119 in the Ocean County Administration Building at 101 Hooper Avenue in Toms River. The information session will be followed by a public hearing at 7 p.m. Both events are required by the state's Radiation Accident Response Act. Representatives of the DEP’s Bureau of Nuclear Engineering, Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Office of Emergency Management, Division of State Police will attend the hearings and respond to questions and comments from the public. …
Monday, June 25, 2012
This would be the second season no leaseholders have stepped up
The acres and acres of bogs at Double Trouble Start Park are dotted with the tiny pale pink flowers that will soon be transformed into crimson cranberries by early October. But this year, like 2011, it's unlikely there will be anyone to harvest the berries. No leaseholders for the bogs have stepped forward for the 2012 harvest, said Robert Considine, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "If we decide to lease the bogs, it would be doubtful that the lease would be finalized in time for someone to be able to harvest cranberries in October, as the lease would have to be approved by the State House Commission, whose next meeting is in September," Considine said. That was disappointing news to Daniel Crabbe, whose …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
New buoys could help officials map out the ideal bayscape and put models into action
To boaters, the new, brightly-colored buoy anchored just outside the main channel south of the Route 72 causeway bridge is a curious addition to the bayscape that few will think about after whizzing past. But the buoy is one of four across the bay that officials say will help paint a detailed picture of how the entire waterway can be transformed into the ideal estuary. The buoys dot the bay in four strategic locations: the mouth of the Toms River, the area just south of Oyster Creek, adjacent to the Route 72 bridge and near Little Egg Inlet. "We are working to have a model of how water moves throughout Barnegat Bay," said Jill Lipoti, Director of the Division of Water Monitoring and Standards for the state Department of Environmental …
Friday, May 4, 2012
Township to receive
Nonprofit groups throughout the township will soon be able to share in a pot of $97,525, thanks to a state Clean Communities grant. The state Department of Environmental Protection recently awarded a total of $13.86 million to 559 communities throughout the state. "I want to thank the state for their commitment in funding this program," Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said. "Each year, many nonprofit community groups take advantage of our "Adopt a Spot" or "Adopt a Road" Clean Communities program. The funding also provides for equipment related to the clean-ups, education and enforcement of litter laws. " Amato was on hand recently to help the Central Regional Alumni Association "Adopt a Spot" - at the east gate on the Central Regional High …
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
A good place to reflect and relax
The entrance to the Garden State Parkway is less than a mile down the road. But the woods, bogs and streams of Double Trouble State Park are much the same as they were 100 years ago. The cranberry plants in the massive bogs near the cranberry sorting house are under about a foot of cobalt-blue water. It's a much different scene than last fall, when the bog was dry and the tiny plants were turning crimson in the October sun. The sugar-sand trails that wind throughout the 8000-acre acre park off Pinewald-Keswick road are nearly deserted. A lone jogger, a few hikers and two women taking their dogs for a romp are the only people to be seen. There are ten cars pulled up near the park entrance on a mid-winter afternoon. The pines and birches …
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Bear hunting season in New Jersey began Monday
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 2011 Bear Hunt began Monday with hunters in possession of a permit allowed to kill one black bear each. Bears are only allowed to be hunted in specific zones, which include parts of Morris, Sussex, Warren, Somerset, Bergen and Hunterdon counties, extending to the Pennsylvania and New York borders. The six-day hunt, which was also held last year, is designed to help the DEP regulate bear population. According to the DEP, there are about 3,400 black bears living in a 1,000-square mile area north of Route 78 and west of Route 287. The DEP said the northwest corner of the state has one of the highest black bear population densities in the country. "We are fully committed to this …
Resident of Lacey
7:41 am on Monday, April 15, 2013
Don't be silly, we needn't let anything stand in the way of cashflow! How else are we going to have a strong summer tourist season at the shore. Rules are for residents to the revenue machine they are more like guidelines and totally optional. more ›