51st ANNUAL MEETING AMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETY

51st ANNUAL MEETING AMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETY Island Beach State Park, Seaside, New Jersey September 20 - 23, 2012

This 51st annual meeting of the Society will be held at Seaside Park, NJ, starting Thursday evening, September 20, and ending Sunday, September 23. As usual, the long weekend is an excuse to get out into littoral territory to see nature in action. Where: Headquarters will be at the Island Beach Motor Lodge, almost directly next to Island Beach State Park.    What: A great deal of our time will be spent on Island Beach State Park exploring beach areas, trails on both the ocean and bay side, looking for migrating birds, shelling, and enjoying a kayak trip (must have kayaked before) along the bay side of the Park. Fishermen bring your rods, swimmers your bathing suits, and birders your binoculars. Trips will run from Friday a.m. through Saturday p.m., with breakfast on Sunday morning. NOTE: The weekend is informal including dress.....Field trips go rain or shine.....  This area has no public transportation - try and carpool or join someone else going from your area. If you are willing to take another member let us know. Cost is based on double occupany. Mail to: American Littoral Society, 18 Hartshorne Dr., Ste 1, Highlands, NJ 07732 If you do not plan on kayaking deduct $20 off the cost of the weekend. Plan A: 3 nights at Island Beach Motor Lodge, all meals-- Fri a.m. to Sun a.m.: $375 per adult - $150 per child under 12.   Total: $________________   Kayaking ___Yes ___No Plan B: 2 nights at Island Beach Motor Lodge, all meals-Fri lunch to Sun a.m.: $325 per adult - $135 per child under 12.   Total: $________________   Kayaking ___Yes ___No Plan C: Commuters....everything except rooms, meals Fri a.m. to Sun a.m.: $255 per adult - $150 per child under 12. Total: $________________   Kayaking ___Yes   ___No Name:_________________________________ Address:________________________________________________ City:____________________, State___________ Zip________ Phone day_______________________________ Email:_____________________________________    Yes____   No____   Check to receive all information by email or enclose  a check for $_________ and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to mail confirmation, directions, and details if not using email. Questions: ask Pat - 732-291-0055 or pat@littoralsociety.org.

Save Matheson Hammock Park

http://www.saveourmathesonhammock.com/

Ed. note: OK, I'll admit that I'm from Miami and Matheson Hammock was one of my favorite places.

American Littoral Society News

COASTAL REPORTER                     November 2011

NJ Supreme Court rejects attempts to gut clean water regulations, but fight not over: The NJ Supreme Court has rejected a request from the developer's lobby to overturn a lower court decision upholding New Jersey regulations preventing sewers in environmentally sensitive areas. The American Littoral Society participated in the lawsuit as a friend of the court in defending the clean water regulations. The ink had not dried on the high court's rejection of the developer's request before the New Jersey legislature introduced a proposal to do what the developers wanted. The Littoral Society will continue its fight to prevent development in environmentally sensitive areas and will oppose this bill.  Read proposed bill

  

Society Fights Plan to Dump Toxic Chemicals into Jamaica Bay:  JFK International Airport has proposed a plan to increase the amount of toxic plane de-icing and other chemicals it dumps into Jamaica Bay. Don Riepe, Northeaset Chapter Director and Jamaica Bay Guardian opposed this plan at a recent meeting of the Jamaica Bay Task Force. To learn more

NJ Fertilizer Law Takes Effect: Help spread the word, not the fertilizer! As of November 15, NJ residents cannot apply fertilizers to their lawns until next spring. Commercial applicators of fertilizer have until December 1 to complete their customer service cycle of late Fall fertilization. Fertilizers cannot be applied onto lawns again until March 1st. NJ's Fertilizer Law was established as part of the Governor's 10-point action plan to restore and protect Barnegat Bay and is one of the most stringent fertilizer laws in the country. The Society played a key role in passing this law. To learn more

Restoring Shrewsbury Island:  Earlier this month, Society staff and members joined forces with volunteers from the J. M. Huber Corporation to remove marine debris from a dredge spoil island in the Shrewsbury-Navesink estuary, a few  miles south of Sandy Hook.

To learn more

Call for Proposals: 6th National Conference on Coastal & Estuarine Habitat Restoration: The Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) National Program Committee is accepting proposals for dedicated sessions, presentations, & posters for this conference, which we co-host. To learn more...

 

 Celebrating 50 Years of Caring for the Coast

 www.littoralsociety.org

Kayak - Bye, bye Beauty

This sexy Viking model kayak is over at Silent Sports Outfitters in Osprey.

It is FOR SALE...proceeds to Southeast American Littoral Society.

