NJ State Senator Among Trio Honored at Members Day

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NJ State Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman (L) receives an award for outstanding environmental contributions from Littoral Society Executive Director Tim Dillingham.

​NJ State Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-16) was recognized for his outstanding contributions to coastal conservation at the American Littoral Society Members Day on Saturday, June 26.

The Littoral Society also saluted restaurateur Marilyn Scholassbach and the NJ Field Office and Coastal Program of the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) for their coastal conservation efforts. The Society was pleased to have Sen. Bateman and his family at the event to receive the award, along with a Danielle McCulloch Prosser for the USFWS.

The awards were just one aspect of the annual celebration for Littoral Society members, which took place at Society Headquarters from 9 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event included seining, a botany walk, birding, shell scavenger hunt, a beach cleanup, and the annual Board of Trustees election – which was followed by a catered lunch and live music. ​

In January, Sen. Bateman announced he would not be seeking another term. He has served NJ's 16th District in state legislature since 1994, when he was elected to the General Assembly for the first of seven consecutive terms.

In 2008, Bateman was elected to the state Senate, where he currently serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Environment Committee, the Joint Committee on Public Schools and the Joint Committee on Housing Affordability.

During his tenure, Bateman has earned a well-deserved reputation for putting his constituents ahead of polluters and developers, while working to ensure that everyone in New Jersey – regardless of political affiliation or zip code – has clean air, safe drinking water, and open space.

Among his top environmental legislative achievements is bipartisan legislation to create permanent funding for open space and farmland preservation, which was signed into law last year.

Sen. Bateman has also supported legislation signed by Governor Murphy to reduce carbon emissions and mandate utilities source 50% of their electricity from clean renewable energy, solar and wind, by 2030, and the “30x30 campaign” to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.

In 2019, Bateman joined a bi-partisan effort to enact legislation on a core Littoral Society priority: protecting the public's right to access the beaches and waterfronts in New Jersey.

"This important legislation will protect the public's rights to get to and enjoy New Jersey's beaches and waterfronts by providing new tools to deal with long-standing public access problems," said Tim Dillingham, Executive Director of the Littoral Society, who co-chaired a commission which studied the issue and made legislative recommendations. “Sen. Bateman’s work helped cement into law that projects that receive public money – including beach replenishment projects – be consistent with the public trust doctrine and provide everyone with meaningful public access to the shore.”

In addition to being the culinary creative behind such Asbury Park landmarks as the Langosta Lounge and Pop’s Garage, Schlossbach is also a community activist whose charitable initiatives include collaboration with Interfaith Neighbors on Asbury Park’s Kula Café and Urban Farm, community gardening and surf lessons with the Boys and Girls Club of Asbury Park, Food For Thought by The Sea's not-for-profit food truck, and unwavering support of environmental organizations like the American Littoral Society ,Clean Ocean Action, Surfrider Foundation and Waves For Water that work to protect coastlines and marine environments.

Staff from the NJ Field Office and the Coastal Program of USFWS have worked hand-in-hand with the American Littoral Society for decades on projects such as re-establishment of a maritime forest in Bradley Beach, restoration and protection of beaches along the Delaware Bay, and the installation of a fish passage culvert that was key to a multi-million rehabilitation of Spring Lake, NJ’s Wreck Pond and reduced flood risk to the nearby community.