December Littoral News December 1, 2021 
Annual Appeal December marks a time of giving – giving thanks for the bounties of life; giving gifts to express feelings of love, friendship and kindness; and very often, giving to the causes that are nearest and dearest to your heart.
Every year at this time, the American Littoral Society embarks on the “Annual Appeal” – a year-end giving campaign to that allows the Society to start the year with the resources needed to continue its programs.
A recent report published by Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) noted that 40% of the US population lives along estuaries – that’s you! You live, work, and play in the exact areas the American Littoral Society works to restore, protect, and conserve.
Climate change threatens all we value at the coast. Natural solutions to climate impacts - such as oyster reefs, rain gardens, and marshes - are important to the future of coastal economies, and you can help make them possible. For every $1 invested in climate change mitigation, $6 is saved in recovery. This investment, your investment, can help avoid human suffering and improve habitats.
If you have already replied to the letter from Tim you received in your mailbox, thank you! If you have donated online, thank you! If you participated in GivingTuesday on Tuesday, November 30, thank you!
If you haven’t donated to the Annual Appeal yet, please make a donation today to preserve and protect your littoral zones.
COMING UP 
EarthShare NJ Blues Saturday, December 4 6:00 p.m. to end of show The Stanhope House 45 Main Street Stanhope, NJ
Join us for a blues concert for a greener tomorrow! EarthShare NJ Blues will be emceed by Tom Kaminski, WCBS helicopter traffic reporter, and will feature live performances by Tad Schaefer & The Troublemakers, The Incinerators, Lew Gatewood, and Chuck Lambert.
Proceeds support environmental nonprofits, including the American Littoral Society. 
Winter Solstice Walk Tuesday, December 21
Northeast Chapter Holiday Party Saturday, December 11 6 - 8 p.m. Via Zoom
This holiday season, join us for a virtual Northeast Chapter Holiday Party via Zoom.
There will be an "Ugly Auction," lots of information about Littoral Society projects and activities, and fun entertainment. If you would like to donate an Ugly Auction item, please contact Don@littoralsociety.org or call 917-371-8577.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Forked River Beach Living Shoreline Volunteer Work Days Every Day Except Sunday Until Saturday, December 18 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 1818 Beach Boulevard Forked River Beach, NJ. The American Littoral Society needs volunteers daily, Monday to Saturday, to assemble the baskets that will be used to build oyster reef segments off Forked River Beach.
Saturdays will be dedicated to engaging students from local schools and universities - but all are welcome! Students from Kean University are able to get credit for participation in the project. Ask on site for details.
Staff and trained volunteers will guide you through the work, which will continue all segments have been assembled.
Dress to get dirty and wear closed toed shoes. Gloves, safety glasses, and tools will be provided.
New Year's Day Beach Walks in NY and NJ What's the best way to ring in the New Year? With a walk on the beach. Which is why we're happy to announce that in-person New Year's Day walks are back in both NY and NJ.
Last year's excursions were halted due to COVID restrictions, but this year the American Littoral Society will be hosting one on Sandy Hook, NJ and another at Ft. Tilden, NY on Saturday, January 1. 
New York New Year's Day Walk Saturday, January 1 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. The Little Church Just inside Fort Tilden's 169th Street Entrance Queens, NY Free, Click here to Register
Celebrate the new year with a brisk walk along the beach. Meet at the little church just inside the 169th street entrance to Fort Tilden (note the Main gate will be closed).
We'll hike along the beach and visit the hawk watch platform on top of Battery Harris east.
At noon we'll try to communicate with the Littoral Society group hiking across the bight at Sandy Hook.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own snacks and water. Access to buildings may be limited due to National Park Service COVID precautions. Participants who are unvaccinated should wear a mask and anyone who has been recently exposed to COVID should stay home. 