(We'll try to find a better photo.)

In Memoriam ... David Bulloch

If we wanted a really accurate and meaningful celebration of Dave's life, we'd all take off our shoes and socks, and wade into the surf with a seine net. We'd place the critters we had collected onto slides and then examine them under one of Dave's ever-present microscopes and enjoy sharing and identifying our finds.

Dave always took a leadership role in the field trips, one of the key activities in the society's educational programs. ALS initiated them as one of the earliest formal recognitions of the importance of the littoral zone; these field trips have helped generations of shore-goers and beachcombers get acquainted with its inhabitants, and their role in a vital global ecology.

As many of you know, Dave was a founding member of ALS, what used to be called in the maritime services "a Plankholder".

I first met and got to know Dave Bulloch during our years of joint attendance at advisory council meetings. Dave was involved in every aspect of ALS activities, ---- field trips, seminars, conservation education, tagging fish to trace their migration patterns, and scuba diving.

It was while on a scuba diving trip off the coast of New Jersey that Dave suffered the classic symptoms of the bends. He never let the increasingly limited mobility of his decompression sickness affect his productive mind or the prodigious quantity of work he turned out.

As one of the founders of the Society, involved in every aspect of governance and policy, he was eventually elected its President. It meant a great deal to me when I found myself transitioning to that position . I could always count on his rare combination of low-key good humor, serious purpose, and common sense to get us through any problems. -- Hal Pelta

ACTION ALERT from American LIttoral Society

Tell your members of congress to oppose cuts to land and water conservation funding for our nation's most treasured resources!

The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution (CR/spending bill) that will eliminate the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

LWCF was established by Congress in 1965 as a funding source to help protect public recreation lands for the health of all Americans. It accumulates $900 million annually through revenues from offshore oil and gas leases and is the principal source of funding for recreational land acquisition by federal agencies like the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service.

This amendment would:
* eliminate the LWCF program that has existed for 45 years, which is already fully funding by oil drilling leases, not taxpayer dollars

* bring an immediate halt to federal conservation efforts that protect national wildlife refuges, parks and forests; historic sites; and state and local recreation projects

* prevent revenues deposited in the LWCF account from being used for their authorized purposes, and makes them disappear forever. These funds were a promise made to the American people in 1964. This Congress should not be breaking this long-standing commitment

What you can do
Contact your members of Congress immediately and tell them to vote against amendments that would impose cuts to or eliminate LWCF. To find your representative, go to www.house.gov.

For more information, please contact Jessica Daher at 856-825-2174 or jessica@littoralsociety.org

Dave's Book

Here's one of Dave's books. There are still a few left on Amazon.
(I wonder if the diver on the cover is Dave.)
There are several other books on Amazon authored or co-authored by David K. Bulloch.
Does anyone know if they were all written by our Dave?

ENHANCING SARASOTA BAY -- by Dave Bulloch

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100930/LETTERS/100939991/2163/OPINION?Title=Enhancing-Sarasota-Bay-
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Gift for Native Plants

We are pleased to announce that the Southeast chapter of the American Littoral Society is the recipient of a $5000 gift from the Community Foundation of Sarasota, made possible through the Robert R. Harlan and Susan H. Lowy Harlan Fund.

The grant is for the purchase and nurture of native plants and trees for a variety of coastal restoration projects in Sarasota County. Our first goal is to restock our native plant nursery at Osprey Preserve.

We have an immediate need for volunteers for nursery work. This is at your convenience, both when and how long. Call John Sarkozy at 966-7308 for information. -- Dave Bulloch

Mining Tampa Bay for what used to be

http://www.baysoundings.com/Stories/Mining-Tampa-Bay-for-a-Glimpse-of-What-Used-to-Be.asp
- Bay Soundings

Ernie Estevez dug up records on the mining of an oyster deposit in the bay, put together some figures on its original size, and noted that the shell were singles, thus it was basically the work of humans over millennia.

Sand and The Supreme Court - A Note from our Director

The United States Supreme Court has decided to hear a case involving a proposed beach reclamation project in Florida that affected coastal property owners claim will place a wide swath of public sand between them and the Gulf of Mexico depriving them of their waterfront property rights. The state Supreme Court of Florida had upheld the state project stating that “Florida has a constitutional duty to protect its beaches”. The plaintiffs claim “the intent is a land grab by local government to create a public beach where a private beach previously existed”.
Let’s hope the state prevails in this one. Private ownership of coastal property should not include beaches which should be considered part of the public domain. Because of the state’s rights principle the public trust doctrine is inconsistent throughout the nation even though the public pays for both maintenance of present shorelines and past mistakes that have created erosion or taken access away from the public.
- David Bulloch, Director, SE American Littoral Society

