Policy and Legislation - Success Stories

Climate Change: We secured the inclusion of funding from greenhouse gases polluters to be used in promoting the restoration and stewardship of the state’s tidal marshes and forests for their ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere – an important strategy in addressing global warming.

Wetlands Protection: We won passage of the New Jersey Wetlands Protection Act of 1970 which halted the destruction of tidal wetlands, habitat and marine life through dredging and filling. We kept up the pressure and later expanded these protections upstream with passage of the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act.

Coastal Lands Protection: We spearheaded passage of the New Jersey Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA), which regulates what and where development can occur in our coastal areas. Since then, we have monitored CAFRA’s enforcement and informed its renewal every five years. In the current cycle, at the invitation of the NJ DEP, we evaluated the efficacy of the past 30 years and gathered input from stakeholders throughout the state to develop recommendations for improvements at the upcoming renewal in July 2010. Our report is available on request.

Wildlife Conservation: Since our founding we have advocated for and educated the public about how to protect endangered, threatened and species of concern such as piping plover, terns, osprey, Atlantic sturgeon, horseshoe crabs and red knots. In 2008 we were successful in securing moratoria  on the harvest of horseshoe crabs for bait to protect dwindling crab populations and the imperiled red knot shorebirds that depend on them. We continue to educate the public about these species and monitor their progress.

Coastal Habitat Preservation: We have snatched numerous natural treasures from the bulldozer’s path including critical habitat in Stone Harbor Point, Smithville, and Atlantic City. In 2008 we thwarted Wal-Mart’s bid to build a super-center inside the acquisition boundaries of the Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and then helped annex the 77-acre tract to the Refuge. After 17 years of litigation, we are on the verge of saving the last piece of privately owned open space within walking distance of the ocean in Cape May from development. This 90-acre parcel is an important stopping place for migrating shorebirds.

The Public’s Right to Access the Shore: We were the earliest voice upholding the public’s right to access NJ’s water and remain a driving force for beach access in a state where pressure to privatize the coast runs high. We have achieved precedent-setting decisions in the courts that have protected and expanded the public’s right to access our beaches and our urban waterfronts, reinforced the applicability of the Public Trust Doctrine to beach access cases, required that beaches in towns receiving public monies for beach nourishment actually be open to the public, and strengthened the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s authority to regulate public access issues.