Report Focuses on Delaware Bayshore Future

PORT NORRIS – The downward trend of the economic health of Delaware Bay communities since the 1950s, and an upward trend in the frequency and strength of storms and coastal damage due to rising sea levels, gave birth to the New Jersey Delaware Bayshore Council in 2015. 
This association of 13 coastal bay municipalities and federal and state agencies, in their first annual report to the governor and Legislature, sees a brighter future for this mostly pristine area of Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties along Delaware Bay.
However, it warns that unless all stakeholders act now, the critical battle for a sustainable bayshore community lifestyle could be at risk.
The council was founded for “the purpose of advocating for the health and sustainability of…bayshore communities from the Cape May Canal to the Delaware Memorial Bridge, amplifying the voice of bayshore issues and community needs and facilitating a healthy balance of conservation and economic vitality,” as stated in the articles of incorporation.
The council’s guiding principle is that bayshore communities must unite to further their collective business and environmental interests and needs, rather than attempt to achieve those common goals as individual municipalities.
One example of the council’s collective advocacy is the letter written by Council Chairman Norris Clark to U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd). It requests intervention with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the case of Lower Township Council. That body had made application to FEMA to activate Scientific Resolution Panels (SRP) for an independent third-party review of the proposed ‘V’ Flood Zone along Delaware Bay in Lower Township.
Up until that point, FEMA had been unresponsive to the township’s appeal for a review of those zone designations.
The council’s report, issued Oct. 25, identified critical “action areas” that must be emphasized:
– Shoreline protection projects
– Re-vitalized economic development initiatives to sustain growth
– Local employment
– A unified bay-wide effort on the part of member stakeholders to achieve goals that are common to all communities along the bay.
The report provides details of the specific project descriptions including budget estimates that the Council will focus on in the coming years.
Some projects the council identified include dredging the Maurice River to help the oyster industry, shipbuilding, marinas and other enterprises in that area. New or improved roads are needed to facilitate new industries transportation needs as economic opportunities are developed.
Beach and dune replenishment in Middle and Lower townships, and additional tourism opportunities must also be developed, according to the report.
The report summarizes their position as follows: “For too many decades New Jersey ignored this significant natural, tourism, agricultural, seafood and maritime asset. It is past time to look at New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore Region as the asset that it is and to make investments in its future. The return on investment will be monumental for the state of New Jersey.”
The complete NJ Bayshore Council Annual report may be found at: http://www.delawarebayshorecouncil.org/.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.