Attendees:

Joan Koos
Alice Hemphill
Steve Taylor
Wilma Morrissey
Cathie Oliver
Kevin Dunn
Faith Hahn
Robert Karl
Don Prior
Mary Burne
John Tobia
Ken Allen
Stan Marciniak
Tim Dillingham
Vincent Domidion
Eric Anderson
Dave McKeon
Mary Marshall
Jasper Marshall
Kathleen Savino
John Winterstella

Mr. Taylor began the meeting by introducing Mr. Tim Dillingham of the New Jersey Littoral Society. Mr. Dillingham started by describing his organization as nationally based. The New Jersey Society has three offices in New Jersey with the main office being at Sandy Hook. The NJ Littoral Society was founded by a group of scientists at the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium who were concerned about coastal and marine environmental issues. The organization is primarily involved in conservation and advocacy work, but is moving more and more towards land-based work. They see watershed groups as the logical organizations to begin working with over time. Clearly, land use has a dramatic impact on the coastal zone, so this is the next logical step for the Society.

Currently the Littoral Society offers a variety of programs. Education is a large component of their work. They offer field tours, school trips, natural history advocacy, and public litigation against private organizations and public entities such as the Environmental Protection Agency. A significant amount of energy went into public access issues (beach access) through CAFRA regulations. The Society is also involved in restoration projects such as the oyster recovery program. Pilot reefs have been established in Raritan Bay, which are used as an education tool as well. A horseshoe crab restoration project was conducted in Delaware Bay.

The Littoral Society is trying to get the State to focus on the coast and not just the beaches. A "State of the Coast" report was developed highlighting the significance of land-based development on environmental resources. Water supply issues are a critical issue for watershed management. Better government coordination especially between the State and municipalities is needed to protect this sensitive resource. We all need to work together to restore ecological values already lost such as submerged aquatic vegetation, beach habitat, water quality, and water supply budgets. New ideas are not necessarily needed since there are a lot of good ideas already out there. The question is how we bring these tools and ideas into action. Open space acquisitions can be disorganized and more continuity is needed. More comprehensive planning is needed and the State needs better tools and information for municipalities.

We can't live between New York City and Philadelphia and not expect growth. We need to plan for it. Transfer of development rights (TDRs) is one potential answer, and impact fees from development may be necessary. It doesn't make sense for municipalities to send sewer lines into environmentally sensitive areas. The State needs to reinvigorate watershed management groups to help protect local areas. More resources should be put into ecological restoration. For example, the Littoral Society is working on a project for a fish run into Shadow Lake in Middletown, and they hope to get out to communities more as an organization.
Following the presentation, a member asked why ANJEC does not support TDRs. Mr. Dillingham responded that ANJEC has problems with the way the law is written. ANJEC supports TDRs conceptually and how they are applied in other States such as Maryland. Mr. Dillingham said that we need to support TDRs because we need to guarantee builders credits for building in designated receiving areas. Development potential equals development value. Public forums are needed to promote the TDR concept. Other States such as Maryland and Oregon are using TDRs as a growth management tool. Rutgers University conducted a study that reports that New Jersey will run out of undeveloped land in 30 years. We need to act now.

A member asked about future efforts in community-based restoration projects such as streambank restoration. Many of our streams are already incised, restoration is too costly, and permits from the State are unattainable. Mr. Dillingham responded that the new stormwater regulations may help with mitigation at some point, so towns should develop lists of potential sites for mitigation.

As a strategy, we need to plan and then ensure the necessary regulatory tools are there to implement the plan. Municipalities can drive the process if they are unified on an issue.

The following ideas were provided for future speakers:
Impacts from growing deer populations - Rutgers
How can watershed groups help the State planning effort? - State Planning Office
Navigation rights on the river and guidelines for river cleaning - Brian Gallagher

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.