Save Our Bay

Save Barnegat Bay (SBB) had their annual meeting last night in Lavallette and it was heartwarming to see close to 100 concerned people in attendance. The meeting was hosted by Willie deCamp (Chairman of SBB) and his passion for saving our bay is well known and respected throughout the state. 

The topics discussed varied from an effort to bring back the bay’s oyster population by depositing oyster seeds onto quahog clam shells allowing them to grow to maturity, presented by Jim Merritt of Reclam the Bay – to Dr. Paul Bologna’s talk on the life cycle of the Stinging Sea Nettles and their recent population explosion in our bay – to Willie’s discussion on the ever-increasing presence of nitrogen in Barnegat Bay, the passage of the Lawn Fertilizer Bill, which Save Barnegat Bay actually wrote and the fact that we must personally and actively participate in reducing the amount of nitrogen which reaches the bay by doing such things as replacing our “stone” lawns with vegetation, permitting the nitrogen in our rainwater to be absorbed by these living things before it reaches the bay. Save Barnegat Bay was victorious in having this Lawn Fertilizer Bill become the model for the nation.

Assemblyman John McKeon, who chairs the Assembly’s Environment Committee, then spoke about citizen advocacy and how important it was for all of us to get involved. The degradation of our bay is not only an environmental issue; it should be an urgent economic concern since New Jersey's economy is so dependent on tourism and recreation and the health of Barnegat Bay is paramount and a key concern. 

Governor Christie was quick to take credit for being a “champion” of Barnegat Bay, but he certainly is not holding up his part of the bargain – he chose to veto important parts of the new legislation that Assemblyman McKeon, Senator Smith (Chair of the Senate’s Environment Committee) and Save Barnegat Bay worked so hard to craft. For example, the whole issue of stormwater management is not being addressed.

There is now additional legislation to “Save Barnegat Bay” on the Governor’s desk and it is important for all of us to let him know that he must sign these bills. We can no longer sit by and wait for everyone else to lead the charge – we have to stand up and be heard. So: Citizens of New Jersey, put your pens to paper, voices into the telephone and fingers on the keys to your computer, because each one of us has the power to affect change.