Jetty Country will be a parking lot - Want to stop it? Get involved!

[DarkSkies]

I updated the original post from page 1 to include all the addresses folks have suggested, concise and easy to send, highlighted in Blue....
There are some good examples of letters on various internet sites....feel free to copy this or any letter that you are comfortable with.
Remember if you can take the time to write your own letter, it would be more effective.





*******************
Public comments can also be submitted by e-mail to
1. Project Biologist
Howard.Ruben@usace.army.mil

and
2. Project Manager
Jenifer.E.Thalhauser@usace.army.mil

3. 'Davis, Kelly' (Kelly.Davis@dep.state.nj.us), NJFW?s Environmental Review Biologist

A friend of mine posted this....
[We should also be contacting Frank Pallone and Paul Haertel of JCAA. They have not done much at all for us or striped bass. We should be giving them a full court press asking them why. Tell Pallone you will vote against him if this project goes through. Try not to be nasty, but state your strong disapproval and why. He needs to see this is important to us.

those contacts and e-mails.
4.https://pallone.house.gov/contact-me


full details
http://pallone.house.gov/
Pallone tips - you can only e-mail him by filling out the form. He cleverly refuses to answer e-mail if you are not a constituent. I have found a way around that. Use the following address and zip code if you do not live in the district:]
100 OCEAN AVE N
LONG BRANCH NJ 07740-7128


5. Paul Haertel anglerpmh@aol.com.

http://www.jcaa.org/
JCAA
1201 Rt 37 E Suite 9
Toms River, NJ 08753
732-506-6565














Dear _________________________-

My name is __________________________
I live in/fish in New Jersey

I am familiar with the ACOE beach replenishment projects, and see that at times they have benefits.

The Elberon to Loch Arbor replenishment, as stated below, is what I am contacting you about:
"The proposed Elberon to Loch Arbour project calls for the placement of roughly 4.5 million cubic yards of sand to create a 100-foot-wide beach berm 12 feet above mean low water. The project also calls for the modification of six groins to allow for the movement of sediment and modifications to 16 outfalls to ensure their continued operation after the beach berm is created and to prevent their operation from negatively impacting the newly constructed beach berm."

I am completely against this project for the following, sound, sensible reasons:

1. Natural elevation - The area in question, as is most of Long Branch, is naturally elevated to a higher amount than the rest of the shore areas that sustained damage during the Sandy storm in the fall of 2012.

2. Less Damage - As such, that area did not sustain anything near the damage of the other areas. The elevation is higher above sea level than any oceanside beaches in that whole county.

3. Replenishment not Effective long-term - It is my strong belief that filling in those specific areas is not necessary and will do little to protect against another storm like Sandy. Engineering studies can certainly prove that.

4. Fishing Community Affected - I am a fisherman and fish those areas regularly. The replenishment project, as proposed, will ruin fishing for those of us who fish the beaches there.

5. Economic Impact - As fishermen, we bring hundreds of thousands of dollars into those communities every time we fish there. We stop in the local shops, buy breakfast, supplies, gas, bait, tackle, dinner, and sometimes stay in the area hotels. There are many small businesses that would lose a % of revenue if we stopped fishing there because it was no longer worth coming to.

6. Environmental Impact -
Part of the project language talks about the environmental assessment. I believe this was not given the weight it deserves. Those jetty areas are small vibrant ecosystems unto themselves. There are crabs, mussels, small forage fish, grass shrimp, baby fish, blackfish, seabass, flounder, fluke, striped bass, bluefish, clams, sea horses, and small invertebrate creatures that make a robust link all the way down to the bottom of the food chain.
The creatures that benefit from these jetty areas are many, from the various juvenile species of gamefish that hide there, to the magnificent gamefish that come to feed on the forage, to the thousands of migratory shorebirds that congregate around the jetties to feed on the various types of food.

