Sandy Hook NJ Fall Equinox Walk 2020
Every year at the turning of the seasons, the American Littoral Society conducts a public Equinox Walk around our headquarters building in the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. In 2020, due to safety precautions linked to Covid-19, we are inviting you to join us for a virtual walk to welcome the beginning of Autumn.
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The Story of Plastic Webinar
In case you missed the live stream: The American Littoral Society recently hosted a virtual screening of "The #StoryOfPlastic," a documentary about the ugly truth behind the global plastic pollution crisis. It was followed by this webinar/panel discussion about the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet and the people who inhabit it. |
Wreck Pond Project Lunch & Learn
Listen a recording of the American Littoral Society's Habitat Restoration Program webinar on the work to increase ecological and community resiliency in and around Wreck Pond, a 73-acre coastal lake located on the border of Spring Lake and Sea Girt, NJ. |
Jenna Valente, Coordinator for the American Littoral Society and Healthy Oceans Coalition, talks about why she marched for the ocean and is passionate about conservation. #MarchForTheOcean #M4O #BeatPlasticPollution
Researchers with the Society were featured on Xploration Awesome Planet's Animal Migrations episode (S3,E5) to discuss the annual spectacle of Horseshoe Crabs and migratory shorebirds along the Delaware Bay.
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At the American Littoral Society, conserving the ocean and coast is our fundamental mission. We believe that ocean planning, which aims to create a more informed, effective and coordinated approach for ocean resource management, is an important tool to strengthen the ways we can protect our ocean and coast and make smart decisions about future uses. This video explains how a good ocean plan will work.
A reporter and video journalist from NorthJersey.com spent a day canoeing down the Wading River in Wharton State Forest for a story on the New Jersey Pinelands and the continuing pressures faced by that unique region. You can find the story on our News Items page. The video prominently features the canoe tour's leader, Jeff Dement, Fish Tagging Director for the American Littoral Society
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Clean Water, Beautiful Bay
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CLEAN WATER, BEAUTIFUL BAY
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This video, produced by the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance, explores climate change and its effects on the Jersey Shore. Experts discuss temperature changes, sea level rise, coastal flooding, and ocean acidification and how this impacts communities, ecosystems and coastal economies.
A really great video about the American Littoral Society's annual event, Member's Day, and the wonderful involvement of 70 children from the Union City Music Project.
On April 4th 2015, volunteers built an artificial oyster reef as part of the habitat restoration projects currently underway in the Delaware Bay. Led by the American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, volunteers helped to build a 200' reef along south Reed's Beach in Middle Twp, NJ. This experimental reef is built to help stabilize the beach, provide calmer water for horseshoe crab spawning, and to promote native oyster recruitment in the bay.
The jingle of whelk shell is music to our ears as the final load of shell arrived for placement at Good Luck Point Reef Site. Delivery of the 120 cubic yards of whole shell was gingerly placed at the end of an unused road in Berkeley Township that abutted the existing bulkhead. Funded by a NOAA/Restore America’s Estuary grant, the Restoration Department plans to create a 6 inch deep layer of whole ”cured” whelk over more than ½ an acre of Barnegat Bay bottom. Our studies last summer indicated that the whelk shell is a great substrate for the establishment of oysters and it is also perfect for providing shelter and foraging habitat for fish, crabs, and other invertebrates. Thanks to our good friends at Elder Point Oyster Company, Turf Environmental, Good Luck Point Marina, Berkeley Township, and to Jim and Steve from the Berkeley Township Department of Recreation, Parks, and Beaches. We are planning to place the shell mid-April with support from family owned Atlantic Dock and Bulkhead out of Point Pleasant.
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Episode 5 of a six part series focused on meeting point between the ecology and economy of the Delaware Bay.
On October, 2012, Hurricane Sandy ravaged New Jersey's best Horseshoe crab-spawning beaches on Delaware Bay. Left behind were jagged sod banks strewn with concrete rubble, completely unsuitable for horseshoe crab breeding. The American Littoral Society with a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and in a partnership with Conserve Wildlife Foundation restored the most important horseshoe crab beaches to a better condition than before Sandy. Now beaches like Thompsons Beach and Fortescue Beach provide excellent spawning habitat for crabs, and feeding grounds for thousands of shorebirds, including the threatened red knot. Progress has been made, but more work needs to be done.
Horseshoe crabs making their way back to the Delaware Bay after spawning. A very high tide left many spawning horseshoe crabs in a shallow trough high up on the beach as the tide receded. They dutifully marched along following the remaining water as it trickled back into the bay. Through the wind noise you can hear their shells dragging as they move.
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