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

[DarkSkies]

The USCOE meeting, although a positive sign, was part of a larger strategy to pre-empt and eliminate a hearing for the general public.
Joe and Greg are certainly capable of representing fishermen and they are probably some of the best choices to represent fishermen views. Joe has been fighting against politicians all his life and is old-school sharp.

However, if this was a chess game, I would say we just got put into Check.

** I have been wrong before in my assessments....hope to God I am wrong on this one....
The level and credibility of the info I received, tells me otherwise.


Again...I sincerely hope I am wrong...I hate to sound so negative after all our hard work..and am rooting for Joe and Greg......but my sources are credible....and the way it was explained to me, this fits their previous pattern......
Stay tuned...I'll keep folks posted on this as needed....

** A special thanks to Finchaser here......despite me railing at him for his negativity.....the Ol' Grouchy Basstid called this one, play by play, with extreme accuracy.



It is our constitutional right as citizens to question how our federal tax dollars are spent.
Will we be afforded this right, in this case? Probably not.......
Several well- known fishermen groups and fishing clubs asked for a public meeting.
This courtesy was at least given to the guys in the Cape May sand replenishment case.....

Here, that will probably not happen...
I have more to say, but it's all negative....time and time again I have railed on folks here about their negativity......
and right now....I'm sorry to say, I am deeply dissatisfied with what seems to me to be the eventual outcome...
That's not to take away from the efforts of Joe or Greg......they are 2 of the most knowledgeable people that anyone could pick to attend the meeting.....

My curse, as I get older, is that I am often able to see the possible outcomes, when things follow a certain path......
I see the possible outcome here, and it's not good...it's like we have been put in checkmate.....
The best we can now hope for, is that they will not notch the jetties in question..
(one of them was already taken off the table, before this meeting was set)

In 10 years, when they are all fully uncovered again, and after another 20 years when it is finally determined this grandiose plan didn't work....the jetties might come back for our children and grandchildren.....as for most of us.....it will be too late and the end of fishing in that area......a vast dead zone..........

What some folks may not understand.....is that all along it was not about a selfish need to fish those jetties......What's more important is that style of replenishment does not work......we were trying to push for alternatives, not only there but to establish a precedent for the whole Coast...

Over the next 3 years, we will have more complaints, from families who don't like the new rip currents, from boaters (most of whom stood on the sidelines on this issue) who will complain that there are no more decent bottom fish in the Elberon Rocks to Shrewsbury Rocks inshore areas...to a host of other probems...









Some who grew up near the beach may remember, that they never had to dredge the inlets, as much as they dredge now...sometimes twice a year for some inlets.....this all ties in to the movement of sand along our coast....and the fact that it moves in different directions in different parts of the coast.....
75 years ago......there was no need for sand replenishment because there were jetties in virtually every coastal town......this replenishment was never fully researched....Despite the mounting evidence pointing to other methods as being more effective......

In the end, this will have been proven to be all about $$, and back-room politics.....
I am so sick to my stomach about what will probably happen I want to wait a while before I post more comments on this publically....











Suffice it to say, I will go on record here as saying that what you may read on other sites about Rep Pallone setting up the meeting, is inaccurate....The RFA is responsible for making this meeting happen..Pallone jumped in at the last minute because he knew it was a publicity op.....

I will be actively campaigning against the November 2014 re-election of Rep Pallone....during the Spring and Summer I will be putting together a series of threads and articles detailing the ties of this type of replenishment to big developers and campaign contributions....and the possible ethical violations as well......

I will try to show as many fishermen as are willing to listen...that Frank Pallone, is no friend to fishermen......does not deserve our support....and want to go on record that this is how I feel, after being a Pallone supporter for many years...
Thanks for reading.....

[storminsteve]

That sucks! Someone should take a dump on pallones porch.
Read this on the net. Sounds like a political butt licking to me.

"It's the least that Pallone can do considering the thousands of dollars that the RFA contributed to his campaign fund and the MANY thousands of dollars that the RFA raised for Pallone at RFA sponsored fund raisers for his campaign coffers over the years."

[jigfreak]

^^^^^ More like Pallone giving RFA the reach around after a quickie.

[DarkSkies]

** A special thanks to Finchaser here......despite me railing at him for his negativity.....the Ol' Grouchy Basstid called this one, play by play, with extreme accuracy.