Covering this over in sand would not only kill all the life on the floor there, that has existed for centuries. It would also turn the areas into a complete dead zone, devoid of life and completely wiping out the vast robust ecosystems that thrive there.


In sum, this replenishment, while it may be your intention for other areas, is not needed in the area in question, will negatively affect the fragile marine environment there, and most certainly cause a negative economic impact to the areas in and around, when fishermen and their families stop coming there.

Please re-consider your support for this specific replenishment.
It has been proven that once this is done, as opposed to the construction of sea walls, that the sand is eventually washed away. The old jetties will come back.
However, it will be years, perhaps a decade, for life to return as it once was, once they are covered over.

Thank you for reading my comments,
Respectfully,

__________________________




.

[dogfish]

E-mails sent. Pallone now knows me as a resident of long branch lol. Saints preserve us if I ever lived in your god forsaken state. A prison sentence would have more freedom.

[fishinmission78]

Done, thanks. Tom Fote is an A** but I did not say that in the letter tho. One day I will meet him face to face and tell him that.

[finchaser]

Fote is no longer an officer of the JCAA and is useless to contact


Paul Hartel is the president of the JCAA. Paul Handles all issues and attends all meetings and is an avid surf fisherman.

[storminsteve]

Thanks for the updates and action fellas. Looks like we may have a chance for once. I don't fish the jetties as much as some of you but I would sure as heck hate to see them covered in sand. According to what buckethead posted that one project is the most amount of sand for all. 4. something million cu yards of sand. Hella lot!

[DarkSkies]

Thanks to Fin for the correct info. We still need folks to send in e-mails....the comment period is a small window....it will be closed before you know it.
Thanks for reading.








Countdown:
11 days Left.......
Please try to send those e-mails.....
and when you have done it, sound off in this thread, to give others the incentive....
We have some momentum, but if you care about fishing access we need your help...
Thanks people!

[buckethead]

Finally a meeting. If you care about the jetties and feel this is wrong you need to show up.

Please join concerned citizens who are meeting 5 pm Friday, March 21st at the Deal Lake flume/8th Avenue jetty in Asbury Park. Groups including the Asbury Park Fishing Club, Deal Lake Commission, surfers, fishermen, swimmers and Deal Lake homeowners are opposed to the notching of jetties as part of the replenishment project

[DarkSkies]

Thanks for that, bucket. Most of the larger fishing clubs have been contacted and should have people there. I'll be there. I spent this weekend going through my mailing list and contacting any other fishing clubs and contacts. If you get an e-mail from me, please try to send a letter. I tried to make it easy to do... all you have to do is click the linked e-mails and C&P the letter. I know some said this would be useless, but now it's looking like we have a shot at turning it around.





.....
Countdown:
10 days Left.......
Please try to send those e-mails.....
and when you have done it, sound off in this thread, to give others the incentive....
We have some momentum, but if you care about fishing access we still need your help...
Every e-mail sent can make a difference.
Thanks people!

[ledhead36]

I cant make it but will send e-mails. Thanks guys and good luck!

[finchaser]

Finally a meeting. If you care about the jetties and feel this is wrong you need to show up.

Please join concerned citizens who are meeting 5 pm Friday, March 21st at the Deal Lake flume/8th Avenue jetty in Asbury Park. Groups including the Asbury Park Fishing Club, Deal Lake Commission, surfers, fishermen, swimmers and Deal Lake homeowners are opposed to the notching of jetties as part of the replenishment project

The Army Corp of morons wants to notch the Deal Jetties like they did in Spring lake. This is another issue besides the Loch harbor/ Elberon. , Even if the Jetties are saved Deal and other towns can still deny access as each town has its own say the state no longer controls access. If towns refuse restoration they can deny access. If they take restoration they must provide access, parking and bathrooms keep this in mind. IMO these towns want to assure access is denied.

[DarkSkies]

Updates....