Great Barrier Reef will be gone in 20 years, says Charliie Vernon

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6652866.ece
- London Times

War heats up over beach access

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090705/ARTICLE/907051060
- Sarasota Herald Tribune

Take our Littoral Society survey:
At which beach access areas do you have parking difficulty?
(middle of right-hand column, this page)

Oysters in deep trouble: Is Pacific Ocean's chemistry killing sea life?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009336458_oysters14m.html
by Craig Walsh - Seattle Times environment reporter

Sarasota Bay Speed Zones

To Sarasota County Commissioners:

The SE chapter of the American Littoral Society would like to comment on your deliberations concerning boat speed zones in Sarasota Bay. We are concerned that any speed zone increases would further endanger the manatee. We would also like to point out that the majority of boaters in the Bay are not power boaters but kayakers and their numbers are rapidly growing. Of the long-time kayakers I have talked to, to a person, they all have had unpleasant experiences with power boat wake and ignorance of right of way. Until mandatory training is required to operate a powerboat (where rules of the road, wake responsibility, and right of way are made clear) we feel lower speed limits and increased enforcement are necessary to protect both manatees and humans in the Bay.

Dave Bulloch - regional director

Ref: Manatee Zones Get New Look - Sarasota HeraldTribune

From the Director

Birthday Party - 2009

This year marks the 200^th anniversary Charles Darwin‘s birth and the 150^th year since the publication of “On the Origin of Species”. Although he wasn’t aware of mutations (Mendel’s work went unnoticed for many years), he was fully aware of the work of animal breeders, the fossil record, and changes brought about by geographic isolation.

His main themes tied together life’s enormous diversity and core commonality. All life is connected by common ancestry . Species undergo random variation which is either sustained or lost in the struggle for existence and change evolves through natural selection. The corollary to this, which has engendered considerable consternation in ecclesiastical circles, is that the direction of change is random and purposeless; ‘non-teleological’ in philosopher’s lingo.

From this beginning, followed by the rules of genetics, the elucidation of DNA, and the structure of the gene, a plethora of ideas and innovations have followed.

The field of developmental biology- ‘evo-devo’, the evolution of developmental sequences- is presently in an explosive growth phase and full of surprises. The conservation of body plans, nearly identical in a host of organisms that appear unrelated externally, led researchers to believe this was a universal attribute. But it is not. Work in the 1990’s found that, at the gene level, different mechanisms often lead to similar outcomes.

Belief that evolution works strictly at the individual level is being challenged. The notion of the ‘superorganism’ (eg.bees, ants, bacteria) and group natural selection are making news.

Ideas on how evolution should be incorporated into our view of life range from Dawkins atheism (The God Delusion), the Dalai Lama’s acceptance and revision of Buddhism to outright rejection and the creationism alternative.

Science is young and much of it is hard to grasp without a rigorous education. Whether faith and reason can reconcile their differences is something only the future can tell-if we humans have a future.

The Need for Active Volunteers

As an all-volunteer group, we have a continuing need for people to help on existing projects and events as well as starting up new ones. Some current activities are in jeopardy and some earlier activities have gone defunct because we don’t have the people to handle them . Take a look below and see what you think might interest you;

Restoration work - First Saturday of the month, half a day either removing exotics or planting or nursery work - Call John for information (941) 966-7308.

Picnic - Twice a year probably at Blackburn Point or you choose the place. Saturday. - Call Dave (941) 377-5459.

Exhibits - A few time a year; Earth Day for example - Prepare a new (simple)exhibit and get a core of volunteers to serve at the exhibit (usually outdoors). Call Dave (941) 377-5459.

Marine Conservation Guru - Attend meetings of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, SWFMD Environmental Advisory Committee, ECOSWF, Charlotte Harbor NEP etc . Follow what is happening what is happening on the marine scene. Call Dave (941) 377-5459.

Do you have an idea for an activity and are you willing to develop it? Call Dave at (941) 377-5459.

Think about finding a friend (or friends) to help you. It will make sustaining an effort much easier.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Midnight Pass

In 1983, a shallow, meandering outlet to the sea, called Midnight Pass, was closed by a nearby home owner whose property was threatened. Attempts to reopen it failed. Over the years, the subject of reopening became the single most contentious “environmental” issue in Sarasota County. In the 1990’s the County applied for a permit to open it which was denied. The issue didn’t die and study after study went on, spurred on by the Midnight Pass Society. The County reapplied in 2003.