Some who grew up near the beach may remember, that they never had to dredge the inlets, as much as they dredge now...sometimes twice a year for some inlets.....this all ties in to the movement of sand along our coast....and the fact that it moves in different directions in different parts of the coast.....
75 years ago......there was no need for sand replenishment because there were jetties in virtually every coastal town......this replenishment was never fully researched....Despite the mounting evidence pointing to other methods as being more effective......

In the end, this will have been proven to be all about $$, and back-room politics.....
I am so sick to my stomach about what will probably happen I want to wait a while before I post more comments on this publically....

Suffice it to say, I will go on record here as saying that what you may read on other sites about Rep Pallone setting up the meeting, is inaccurate....The RFA is responsible for making this meeting happen..Pallone jumped in at the last minute because he knew it was a publicity op.....

this is how I feel, after being a Pallone supporter for many years...
..

I said I would hold off on comments until after the meeting....and I did.....
I'll post the narrative outline of what went on there, straight from the horse's mouth....and thanks to Fin, as always, for the honesty.....

Note:
I'm pretty sure this is correct, exactly as it was relayed to me....
If there are any incaccuracies, feel free to let me know and correct them.......
Thanks for reading....

1. All the groups mentioned were there. A pretty impressive list of people. For example, the ALS is in a key position to argue the environmental issues and poorly handled research on the part of the USCOE. I have several back and forth e-mails between one of the top ALS directors, Tim, who was most likely the one they sent. I have not posted them before. I may go into detail if I get his permission.
Just to outline things a bit, I find everything Tim said to be credible.
I'm usually not on the sides of environmentalists, but in the correspondence with Tim, I found the reasons and research they did about jetties, compelling and very interesting. IMO it was the best legal argument we had to stop the sand replenishment, and the ACOE ignored them completely.

**I found the lack of research on the part of the USCOE, to be appalling.....and yet.....they arrogantly push on, with no one able to challenge them, not even the ALS?





2. This tells me the issue is bigger than any of us can imagine. It leads me to candidly question when someone makes a statement that claims Rep Pallone was working toward a resolution......simply put, there is too much $$ and political currency involved. The insincerity of Rep Pallone has been apparent to me all through this charade.

I feel badly for any one who is not able to see this....and by the end of the summer I will try to raise awareness to a higher level......
**I learned long ago that winning an argument is pointless if the other party doesn't see or can't understand your point ...one of the key reasons to raise awareness by informing others of the facts, and then letting them make their own decisisons........

3. Notching will be done on all but 2-3 jetties in the area in question.

4. The rocks removed from the notching will be sold.
(I have no idea why this would even be discussed)

5. Rep Pallone said:
"I am 100% against jetty notching but 100% for beach restoration"
(There has been no real cooperation from Rep Pallone, who all along was the biggest push behind sand replenishment. Any comments made asserting his involvement are politically motivated as a way for him to save face among fishermen voters)

6. Who Spoke?- The only people who spoke out (of all the groups) were Joe Pallotto, Greg Hueth, and the guy representing Surfrider Foundation.

7. Lawsuits - They are allegedly not notching the Allenhurst L and 1 or 2 jetties in Deal, because of lawsuit threats by the Gov't in those areas.
(This did not happen because of a call or request from Pallone. Any statement spinning it that way is inaccurate)
I already reported the mayor of Allenhurst threatened them with a lawsuit in a previous post.

8. Start Date... They will be starting the replenishment in this area Oct 1.

9. Replenishment as needed...
For most of the areas it will be a 32 year contract, with 6-10 year intervals for return replenishment as needed.
* For the Elberon/Loch Arbor/Allenhurst areas, they can return 1x/yr for the first 10 years, then every 6-10 years as needed.

10. Break in Action - They may hold up on replenishment in certain areas for the summer because of vacationers.

[buckethead]

All along it was about politics. At least we tried Rich. Thank you finchaser as well.
Next step is to get pallone defeated in november. Let me know what I can do to help.

[finchaser]

Yep ^^^^

[buckethead]

The jetties got some press over the weekend-


Sandy beach project wrecks prime fishing spots, anglers complain



Shore fisherman are particularly perturbed by a post-Sandy project's plans to cut off access to rock jetties sticking out into the surf. A fisherman is shown in this file photo. (Star-Ledger file photo)



By The Associated Press The Associated Press
on April 27, 2014 at 7:38 PM, updated April 27, 2014 at 10:07 PM
More Sandy Coverage (with photo)



Sandy beach work ruins key fishing spots, anglers say





ASBURY PARK ? Not everyone is happy that a massive project is underway to restore the Jersey shore's beaches after Hurricane Sandy.
With the second summer after the storm approaching, fishing groups say the project is wrecking prime fishing spots by smothering parts of rock jetties with sand, destroying a unique angling opportunity that draws thousands of people to the state's shoreline each year.