The Army Corp of morons wants to notch the Deal Jetties like they did in Spring lake. This is another issue besides the Loch harbor/ Elberon.
1. Even if the Jetties are saved Deal and other towns can still deny access as each town has its own say the state no longer controls access. If towns refuse restoration they can deny access.

2. If they take restoration they must provide access, parking and bathrooms keep this in mind. IMO these towns want to assure access is denied.

Finchaser makes some important points here.
What some folks may not know is they have already started to restrict access on many of those streets down there. If you fish there, you may remember it used to be a seasonal thing where the "No Parking" signs went up sometime around May, and got taken down at the end of the summer.

They first started changing this with streets that had the most complaints about fishermen...Pullman, Roosevelt, Garfield etc. If you fish the spring blitzes you might recognize those names.

Since then, they have made permanent parking restrictions on streets in that area.
After the Asbury show, I made some stops and documented each and every street where they have changed the access. Although some streets still have access, if you have not been there in a while, you would be surprised at the amount of access they are closing off. I have documented each example of this and will be posting the pics as I get a chance...

To further support this point, Takanassee Beach Club, which we were promised access to, (Even during construction) has been fenced off by the owner. There was a promise made to us fishermen at a town meeting, that this would not happen. Since the DEP has ceded authority for access over to each town to decide it's own policy, there have been other little losses in access like this.




**For those who only fish Ocean County and feel this doesn't apply to them, I can guarantee you that when they are finished with the replenishment/Sandy restoration of houses from Point Pleasant through Seaside, that of all the little access paths you remember, on the sides of some of those million dollar homes.....some of them will be "missing" (OOPS!) when all is finally put back together.....

That means those great little access paths in Point, Brick, Ocean Beach, Lavalette, Ortley, etc....some of them we will not get put back....and yet there are no fishermen groups protesting or rallying about it....we are just being steamrolled on this, because of the power ceded over to the towns by the DEP.

If, as a fisherman, this doesn't get your blood boiling, I don't know what else will.....
It sickens me whenever I see more access lost, and some, but not enough outrage over it.....
So if you do care, now is the time to act.... before it is too late....
Speak up....speak out....send the e-mails....come to the meeting on Fri....
Thanks for reading...













.....
Countdown:
9 days Left.......
Please try to send those e-mails.....
and when you have done it, sound off in this thread, to give others the incentive....
We have some momentum, but if you care about fishing access we still need your help...
Every e-mail sent can make a difference.
Thanks people!

[hookset]

I have a problem with the folks who put up these giant mcmansions right on or near the beach. then they get sandy relief $$ to rebuild. If you build and test the odds you should be responsible for rebuilding fees. Or build a block or 2 away from the ocean. Sorry for the hijack this gets to me some of those houses should never have been built in the first place.
I will send those additional emails. Thank you buckethead, dark and finchaser. If they accept that $$ they will have to have public bathrooms every half mile or something. I honestly don't think the towns will go for that. Maybe long branch because of the boardwalk and pier village. definitely not elberon and deal

[clamchucker]

emails sent. Keep fighting you will not regret it.

[buckethead]

Thank you for the nice words fellas. Even if you can't attend the meeting as dark said the e-mails are easy. It is worth fighting for and as finchaser said the towns do not want to provide things such as bathroom facilities. I am worried that they could take the beach replenshment and then not provide the facilities. With DEP now having little power over them it is a lot easier for them to get away with murder. That is why we have to keep at it. Let's try to keep this at the top.

[DarkSkies]

Thank you for the nice words fellas. Even if you can't attend the meeting as dark said the e-mails are easy. It is worth fighting for and as finchaser said the towns do not want to provide things such as bathroom facilities. I am worried that they could take the beach replenshment and then not provide the facilities. With DEP now having little power over them it is a lot easier for them to get away with murder. That is why we have to keep at it. Let's try to keep this at the top.