Sandy Hook New Year's Day Walk Saturday, January 1 Gateway National Recreation Area Littoral Society Headquarters GPS: Building 18 on Officers Row Highlands, NJ
Help us ring in the new year with a brisk walk to the tip of Sandy Hook.
When we get there, we will attempt to signal the group hiking with the Northeast Chapter to the end of Breezy Point.
Access to buildings may be limited due to National Park Service COVID precautions. Participants who are unvaccinated should wear a mask and anyone who has been recently exposed to COVID should stay home. POLICY UPDATES & LITTORAL HAPPENINGS 
From Littoral Society Executive Director Tim Dillingham Dredging for Oyster Port Benefits Horseshoe Crab and Shorebird habitats
Click here to read more on additional topics, including the Technology Transfer Workshop with Restore America's Estuaries, the Society's concerns with back bay flood control structures proposed for the Atlantic coast, and our call for rigorous review of tax-payer funded beach nourishment projects in towns which have a history of blocking public access to the shoreline.
FISH TAGGING PROGRAM NEWS Littoral Society Appoints New Fish Tagging Program Director Join us in welcoming Emily McGuckin as the new American Littoral Society Fish Tagging Program Director.
A 2018 graduate of Stockton University, Emily earned a degree in Marine Science, with a minor in Environmental Science. Immediately after graduating, she went on to become a Fish Tagging Intern, working with Jeff Dement, the Littoral Society's former Fish Tagging Director.
After the internship, she continued to volunteer with the Fish Tagging Program over the years. When Jeff Dement passed away in January 2021, she stepped into his role as a volunteer and continued to help with the program until officially hired to the Fish Tagging Director’s position in September 2021.
Emily is really looking forward to improving on Jeff’s already amazing program and hopes to help the program grow scientifically as well as through membership. She really loves marine ecosystems and thinks it important to keep updating our scientific knowledge of fisheries, especially now, knowing that sea temperatures are changing. 
Understanding how different fisheries are doing along the East Coast helps the program advocate for issues important to the recreational fishing community and for the fish themselves.
She is always interested in any ideas someone might have to improve the program. If you'd like to become a fish tagging member or receive more information about the program, please email Emily at Emily.McGuckin@littoralsociety.org.
NORTHEAST CHAPTER NEWS 
Thank You from the NY State Beach Cleanup We wanted to send our gratitude to all the hard working volunteers, beach captains and community partners that participated in the American Littoral Society's 2021 New York State Beach cleanup.
The International Coastal Cleanup day in September was a great success and we are still getting results coming in. Over 50 cleanup sites participated this year, with hundreds of volunteers removing over 10,000 pounds of marine debris from our shorelines in New York State.
A special thank you to those partners that helped support the effort this year: ConEdison, The Lily Auchincloss Foundation and Resorts World Casino NYC. Another great year would not have been possible without all of you!
Thank you!
WeLuvU Foundation Cleans Up Broad Channel Park Jamaica Bay's Sunset Cove received a thorough cleaning on Sunday, November 21, by an army of smiling volunteers from the WeLuvU Foundation. The group descended on Broad Channel to remove shoreline debris from the cove and adjacent American Ballfield park.
RESTORATION PROGRAM NEWS Volunteers Key to Success of Forked River Reef Construction After months of delay due to supply chain issues, the work at Forked River Beach finally got underway in early November with the delivery of materials for building offshore reefs. Called HESCOs, these galvanized wire baskets will be put together by volunteers, then carried by barge to the reef site and filled with stone (to anchor them) and shell (to give oysters a home).
Education Program News 
Littoral Society Partners with Urban Promise in Bringing SeaQuest to Camden Students What did your kids do at school this week?
If you were a 6th or 7th grader at UrbanPromise you would have been knee deep in the Cooper River Lake!
As part of our environmental education focus, UrbanPromise has teamed up with the American Littoral Society for their SeaQuest program, a 6-week course focusing on the coastlines and the organisms that live there.