The application for a permit to open midnight pass was denied in late 2008 . The county chose not to appeal the DEP decision and has withdrawn the application. The list of reasons cited by the DEP was long. The main one –the closing was not a recent event, therefore the application was to create a new pass, which is now prohibited by law- drew a comment from one of the commissioners, “why didn’t they tell us that before we spend all that money ?” The engineering work, done by an outside consultant, cost was $850,000. Over the years I estimate the midnight pass question has cost county taxpayers well over $4 million with little to show for it. It also stopped remediation in that area. Fortunately it’s not easy to get to the Neville Preserve which would have been heavily impacted by the proposed opening and nature has made the best of it. Our seining excursions in that area, the results of which we reported to DEP and FWC, led us to believe they were about to destroy a prime nursery for fish. DEP came to the same conclusion. Although we got no publicity for our work, our partners in opposing an opening-Manasota 88, Sarasota Audubon, and Sierra Club and one pro-environmental commissioner- know what we did.

North Roberts Bay

A few weeks ago the commissioners voted (3to 2) to put aside $500,000 meant to remediate spoil islands in north Roberts Bay and spend $100K of that money on selling the surrounding neighborhoods on the remediation plans. In a letter to Pelican Press, which was published, we pointed out that replacing these spoil heaps, now covered with Australian pines, with red mangrove was the only major way to clean up those waters. Eventually the polluted tidal creeks feeding Roberts Bay may get cleaned up but that will take many years.

The County hired Cliff Truitt, a consulting coastal engineer, to meet with local people and assess their views on the restoration issue. His initial findings show considerable resistance to it. Siesta Key Association also appears split on the issue.

Critter News

The blue crab is drawing the attention of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Third on the money list of commercial trapped catches (spiny lobster and stone crab are one and two respectively), long-term catch averages are down. Yearly totals vary widely, mainly a function of rainfall. Down in drought years, 2001, 2003 and 2007, their continual drop in numbers may be the result of less fresh water runoff reaching the estuaries they inhabit. Confounding the numbers are the unknowns; disease, the size of the recreational fishery, the mortality of undersized throwbacks, and the ghost fishing of lost or abandoned traps. Annual commercial takes are large; the 2005 gulf coast landings in Florida were 7.4 million pounds and 4.2 million pounds on Florida’s east coast. Around here, Tampa Bay landings were 822,000 pounds.

Red drum is bouncing back, notwithstanding occasional setbacks caused by red tide as in 2005. Hatchery releases are helping but the main reason is the one fish a day, 18” to 27”in length, limit aqnd the no-sale provision that ended the commercial fishery.

The snook population is booming in Tampa Bay. Total catches have continually increased since 1997. Nevertheless, the FWC is trying to measure the effects of increasing fishing pressure. Size limitations mean a lot are thrown back. In 2004, FWC estimated that 42 % died. Over 80% of snook caught are undersized. Tampa Bay is the northernmost limit for snook. A prolonged temperature drop can send their numbers plummeting.

Spotted sea trout, almost wiped out by the 2005 red tide event, are rebounding in Tampa Bay but habitat degradation and overfishing are nagging problems. The fecundity of a mature female (one year old) is astounding. She can shed 18 million eggs in a season.

The Florida Wildlife Research Institute is testing a model that includes all the major fishes in Tampa Bay, their habitats and interactions. This has led to some surprising conclusions. For example, reducing red snapper losses by limiting or banning shrimp trawling to reduce by-catch would not increase the number of adults. The model predicted a decline in bottom trawling would increase the numbers of catfish, a major predator of juvenile snapper.

--Bay Soundings Winter 2009

South Florida News - March 2009

Gov. Crist’s plan to purchase part of the land holdings of U.S. Sugar north of the Everglades has run into resistance from the Florida legislature and a court challenge by several diverse groups.. The modified plan, the purchase of 180,000 acres of farmland for $1.34 billion, will require financing by the taxpayers of 16 counties in the South Florida Water Management District. To do so, the District must create long-term loan instruments called certificates of participation. These must be approved by a circuit judge. Florida Crystal, a competitor of US Sugar, doesn’t like a provision for a 7 year leaseback of land to US Sugar below current market prices. A Clewiston citizens group and the Miccosukee tribe argue the purchase is not in the public interest and would derail most of the present plans for Everglades restoration. As of the last days of March, Gov.Crist is said to be formulating a new, less expensive ($500 million) plan but details have not yet been released. The dought in southern Florida, now in its third year, is creating an enormous quantity of deadfall that is not decomposing in place. Leaves, grass litter and alike, that normally would stay put when the rains finally do arrive, will be swept into watersheds and carried into adjacent estuaries. Their physical presence will lead to flooding as sewer systems jam up and their decomposition in our estuaries may lead to low oxygen problems. -- David Bullock