Very well-said, bucket. I don't think some folks realize the magnitude of ths one fight, as compared to the other replenishment areas. This will be the first time in a long time that any work has been done in this area. There will be severe environmental implications and that area will become a dead zone. Most importantly, the work will do nothing to keep the shoreline property in that area safer because of the unique elevation.

**For those who only fish Ocean County and feel this doesn't apply to them, I can guarantee you that when they are finished with the replenishment/Sandy restoration of houses from Point Pleasant through Seaside, that of all the little access paths you remember, on the sides of some of those million dollar homes.....some of them will be "missing" (OOPS!) when all is finally put back together.....

That means those great little access paths in Point, Brick, Ocean Beach, Lavalette, Ortley, etc....some of them we will not get put back....and yet there are no fishermen groups protesting or rallying about it....we are just being steamrolled on this, because of the power ceded over to the towns by the DEP.

If, as a fisherman, this doesn't get your blood boiling, I don't know what else will.....
It sickens me whenever I see more access lost, and some, but not enough outrage over it.....
So if you do care, now is the time to act.... before it is too late....
Speak up....speak out....send the e-mails....come to the meeting on Fri....
Thanks for reading...













.....
Countdown:
8 days Left.......
Please try to send those e-mails.....
and when you have done it, sound off in this thread, to give others the incentive....
We have some momentum, but if you care about fishing access we still need your help...
Every e-mail sent can make a difference.
Thanks people!

[williehookem]

email sent

[finchaser]

As you can see below if a town takes restoration they must provide access. Deal has fought this from day 1 so if the jetties are saved no restoration no access IMO. the rich do not want access and their dollars get Politian's elected

Bill requiring public access for NJ beach repair projects moves forward

Brent Johnson/The Star-Ledger By Brent Johnson/The Star-Ledger
March 18, 2014 at 6:50 AM


TRENTON — For decades, visitors up and down the Jersey Shore have run into the same infuriating problem: not enough parking spaces, bathrooms, or even ways to get onto the beach.

But a bill inching its way through the state Legislature is intended to change that.

The state Senate Environment and Energy Committee voted 4-0 today to approve a measure (S183) that would require beach repair projects receiving state funds to provide easier public access.

The measure has the support of environmentalists who have fought to open larger portions of the 130-mile coastline to swimmers, surfers, and fishermen. They say the time is right to take up the prickly subject, with towns relying on state, federal and local funds to repair beaches battered by Hurricane Sandy.

"It’s public dollars for public projects," said Stacy McCormack, an official with the American Littoral Society, an advocacy group focused on the issue. "It’s not public dollars for projects the public will never reap the benefits of."

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, went so far as to say that if the measure were to become law, it would "double the amount" of beach that would be accessible to the public.

"This will allow more access to beaches that belong to all of us," Tittel said.

But the measure has a long way to go, and its fate is uncertain. It now goes to the full Senate, while companion legislation in the Assembly is still in committee. Even if both Democrat-controlled chambers eventually approve the bill, there is no assurance it will be signed by the Republican governor

Last year, the Senate and Assembly passed a similar measure, and although it did not include a provision requiring public access, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed it.

Beach access has long been a ticklish issue in New Jersey. Currently, there are no public restrooms in Bay Head. Parking in Mantoloking has a two-hour limit, and spaces are equally scarce in Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach and Loveladies and North Beach sections of Long Beach Township.

During Gov. Jon Corzine’s administration, the state mandated uniform beach access standards for the entire Jersey Shore, but those rules were struck down after a court challenge.

Then, in 2012, the state Department of Environmental Protection passed regulations that allowed towns to decide individually what level of access was appropriate.

"The governor is continually using money to bring tourism to the Jersey Shore after Sandy, to draw people in, to let them know we’re open for business," McCormack said. "But if people can’t actually get to the beaches, I’m not sure what they’re going to do."

Initially, the bill passed today would have only encouraged projects to provide public access. But after testimony from McCormack, the committee amended the measure to require greater beach access.

"Everybody agrees that access under the common law of New Jersey is an absolute right," said state Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the committee chairman, said.

