News
NJ Beaches Set For Summer
By John Burton
SANDY HOOK - It was a rough winter, especially for the beaches, but New Jersey beaches were tough enough to take it, said Dr. Jon Miller of Stevens Institute of Technology, as he assessed the state of the state's shoreline last week.
Miller, an environmental and ocean engineer at the institute, located in Hoboken, drafted the annual report detailing the State of the Shore for 2010, for the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium/New Jersey Sea Grant, detailing the condition of the shore areas, with the day's event allowing the consortium to announce the 10 best beaches in the state, based upon votes cast by those visiting them.
Miller noted that it was possibly one of the worst winters for storms in the past half-century. But overall, he assessed the state of the shore by quoting Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times," he said.
The past five years have been relatively mild, he explained, even though this winter saw a series of storms, starting in October and going until March 13 that were tough and, "caused lots and lots of beach erosion," especially the November storm event, he said.
The good news is, "It's fortunate we were in a good position to absorb that blow," Miller said at a press conference last Thursday at the Sea Gull's Nest restaurant, located at Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook, a national park.
The state of the shore report is not just about finding a pleasant place to visit and for the sake of the state's bragging rights, speaker after speaker stressed; it's about the condition of the environment - important for all life - and the state of the economy. More than $40 billion is expected to be spent on tourism in New Jersey this year, a major engine for the entire state's economy, according to Bob Martin, acting commissioner for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. More than 70 million will visit the state's beaches, and an estimated 444,000 jobs are directly related to those visits, added Anthony Minick, acting director for the state's Division of Travel and Tourism.
Federal Park Ranger Peter McCarthy, who is stationed at Sandy Hook, said a projected 1.5 million would visit the park this summer, even with the expected delays related to the ongoing Highlands bridge construction project. "It should be a very interesting year," he predicted.
"When people come to New Jersey they expect the beaches to be safe, clean and open," Martin said, noting a team from his department, on orders from Governor Chris Christie, would monitor the continuing oil spill occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. "We would be seriously remiss to not do that," though any of that oil traveling this far would be unlikely, Martin said.
"We want to protect the great asset we have here in New Jersey," Minick said.
This was the eighth year of the state of the shore report, and the third annual vote for the state's top 10 beaches. A total of 59,638 votes were cast by those visiting New Jersey beaches last year. The number of votes cast has tripled over the last three years, said Dr. Stewart Farrell, of Richard Stockton College's Coastal Research Center.
Avalon Borough won 10th place; Cape May Point came in at nine; Seaside Heights at eight; Island Beach State Park, Berkley Township, seven; City of Cape May at six; Sea Isle City at five; Asbury Park at four; Long Beach Island at three; Ocean City at two; and winning first was the Wildwoods with the Wildwoods also recognized as the best beaches for family vacation, for tourism, events and ecotourism, according to the votes.
Tom Gilmour, Asbury Park's director of commerce, saw Asbury's inclusion in the top ten beach list as evidence of the city's continuing renaissance. "We just happen to be a popular town," he said.
In the first year of the beach vote, Asbury finished sixth, moving up to fifth place last year before making number four this year.
For next year, "Let's try for number three," Gilmour said. "Come on," countered state Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini (R-11), whose district includes Asbury. "Let's go for number one."
