 The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed, with modification, the approval of a Green Acres land swap in I/M/O Seaside Heights Borough Public Beach. Litwin & Provence LLC and Eastern Environmental Law Center represented the American Littoral Society and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, who appealed the June 2016 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and NJ State House Commission (SHC) Green Acres disposal approval. The approval allowed for the unprecedented transfer of 1.37 acres of municipally-owned beach to a private developer in exchange for a wooden carousel built in the 1890s, a smaller “boardwalk facing” land (but not beach front), and a 67-acre wetland parcel in Toms River. Following the swap, the private developer built a private amusement pier on the beachfront parcel. Monday’s decision modified the challenged approval, but ultimately affirmed the disposal of the public beach.
 Editor’s Note: In June 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13840 Ocean Policy To Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States. This executive order formally revokes Executive Order 13547 Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes, issued in July 2010 by former U.S. President Barack Obama. MEAM interviewed Sarah Winter Whelan, director of the American Littoral Society's Ocean Policy Program and Healthy Oceans Coalition, about what these changes mean for ocean planning in the U.S., including existing regional ocean plans.
MEAM: This new ocean policy will likely lead to big changes in how the U.S. federal government participates in regional ocean planning. What are your thoughts on what this means for the existing Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regional ocean plans?  Jennifer Crow, a science teacher at Rumson's Forrestdale School, receives her 2018 Coastal Conservation Award from Tim Dillingham, Executive Director of the American Littoral Society. In August the American Littoral Society will recognize two supporters for their outstanding contributions to coastal conservation.
Jennifer Crow, a teacher at Rumson School District's Forrestdale School, and Mayor Gary Engelstad of Bradley Beach, will join Chris Cole, a partner at Metrovation, and Greg Quirk, who is retiring from the American Littoral Society Board of Trustees, as recipient of 2018 Coastal Conservation Awards. "The Littoral Society is honored to have supporters such as these," said Tim Dillingham, Executive Director of the American Littoral Society. "Their efforts not only help us continue our work protecting and preserving the coast, but provide an outstanding example for others." |
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