As part of that, students took part in a fish survey on Cooper River Lake, which involved using a seine net to collect fish and examined them. Students then discussed their observations of the fish and if they thought their environment and living conditions were healthy.
The SeaQuest program is designed around the idea that everyone deserves a connection with the environment in their backyard. Education is foundational to having SAFE (Swimmable, Accessible, Fishable, Equitable) waters along the Delaware in Camden, Philadelphia, and Chester.
Delaware Bay Program News 
Bridgeton School Rain Gardens Improve Water in Delaware Bay After being mulched and planted, the rain gardens at Bridgeton’s Indian Avenue School are now working to improve water quality in the Delaware Bay.
LITTORAL SOCIETY JOBS Littoral Society Seeks Shuck It, Don't Chuck It Program Coordinator The program coordinator of the Shuck It, Don't Chuck It program will be responsible for and expected to assist in coordinating the shell recycling program by growing the participation, collecting data, transporting recycled shell, forming relationships, speaking on behalf of the program/society at outreach and educational events and working with our associated partners.
This is a 2-year full-time position with the American Littoral Society. and is funded for September 2021 through August 31, 2023. Salary is $38,000 per year.
Littoral Society Seeks Development and Communications Associate The Development and Communications Associate will support the overall fundraising efforts of the American Littoral Society. The Associate provides administrative and operational support to the Development and Communications team and the organization as a whole. This position is a great opportunity to learn and grow the skills needed to be a non-profit fundraising professional.
SAVE THE DATE Montauk Winter Weekend: Seals, Seabirds, and Sand Dunes 
Thursday thru Sunday January 7-9 Manor House 236 Edgemere Street Montauk, NY $495/person (double occupancy) Single supplement, $100 extra
Enjoy a weekend at the eastern tip of Long Island during peak winter birding time. See many species of sea ducks including Loons, Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Eiders, and more. Hike the "Walking Dunes," Napeague Dunes and beach, and Montauk Bluffs, as well as visit the seal haulout site.
Cost includes two nights lodging at the luxurious Manor House (which has a heated pool and jacuzzi), a welcome dinner, evening programs/star watch, and five easy guided hikes to beautiful woods, dunes, shorelines, and vistas.
For more info and reservations call (917) 371-8577 or email: don@littoralsociety.org.
Save the Date for Littorally Local 2022 We know a year is a long time to look ahead, but the Littoral Society is excited to announce that the date for next year’s Littorally Local celebration has been set for Saturday, September 17, 2022.
Littoral Society in the News 
‘Biggest of its kind’ — living shoreline project to save Barnegat Bay beachfront For the past eight years, the Highlands-based American Littoral Society and partner Stockton University, along with concerned community members, have been quietly bringing to life a living shoreline project on Barnegat Bay. When completed, according to the society’s Executive Director Tim Dillingham, it will be “the biggest of its kind going on in New Jersey, so far.”
In November, the first of 168 four-by-three-foot, rock-filled, steel-wire cages were dropped into the water off the Lacey Township community of Forked River Beach. With three barges and three excavators, workers and volunteers have until the end of December to transform 1,000 tons of rock into seven, 200-foot-long reefs, arranged in a sawtooth pattern between 100 and 200 feet off the beach. Next year, crews will return to fill the exterior pockets that have been added to the cages with recycled whelk, clam and oyster shells. HESCO, the company that manufactures the cages, also specializes in body armor and “accommodation bunkers” to keep personnel safe in hostile territory.
“This is truly a community-based restoration project that’s been a partnership between volunteers, private, public, and nonprofit entities from the beginning,” said the Littoral Society’s Captain Al Modjeski, who is leading the effort, officially called the Forked River Beach Living Shoreline Project. “The hope is this can be used as a model for other projects in Barnegat Bay and beyond.”