And they're particularly perturbed by plans to cut off access to rock jetties sticking out into the surf. That work, called notching, is designed to ensure the uniform flow of sand along newly replenished beaches and cut down on erosion, but the anglers say the jetties are irreplaceable spots to catch fish, particularly in communities that limit public beach access.

They want the federal government to find a way to widen the beaches without covering and notching the jetties.
"These jetties, once they're gone, they're gone forever," said Greg Hueth of the Shark River Surf Anglers, one of many groups agitating against the beach project. "What they're doing is filling in all these areas with sand and destroying some of the best fishing areas. Every fish spawns in that area ? flounder, lobsters, bluefish, everything. They're going to fill it all in and smother it to death."

Dan Russo, who fishes in the Asbury Park area, said the nooks and crannies of the rock jetties provide habitat akin to coral reefs for many species of fish. Chris Hueth, another fisherman, says there's a spot in Allenhurst, near Asbury Park, where a jetty was buried in sand by the repair project, wiping out what was a productive breeding ground and fishing spot.
"There's nothing there now," he said. "It's all gone."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the midst of a massive project to restore New Jersey's coastline to a condition better than it was before Sandy hit in October 2012. From Maryland to New Hampshire, the storm was blamed for 159 deaths, and New Jersey and New York alone claimed a total of nearly $79 billion in damage.

The project's stated purpose is to protect lives and property, but it also has the effect of maintaining one of New Jersey's most popular tourism attractions: its 127 miles of beaches.

Christopher Gardner, a spokesman for the Army Corps, said the agency has heard fishermen's concerns and will look for potential changes to the project to address those while still ensuring the project works as designed. He also said the impact on fishing areas will be temporary.
"While some habitats and the species in them will be temporarily impacted by the construction of the project, most of the marine life will re-colonize nearby after construction activities are completed and marine populations impacted will return to normal levels over time," Gardner said.

The project involves pumping huge quantities of sand from offshore onto the beaches, which are being widened to 150 to 200 feet.

The notching of the jetties involves removing rocks from where the jetty meets the edge of the beach, creating a flow of water between the beach and the jetty. It's intended to help sand flow along the newly replenished beaches and keep them relatively uniform.

That's something that has long been accepted by coastal scientists as a benefit to the coastal ecosystem, said Tim Dillingham, director of the American Littoral Society. By lessening erosion, notching the jetties should extend the life of the new beaches, making them need to be replenished less frequently. But in this case, there's a unique concern: the tendency of several communities along the Jersey shore to limit public access to the beaches through a variety of tactics, including private ownership of part of the beach and severe restrictions on parking nearby.

"Because this is such a unique place, maybe it's in the best interests to keep the jetties as they are and maybe do the beach maintenance on a more regular basis," Dillingham said.

Joe Pallotto, president of the Asbury Park Fishing Club, said the anglers would accept a compromise in which the beach work could proceed if fishermen retained access to the jetties.
"This is something we've been able to do for decades, and now they're just coming in and taking it away," he said.

http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf..._complain.html

[jigfreak]

Thanks buckethead. Channel 12 ran a segment on this as well last night. Any press is good press.

[finchaser]

Compromise for access to the jetty's what a joke you will have access to the backs they will just bury the fronts like Manasquan or fill in the sides like by the inlet. The contract has been awarded you don't un-award a government contract just my .02

[J Barbosa]

The contract has been awarded you don't un-award a government contract just my .02

Its feeding time

[DarkSkies]

Update courtesy of Finchaser, thanks.

"The battle against the jetty notching and replenishment has continued. Notching is targeted to begin in Oct 2014, and legislators have been engaged with limited results. The fight against replenishment appears to be a lost cause – they are going to do it because the money has been allocated. So we are focusing on the notching in the hopes that when the replenished sand gets washed away, the jetties will be intact. Jerry Taylor pointed out, “they are selling us back the sand they sold us 18 years ago.”