As Smith put it, "Our problem, to be candid, is the (state Department of Environmental Protection)."

He said the original bill did not include the access requirement out of fear that if the state "absolutely mandated" public access, some projects would not get finished.

Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Sandy hit just a few weeks after the department’s new access rules were signed, adding that over the past 18 months, the state and beach towns have been "focused on recovery and not access."

He also noted that since Sandy struck in the fall of 2012, Loveladies has provided access to the beach, fishermen can get to Garfield Terrace in Long Branch, and a new fishing pier has been added in Cape May.

In addition, Ragonese said, the department has provided grants to 10 towns to develop new ways to get to the beach. "We have been dedicated to ensuring there is a viable Shore for people to access, and continue that massive effort," he said.

[DarkSkies]

^ Thanks for that, Fin. This isn't over yet........



Countdown:
7 days Left.......
Please try to send those e-mails.....
and when you have done it, sound off in this thread, to give others the incentive....
We have some momentum, but if you care about fishing access we still need your help...
Every e-mail sent can make a difference.
Thanks people!

[buckethead]

This isn't over yet........

No it isn't. From the Asbury Sun- this project if it goes forward will be a nightmare. Total $134 million and rising. For that kind of money you could build seawalls in the lowest areas. Would be much safer and long lasting. Let's go folks keep writing those e-mails and be at the rally fri 5pm.
Pallotto is rallying the troops we can't let him down.

http://asburyparksun.com/group-to-ra...n-beach-reple/

GROUP TO RALLY AGAINST LOCH ARBOUR-ELBERON BEACH REPLEN
NOURISHMENT PROJECT WILL RUIN JETTY COUNTRY, ORGANIZER SAYS

By Jill Bartlett


Concerned citizens, fishermen, residents of Deal Lake and area stakeholders will gather Friday to protest against a 3.5 mile beach replenishment project that stretches from Loch Arbour to Elberon.

The president of a local fishing organization says the project will destroy a well-known fishing area called Jetty Country, and a member of the Deal Lake Commission has growing concerns about the sand that is already entering the Deal Lake flume structure from the Asbury Park replenishment project.

At the Friday protest, to be held at the Deal Lake Flume House at 5 p.m., Asbury Park Fishing Club President Joe Pallotto will urge the Army Corps of Engineers [ACOE] not to pump a lot of sand onto the beaches between Loch Arbour and Allenhurst, not to notch the jetties and to be aware of the area around the flume structure, he said.
“This is Jetty Country to the fishing anglers — once they notch those jetties it will be over for the fisherman.”

The roughly 3.5 mile section of beach reaches from Lake Takanassee in the Elberon section of Long Branch and extends approximately 3.5 miles, ending near Deal Lake in the Village of Loch Arbour.

An ACOE report and environmental assessment of the project calls for six existing groins to be modified to allow sediment to pass through.

The modifications, commonly referred to as notching, remove the rocks from the area of the groin closest to the sand so that water can pass through. But they prevent access to the groin during high tides and creates rip tides, causing hazardous swimming conditions, Pallotto said.

Pallotto is the protest’s main organizer, and it is not the first time he has protested against beach replenishment. During the 1990 beach replenishment project that rolled through Asbury Park, Pallotto was employed as the Asbury Park Beach Supervisor and served as a liaison to the Army Corps of Engineers replenishment project. Back then, he warned the sand would back-fill into Deal Lake and cause irreparable harm to the flume structure itself, but no one paid any mind, he said.

The Deal Lake flume structure lies under the jetty that separates Asbury Park’s Northernmost beach from Loch Arbour.
“They thought I was nuts,” said Pallotto.

Pallotto made his stand, protesting against the project and making his case in the local media outlets and to Congressman Frank Pallone.
An $8 million dollar flume extension project was the end result, Pallotto said.