Click here to read more in NJ Spotlight
Traveling Does The Heart Some Good
In November, Tracey Hall visited Chincoteague and Assateague on a Littoral Society trip led by Don Riepe, our Northeast Chapter Director. She wrote about it for Jersey Shore Scene, a collaborative website written by locals about the thriving lifestyle along the shore.
I always say we live in the best place in the world, the Jersey Shore, but sometimes the heart needs an awakening and travel holds the key! So many of my readers share their posts of adventures and it’s heartwarming to know that opening yourself up to something new and exciting is a value we all share.
I had the opportunity last week to take a trip off of my bucket list by going to Chincoteague and Assateague VA. Though not far from home, it’s a bit of God’s country as the locals there call it.
Why? As far as the eye can see, there are vast vistas of beach, dunes, trails, waterways, water-fowl, native species and of course, the wild ponies.
The excursion was offered by one of my favorite non-profits, The American Littoral Society who tirelessly work to enlighten us and help preserve our environment.
Click here to read more at Jersey Shore Scene 
Van Drew touts new 'Stronger Shores' effort in Atlantic City ATLANTIC CITY — In the shadow of the Murden, a 156-foot Army Corps of Engineers shallow draft dredge, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew on Tuesday joined military officials and locals to announce a wide-ranging initiative he’s calling “Stronger Shores.”
It will encompass the pending dredging of the mouth of the Maurice River, as well as longer-term efforts such as dredging of back bays and shipping routes from Cape May to north of Atlantic City.
“Stronger Shores is not a single project or policy,” said Van Drew, R-2nd. “Rather it is a policy campaign which will consist of many projects and policy initiatives and protect our way of life.”
The total cost of the projects outlined Tuesday would be in the billions of dollars. Much of that funding could come from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Van Drew said after the event Tuesday.
[The Littoral Society is involved in the project at the mouth of the Maurice River.]
Click here to read more in The Press of Atlantic City
Jamaica Bay site restored and reinforced Project protects West Pond, trail and shoreline The West Pond Loop at Jamaica Bay is reopened to the public, boasting nine acres of restored habitat and 200,000 new native plants.
The trail was closed so the West Pond Living Shoreline Restoration Project could be completed and a ceremony on Friday marked the reopening. “It’s been quite the journey to get here since Hurricane Sandy breached the pond just over nine years ago,” said Jennifer Nersesian, superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area.
Superstorm Sandy caused a breach on the border of the manmade West Pond, allowing saltwater to flow in and contaminate the previously freshwater basin, killing wildlife and vegetation.
...
The Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers were instrumental in advocating for the site, as were the American Littoral Society and NYC Audubon.
Click here to read more in The Queens Chronicle 
Plan for Oyster Reef Breakwater Off Lavallette Submitted to N.J. Officials A 65-foot long oyster reef is planned to be built in Barnegat Bay off the Lavallette boat ramp if approved by officials at the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The long-discussed plan, intended for its dual benefit of improving water quality and marine habitat while also restoring the adjacent shoreline and protecting the boat ramp from shoaling, was submitted to the DEP about two weeks ago. Officials are hopeful the reef, if approved, will also finally solve the shoaling issue at the West Point Island Bridge as well.
The borough has partnered with the American Littoral Society, an environmental conservation group, on the project, with the Littoral Society having been the party that formally submitted the application for development. The permit application calls for a 65-foot oyster reef that will extend perpendicular from the municipal bulkhead just north of the ramp. The reef will have its base formed by two rows of right Hesco units, a cage-like structure consisting of galvanized steel baskets that are filled with another material. Such units are common in flood-prone areas as well as in deployed military settings, where they are used for security and anti-rocket purposes.
Click here to read more in The Lavellette-Seaside Shorebeat
Volunteer Beach Cleaning Event Returns The New York Chapter of the American Littoral Society, the Town of North Hempstead and the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee and their partners would like to thank everyone who came out and made the beach clean-up a success. This year’s annual event saw 107 volunteers (adults, teens and kids) collect more than 200 pounds of trash. This year also saw the volunteer event happen in-person and at two simultaneous locations: Manorhaven Beach Town Park and, new this year, Bay Walk Park. Last year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee decided to forego the in-person event and instead encouraged volunteers to clean-up on their own and report what they found.
