 As part of #PlasticFreeJuly the American Littoral Society is asking members and supporters to join the global movement to #breakfreefromplastic by signing your name in support of the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act.
This bold federal legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Tom Udall (NM) and U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) to tackle the plastic pollution crisis. Take the pledge and do your part to protect our ocean, waterways, and wildlife from plastic pollution. Together we CAN make a difference.  It was an honor to be joined by the First Lady of Japan, Mrs. Akie Abe and the office of the Consulate General of Japan on September 26 for a shoreline cleanup of Jamaica Bay. Participants in the cleanup also included staff from the National Park Service and Gateway National Recreation Area, as welll as several volunteers. From September 23 to September 27, Mrs. Akie Abe visited the New York accompanying Prime Minister Shinzo, where she had various exchanges with many people. In addition to participating in a beach cleanup on September 26, she also visited the American Littoral Society offices in Jamaica Bay and received a briefing from Tim Dillingham, Executive Director of the Society, and Don Riepe, Jamaica Bay Program Director, about Littoral Society conservation activities in the Jamaica Bay.  SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY MARCH 9 TO PROTECT THE OCEAN AND COAST! On January 4, 2018 the Department of the Interior released a Draft Proposed Plan for new offshore oil and gas leases. This radical proposal puts over 90 percent of our offshore waters up for lease to the oil and gas industry. We are working to empower citizens to make raising your voice as easy and meaningful as possible. Your comments must be submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management by March 9.
This ill-conceived leasing plan puts our coastal communities, health, and national security in harm’s way. Allowing this proposal to advance will put tourism economies at risk of being destroyed; leave historic fishing livelihoods one spill away from being shut down and devastated for years; and could cause decades of living and playing along our beautiful oil-free shores to be completely swept away by a dirty, polluting industry. Take action! Join us in opposition by sharing your personal perspectives by March 9. Your individual opposition is the most powerful way to convey to our federal representatives why this plan must be abandoned.  In an unprecedented move, the Trump administration unveiled a proposal Thursday which could expose the entire US coast to economic and environment catastrophe by permitting drilling in virtually all U.S. continental shelf waters, including protected areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic.
"This is a radical plan that will increase the risk of disasters in all US coastal areas," said Tim Dillingham, Executive Director of the American Littoral Society, which is based on Sandy Hook, NJ. "Only a few years ago, common sense and bipartisan opposition ended a plan to open the Atlantic to drilling. Now, despite objections from even the US military, the Trump administration is jeopardizing millions of jobs and economies that contribute billions to the US GDP with a plan to not only offer leases in the Atlantic, but also open the Arctic and Pacific coast to drilling."  This spring the American Littoral Society will be conducting school field trips at the Wreck Pond restoration site. The field trips are part of the pond restoration project and are intended to continue educational programs begun at some area schools over the winter.
Field trips will involve students from St. Catherine School in Spring Lake, NJ, Wall High School in Wall Township, NJ, and Communication High School, which is part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District. Field trips will run through May and into the beginning of June.  The task seemed imposing at the start of the day: Turn 50 tons of whelk shell into a reef off a remote beach on the Delaware Bay using little more than manual labor.
But thanks to 70 volunteers, aided by staff from the American Littoral Society, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, that mountain of shells turned into something worth shell-a-brating. The work was done as part of the Third Annual Shell-A-Bration, an event which has brought together people from nearby communities to help protect and restore beaches damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. This year's event was held on Saturday, April 8 at Thompsons Beach in Maurice River Township, NJ.  Ignite your child's love for learning with a week at the American Littoral Society's Coast Camp. Camps are being held on Long Beach Island and Sandy Hook, NJ in July and August.
Sitting at a PC or turning the pages of a book, kids can develop an interest in the coast. Standing in the surf with the wind in their face and a horseshoe crab in their hands, they can develop a passion for it. |
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