Beach nourishment in Asbury Park is complete and sand is already being pushed up into the flume during high tide, Pallotto said. The replenishment effort, coupled with the sand that was already forced into the Lake by Hurricane Sandy, will make for dire circumstances in Deal Lake’s future, he said.

Don Brockel, chairman of the Deal Lake Commission, said sand from the Asbury Park beach replenishment is already clogging up the flume and diverting sand up into the lake.

“The reason I’m concerned is the Asbury Park replenishment project buried a good portion of the Eighth Avenue jetty in four to five feet of sand [shown above] which will be pushed into the north side of the jetty and thus could clog the flume over the next few years,” Brockel said. “We want to ensure the Corp understands the impact of their plans and provides funds for emergency sand removal in front of the flume.”

Members of the Deal Lake Commission teamed up with the The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to request $6.9 million in federal assistance to dredge the eastern end of Deal Lake that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, and are still working to get the funds appropriated.
“We would like to note that there is tons of sand in Deal Lake that [the Corps] can have free of charge for their replenishment efforts,” Brockel said.

Renourishment for the Elberon to Loch Arbour Reach will occur every six years for the remaining 32-year period of analysis, the report says. The total project first cost, which includes real estate administration costs and pertinent contingency, engineering and design and construction management costs, is $134,638,000, the report said.

[cowherder]

Very well-said, bucket. I don't think some folks realize the magnitude of ths one fight, as compared to the other replenishment areas. This will be the first time in a long time that any work has been done in this area. There will be severe environmental implications and that area will become a dead zone. Most importantly, the work will do nothing to keep the shoreline property in that area safer because of the unique elevation.

No it isn't. From the Asbury Sun- this project if it goes forward will be a nightmare. Total $134 million and rising. For that kind of money you could build seawalls in the lowest areas. Would be much safer and long lasting. Let's go folks keep writing those e-mails and be at the rally fri 5pm.
Pallotto is rallying the troops we can't let him down.

http://asburyparksun.com/group-to-ra...n-beach-reple/

GROUP TO RALLY AGAINST LOCH ARBOUR-ELBERON BEACH REPLEN
NOURISHMENT PROJECT WILL RUIN JETTY COUNTRY, ORGANIZER SAYS

.

At the Friday protest, to be held at the Deal Lake Flume House at 5 p.m., Asbury Park Fishing Club President Joe Pallotto will urge the Army Corps of Engineers [ACOE] not to pump a lot of sand onto the beaches between Loch Arbour and Allenhurst, not to notch the jetties and to be aware of the area around the flume structure, he said.
?This is Jetty Country to the fishing anglers ? once they notch those jetties it will be over for the fisherman.?

The modifications, commonly referred to as notching, remove the rocks from the area of the groin closest to the sand so that water can pass through. But they prevent access to the groin during high tides and creates rip tides, causing hazardous swimming conditions, Pallotto said.

Pallotto is the protest?s main organizer, and it is not the first time he has protested against beach replenishment. During the 1990 beach replenishment project that rolled through Asbury Park, Pallotto was employed as the Asbury Park Beach Supervisor and served as a liaison to the Army Corps of Engineers replenishment project. Back then, he warned the sand would back-fill into Deal Lake and cause irreparable harm to the flume structure itself, but no one paid any mind, he said.

The Deal Lake flume structure lies under the jetty that separates Asbury Park?s Northernmost beach from Loch Arbour.
?They thought I was nuts,? said Pallotto.

Pallotto made his stand, protesting against the project and making his case in the local media outlets and to Congressman Frank Pallone.
An $8 million dollar flume extension project was the end result, Pallotto said.

Beach nourishment in Asbury Park is complete and sand is already being pushed up into the flume during high tide, Pallotto said. The replenishment effort, coupled with the sand that was already forced into the Lake by Hurricane Sandy, will make for dire circumstances in Deal Lake?s future, he said.

I read that thread here in the nj fishing forum about Joe Palloto and the jetty. E-mails sent. Give em hell guys!