To the Editor:
The Sentinel’s March 20 very informative article covered both the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) proposed Shore Protection Rule: N.J.A.C. 7:25-4A and Ocean City’s response to the Rule; the 03-14-2024 City Council meeting consent agenda Resolution #35, “Opposing the State of New Jersey’s New Proposed Shore Protection Rule.”
Here it is important to note that the current NJDEP Public Trust Doctrine of 2006 addresses the protection of the public’s right of access to N.J. coastal and tidal water shorelines that are preserved for public use, while also holding that nature, including wildlife, are within the public trust. As a N.J. barrier island our beaches and some of our bayshore areas are available for all to enjoy, but per the Public Trust Doctrine, our public coastal areas, including wildlife, are also to be preserved and protected within the public land trust.
Furthermore, the DEP states, “The legislature has acknowledged that the Public Trust Doctrine has some limitations … critical habitat areas from injurious uses, or threatened or endangered species or their habitat areas from injury, or injurious uses…” (N.J.S.A. 13:1D-155). “The Department is [also] charged with protecting wildlife pursuant to the Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act (ENSCA; N.J.S.A. 23:2A-1 through 13).” The Shore Protection Rule coordinates with the Trust Doctrine, by establishing within the rule, the ongoing methods of protective actions of the wild animals existing within and clearly essential to the functioning of the natural ecosystems, including resident and migratory threatened and endangered species along our coastal and tidal lands within our Public Trust lands, throughout our state.
The following phrase in the Resolution #35; “… expanding the DEP’s ability [with the Shore Protection Rule] to restrict access to the public and municipal public safety departments to our waterways seems to be in conflict with the NJDEP Public Trust Doctrine” and the city business administrator’s declaration of government overreach, both indicate our municipality’s misunderstanding of the needs and reasons for the Shore Protection Rule. The establishment of the rule standardizes and coordinates guidelines for the preservation and protection for our entire state’s Public Trust coastal lands and wildlife.
An example of the Shore Protection Rule’s application is the May occurrence of our Delaware Bay horseshoe crab mating and egg-laying coordinating with the arrival of the red knots that feed specifically on the horseshoe crab eggs. Areas of the Delaware bay beaches are temporarily cordoned off in order to offer protection to these endangered, long-distance migrating shorebirds. The red knots travel from South America en route to the High Arctic, with the Delaware Bay beaches being but a brief resting and feeding stopover before they continue their long journey north. New Jersey’s assistance to the red knots contributes a bit of help in the preservation of this species.
Even though our Ocean City barrier island is within the Atlantic Flyway migratory bird route, the likelihood is rare for a threatened or endangered species to nest on our densely developed shorelines with their insufficient food sources (our municipality rakes our high tide wrack). We do though, commendably, still have seasonally cordoned beach areas at the northern and southern tips of our island, for the nesting of our least terns, etc.
For the very infrequent events of threatened or endangered species that may visit our beaches, we ask that our administration and councilmen quell their fears expressed in Resolution #35’s Homeland Security risk, or commerce interference. These rare occasions are instead, instances where our municipality works with Fish and Wildlife’s efforts to protect these steadily diminishing fragile shorebirds within our public trust lands. Our municipality might further consider these occurrences as educational experiences in the methods of protecting our public trust lands’ endangered species, with inclusion of these species within our island’s resource materials.
We celebrate the DEP and the Shore Protection Rule, working to protect our wildlife residents and threatened and endangered species, including those that occasionally appear upon our shores. You can support this rule by going to the DEP site: www.nj.gov/dep/rules and follow instructions to post your comments.
We ask ourselves, who would choose to leave a world without nature and wildlife to their children and grandchildren? One way to work against this bleak thought is to support our state’s Shore Protection Rule and any other legislation that protects our wildlife.
Donna Moore
Ocean City