This year’s crew picked up more than 2,000 individual pieces of trash. Tiny trash (glass, plastic and foam pieces less than 2.5cm in size) made up over 40 percent of what was collected. Plastic in general was also a major component of the clean-up, which included bottle caps, food wrappers and a large pile of shrink-wrap used to protect boats in winter.
Among the more interesting finds were a lawn chair, lots of construction debris and a deceased shark (likely dogfish). The largest number of volunteers were Girl Scouts from various Port Washington and Great Neck troops. Also on hand for the event were State Senator Anna Kaplan, State Assembly Member Gina Sillitti, Town Clerk Wayne Wink, Town Councilmember Viviana Russell, Town Councilmember Veronica Lurvey and Port Washington North Mayor Bob Weitzner.
Click here to read more in The Port Washington News 
A New, Natural Normal Nearly a decade after Hurricane Sandy, a stronger coast benefits wildlife and people in a changing climate
In late October 2012, near the end of hurricane season, Hurricane Sandy—1,000 miles wide, with winds up to 80 miles per hour—came ashore near Atlantic City, New Jersey. Its arrival during a full moon and high tide created record-breaking storm surge in parts of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Wind, rain, and surf from the “superstorm” led to 150 deaths and more than $65 billion in damages.
Any way you look at it, Sandy was a disaster. Nearly a decade later, the storm and how we responded to it have provided valuable lessons to help communities, state and federal land managers, and many others prepare for next time.
Following Sandy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] received $167 million in federal funding to rebuild and improve storm-damaged facilities and wildlife habitat and make the coast more resilient in the face of rising sea levels and more-frequent intense storms.
A resilient coast absorbs storm surge and wave energy, recovering quickly with little need for repair. It’s a place where wildlife and people thrive. Working with nature, we can create such a coast.
[The American Littoral Society is partnering with USFWS on several restoration projects along Delaware and Barnegat bays.]
Click here to read more from the US Fish & Wildlife Service
JOIN US 
Membership, Renew or Join Today! Your loyalty and support enable us to continue to protect and care for the coast. Your membership supports marine science education programs for thousands of students, protecting and restoring marine life and habitat, and our efforts to defend the coast from harm. 
Show Your Support with Littoral Society Gear There are more ways than ever to show your support for the American Littoral Society. Now available at the Society online store are short-sleeve t-shirts in multiple designs/colors, as well as long-sleeve t's and baseball caps with the Society's name and/or logo.
More Littoral Merch Available at Bonfire You can support the Littoral Society by purchasing our official merchandise through our store on Bonfire.com. All proceeds support coastal conservation!
Bonfire is a free online platform where anyone can design, sell, and buy custom products. We handle payment processing, order fulfillment, and customer service so you can focus on connecting with your community.
Remember the Coast Make sure that our coast remains a home for the coastal wildlife you love. A bequest to the American Littoral Society is a generous and straightforward way to care for the coast. This can be expressed in a will as simply as, “I bequeath [a sum of money, a percentage of my estate, or an IRA, life insurance policy, or investment/bank account] to the American Littoral Society, 18 Hartshorne Drive, Suite 1, Highlands, NJ 07732.”
Consult with your attorney to determine what is best for your situation.
To learn more about planning a gift for the Society, contact Director of Development Hillary Critelli at 732-291-0055 or Hillary.critelli@littoralsociety.org. Other Ways to Support the Society Your membership donation helps the Society reach its fundraising goals to keep our coast safe and healthy. It also helps our staff create new and exciting ways to connect you with the coast even if we can't be there physically together. If you would like to go above and beyond membership, please explore these other ways you can help the Littoral Society continue to care for the coast. 
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