[fishinmission78]

Thank you for the updates. We still have no use of the N jetty, Damn army corps of engineers. all they care about is job security

[buckethead]

Compromise for access to the jetty's what a joke

Not so fast there finchaser.
This was released today, saw it on nj.com. The only thing that seems to me to be a joke is that Pallone announced it jointly with the ACOE. Pallone was the one who was responsible for the replenishment funds in the first place. That guy is a lying sack of _____
(prefer not to use that word in reference to him but that is how I feel)


The following release from Rep. Frank Pallone provides good news for surfcasters along the nothern Shore who had been facing the loss of all their fish-holding jetties to sand replenishment projects:
LONG BRANCH, NJ – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) hosted a meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to revisit concerns previously expressed by fishermen, surfers and recreational users regarding the Elberon to Loch Arbour Beach Replenishment project. Today's discussion followed up on an April 2014 meeting that Pallone hosted with concerned citizens after the Army Corps released their initial draft proposal for the replenishment project.

Originally, the Army Corps had planned to notch six groins, also known as jetties, between Elberon and Loch Arbour. However, in response to the first meeting, the Army Corps presented a revised plan today that will only notch three groins within the project area. The Corps announced that they will not be notching the groins at the end of Whitehall Ave. in Deal, Roseld Ave. in Deal, and Cedar Ave. in Allenhurst.
There was also discussion at today's meeting of constructing shallower notches than originally planned in order to allow access across the notches during low tide. The Army Corps is examining the possibility of that option with the three groins in Deal that will be notched, including Phillips Ave., Deal Casino, and South of Deal Esplanade near Marine Pl.

"I agree with the concerns that many have voiced with respect to notching the groins in this area and the impacts that it may have on recreational fishing," said Congressman Pallone. "This new plan is a compromise with the Army Corps. I want to thank all the fishermen and other residents who took the time to submit comments and voice their concerns throughout this process."

The Deal Lake Flume was also discussed at today's meeting with Congressman Pallone. The Army Corps agreed to install an electronic gate which would allow the outfall to be cleared efficiently if it were to become blocked by sand. All parties agreed that there was no need to extend the Deal Lake Flume farther into the ocean. Instead, there would be improved monitoring of the sand placement by the Corps during the project to avoid any excessive placement of sand in the area of the flume.
Today's meeting also confirmed that the Army Corps will insist that towns maintain existing beach access points and parking areas and will explore the possibility of new access points in the project area from Lake Takanassee to Deal Lake.
The contract for the Elberon to Loch Arbour Beach Replenishment Project is expected to be awarded in October or November 2014 and work will start soon after, weather permitting.

[storminsteve]

I agree I think Pallone is like a snake oil salesman. Would sell his own mother for a photo op! thanks for keeping us informed and for all the hard work bucket head.

[finchaser]

Forgive me if I don't believe Pallone's smoke and mirror press release

Parking and access were in the original plan to get sand except for Deal every town was for it. Note all the exceptions are in Deal if they get their way little will be done and limited access also probably no parking along entire beach front. Remember towns now have the last say for access and parking including times not the FED's since the DEP relinquished power to the towns and stepped out of the picture. Look at Long Branch and Point Pleasant can't park near the water without paying like $3.00 hour. Pallone and other politicians are rated on what kind of job they do by the money they bring into their district no matter what its for even sand. He lives in Elboron, and needs sand to protect his neighborhood, think of how much access is there and note Elboron gets done first. Rumor has it the contract has already been awarded just waiting on the formal announcement put on hold because of all this bullsh_t.

Pallone the fisherman's friend started way back when in Long branch when he assured the clubs Striped bass would be a game fish coast wide if we voted for him , over 20 years have passed he went from councilman to congress man and he's still playing that card. The jetties are getting buried the only thing is how many will be notched that's the compromise they went from leaving some to maybe just small notches.

The jetties won't be able to be used until all the sand washes away and how deep do you think the water around the jetty will be??? IMO not fishable as most can attest that have seen this before. Go check out Manasquan the sand washed off jetties since the 2014 replenishment but they remain unfishable with numerous sand bars off the fronts and beach including the inlet so there is unfishable access. THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACCESS (which they preach) AND FISHABLE ACCESS.

[DarkSkies]

I know it's politically correct to try to look at the positive in life, but this is a total sham. It's not even about protecting the property owners, from the ACOE's perspective.....they claim it's about preventing beach erosion....that theory is so full of holes you could make Swiss Cheese with it.....
There is no scientific basis for doing what they're doing....and no long-term engineering studies to support that it works.


Needless to say, IMO Rep Pallone held this meeting to shine his tarnished image up for the election posturing.
He's already beloved by homeowners.
This move was the latest in a series to show he is still the "fishermens friend"

This changes nothing. It's a dog and pony show.
I will be actively campaigning for his opponent in the November election.