STONE HARBOR — The borough has requested more National Fish & Wildlife Foundation grant funding for the Point.
An amount of $46,000 was requested, almost half of which will be put towards educational pieces such as signs and brochures. The other portion will go toward salaries to hire an individual or individuals to monitor the protected areas and to cover the cost of writing the grant.
The Point is home to Piping Plovers, Common Terns, Least Terns, Black Skimmers and American Oystercatchers. It serves as a feeding station for Red Knots and a seasonal migration stopover for thousands of shore birds.
“Stone Harbor hosts a very important location for bird conservation globally,” Julian Miraglia, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, told the Herald.
The borough is also in the process of completing designs with Duffield Associates for the construction of observation platforms for the Point. Duffield Associates will also build the structures. Miraglia said he hoped construction would be completed by the end of the year.
The new grant proposal was discussed at an Aug. 7 council meeting because it included language about dogs on the beach conflicting with borough ordinances and language referencing Champagne Island; a fluctuating piece of land in Hereford Inlet, two thirds of which is owned by Middle Township. One half of one third is owned by Stone Harbor, and North Wildwood owns the other half.
Miraglia expressed concern the references be changed at an Aug. 7 meeting and a new version of the proposal amending the language was sent to Mayor Suzanne Walters’ desk and signed Aug. 31.
Miraglia told the Herald council expects a response from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation by November 1.
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