Funding for refuge land acquisition clears House
Jul, 01-2009 2:21 pm
By STEVE PRISAMENT
Staff Writer
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP – Congressional approval of more than $3 million for South Jersey land acquisition is “good news” and a “giant step” for the area, according to Steve Atzert of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who manages the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, co-chair of the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus, has secured $2 million for the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge and $1.1 million for the Forsythe Refuge, his office announced Friday, June 26.
The funding was contained in H.R. 2996 – the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior-Environment Appropriations Act – that was approved Friday by the House 254 to 173.
“Southern New Jersey has long placed significant value on preserving and protecting our open spaces, and I continue to strongly support those efforts, particularly at our wildlife refuges,” LoBiondo said. “This substantial investment will assist ongoing efforts to acquire additional land in both Cape May and Atlantic counties, which will enhance the area for both local residents and visitors while protecting the habitats of the native wildlife.”
While the property proposed to be purchased by the Forsythe Refuge is in Barnegat Township, Atzert said it is still good news for the Galloway Township portion of the park.
“The president proposed $420 million for land acquisition and preservation next year,” he said. “There has been no request for funding to acquire land in a very long time. This is good news.”
As far as the legislative process, Atzert said receiving the money is about a third completed.
“You need to get 430 representatives to agree on it in one house and then 100 more to agree in the Senate,” he said. “To get them all to agree on the same thing – that’s a miracle in itself.”
The Senate will likely pass a similar – but different – bill, Atzert said. Then representatives from both houses of Congress will meet to iron out differences.
“It looks like we are going to get it,” he said. “These things just take time. This is an important step. A step in the right direction.”
Atzert said the $1.1 million would be used to purchase 28.17 acres off Lower Shore Road in Barnegat Township.
“It provides critical habitat for migratory birds and will help maintain the long-term viability and integrity of the groundwater infiltration and discharge system of Barnegat Bay,” he said.
Barnegat Bay, he said, is one of 28 national estuaries designated under the Clean Water Act.
“Congress told the Environmental Protection Agency to designate important estuaries,” Atzert said.
Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea, according to the EPA website, www.epa.gov/nep. Estuaries, it says, are critical to the health of coastal environments and to our enjoyment of them.
The EPA's National Estuary Program was established by Congress in 1987 to improve the quality of estuaries of national importance. The Clean Water Act Section 320 directs the EPA to develop plans for attaining or maintaining water quality in an estuary, according to the site.
The Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program, according to its website – www.bbep.org – is sponsored by the EPA, the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and Ocean County College.
Atzert said the $2 million for the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge is to obtain two parcels of land on the Delaware Bay side of the Cape May peninsula, comprising 30 acres of uplands and 26 acres of wetlands.
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