Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges...oh yes you do on The Jersey Shore

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" is a memorable and widely-quoted (or misquoted) line from cinematic history from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Well, you DO need those 'stinkin' badges' on the beaches of Ocean County and all along The Jersey Shore as badges have been around for more than 30 years at New Jersey beaches. The idea behind a state law was that towns could "provide facilities and safeguards for public bathing and recreation," including lifeguards, clean-up by charging "reasonable fees." And, Ocean County Beach Badge sales are significantly ahead of last year.

Ocean County Beach Badge Fees:

Best Deal for the Family: Island Beach State Park: (per vehicle) $6 daily, $10 weekends.

Barnegat Light: $5 daily, $5 weekends. ($1 surcharge if purchased on beach).

Beach Haven: $5 daily, $5 weekends.

Brick (Barnegat Peninsula): $5 daily, $5 weekends.

Lacey Township: $5 daily, $5 weekends. (Proof of residency is required).

Long Beach Township: $5 daily, $5 weekends.

Seaside Heights: $5 daily, $5 weekends.

Ship Bottom: $5 daily, $5 weekends.

White Sands Beach: $5 daily, $6 weekends.

Martell’s (Point Pleasant Beach): $6 daily, $7.50 weekends.

Bay Head: $7 daily, $7 weekends.

Lavallette: $7 daily, $7 weekends.

Surf City: $7 daily, $7 weekends.

Jenkinson’s (Point Pleasant Beach): $7 daily, $8 weekends.

Ortley Beach: $7 daily, $8 weekends.

Bradshaw’s (Point Pleasant Beach): $8 daily, $8 weekends.

Maryland Avenue (Point Pleasant Beach): $8 daily, $8 weekends.

Risden’s (Point Pleasant Beach): $8 daily, $8 weekends.

Harvey Cedars: $9 daily, $9 weekends.

Seaside Park: $10 daily, $10 weekends.

Mantoloking: $12 for the season.

Access to Jersey Shore Beaches is free to active duty military members and thier families.

By the way, the original version of the line appeared in the 1927 novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre:

"All right," Curtin shouted back. "If you are the police, where are your badges? Let's see them.""Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don't need badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and ching' tu madre!"

Beach Access Rules for The Jersey Shore

There's been an ongoing point of contention between Jersey Shore beach town homeowners and tourists who come to the The Jersey Shore to enjoy some of America's best beaches. 

For instance, In Mantoloking, beachgoers can only park their cars on public streets for two hours. That's two hours - max - within the entire 24-hour day.

In parts of Long Beach Island like the Loveladies section of Long Beach Township, many streets dead-end into private driveways with signs warning "Private drive. No public beach access."

And in many places, you can't even eat on the beach or find a bathroom within walking distance.

All of this has worked to keep "outsiders" away, because only local residents who live near the beach - and can walk home to eat or answer nature's call - can effectively use that beach.

New Jersey is trying a new way to address the problem. Instead of imposing a uniform standard that all shore towns must meet, it is letting individual shore communities decide what level of access is right for them, although those decisions must be approved by the state.

The new rules ask - but don't require - coastal towns to adopt a public access plan spelling out exactly where the public can get to the beach. The new beach access rules will let seaside towns propose their own plans for accommodating the public with parking and restrooms, and state Department of Environmental Protection says the agency is already in discussions with "challenging'' towns where public access has been a problem.

A court decision blocks the DEP from directly withholding beach replenishment funds from problem towns. But the new rules still have three fairly strong sanctions:

--Towns that refuse to comply with access rules would not be allowed to get state Green Acres funds and aid for open space or recreation.

--Access problems will result in towns being ranked lower in eligibility for beach replenishment projects ... a way for the DEP to work around the Avalon ruling's ban on direct withholding.

--The DEP can hold back a town's general permit for beach maintenance. This is probably the biggest stick, Martin said, because towns need those permits for routine beach grooming and sand cleanup.

Hopefully, these new rules will allow more people to enjoy The Jersey Shore beaches, and not just the locals...and I am a "local."

Karl Hess, Keller Williams Realty Jersey Shore

Beach Access Rules for The Jersey Shore

There's been an ongoing point of contention between Jersey Shore beach town homeowners and tourists who come to the The Jersey Shore to enjoy some of America's best beaches. 

For instance, In Mantoloking, beachgoers can only park their cars on public streets for two hours. That's two hours - max - within the entire 24-hour day.

In parts of Long Beach Island like the Loveladies section of Long Beach Township, many streets dead-end into private driveways with signs warning "Private drive. No public beach access."

And in many places, you can't even eat on the beach or find a bathroom within walking distance.

All of this has worked to keep "outsiders" away, because only local residents who live near the beach - and can walk home to eat or answer nature's call - can effectively use that beach.

New Jersey is trying a new way to address the problem. Instead of imposing a uniform standard that all shore towns must meet, it is letting individual shore communities decide what level of access is right for them, although those decisions must be approved by the state.

The new rules ask - but don't require - coastal towns to adopt a public access plan spelling out exactly where the public can get to the beach. The new beach access rules will let seaside towns propose their own plans for accommodating the public with parking and restrooms, and state Department of Environmental Protection says the agency is already in discussions with "challenging'' towns where public access has been a problem.

A court decision blocks the DEP from directly withholding beach replenishment funds from problem towns. But the new rules still have three fairly strong sanctions:

--Towns that refuse to comply with access rules would not be allowed to get state Green Acres funds and aid for open space or recreation.

--Access problems will result in towns being ranked lower in eligibility for beach replenishment projects ... a way for the DEP to work around the Avalon ruling's ban on direct withholding.

--The DEP can hold back a town's general permit for beach maintenance. This is probably the biggest stick, Martin said, because towns need those permits for routine beach grooming and sand cleanup.

Hopefully, these new rules will allow more people to enjoy The Jersey Shore beaches, and not just the locals...and I am a "local."

Karl Hess, Keller Williams Realty Jersey Shore

Beach Access on The Jersey Shore

New Jersey DEP has proposed new rules that take a step backwards for public beach access on The Jersey Shore.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's proposed beach access rules won't increase oceanfront beach access, but they will make it easier for inaccessible beach towns to get state beach replenishment money.

The current beach access rules are good. The state DEP plans to issue new beach access rules later this month, designed to balance the public's right to use beaches against the cost to towns and property owners of providing public access.

DEP's proposed beach access rules won't increase oceanfront beach access, but they will make it easier for inaccessible beach towns to get state beach replenishment money.

If our taxes are going to dredge and dump sand on a beach, we should be able to get to that sand. The new rules don't do that.

 The current beach access rules are good. We want the state to leave them alone. The state should distinguish between Atlantic Ocean beach access and access to private marinas, back bays, and waterfront industrial sites.

The proposed rules are voluntary for the towns to comply with and the state would have no way to make the towns comply.

A new poll finds most New Jerseyans want shore towns that get public money for beach replenishment to offer better public access to those newly widened beaches.

The state Department of Environmental Protection plans to issue new beach access rules later this month, designed to balance the public's right to use beaches against the cost to towns and property owners of providing public access.

A Rutgers-Eagleton survey paid for by the Surfrider Foundation, a beach access group, found more than 82 percent of those surveyed want towns that get beach replenishment funds to provide better public beach access on The Jersey Shore.

The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots, non-profit, environmental organization that works to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches. Founded in 1984, Surfrider Foundation's most important coastal environmental work is carried out by Surfrider Foundation's 60 chapters located along the East, West, Gulf, Puerto Rican, and Hawaiian coasts.

Karl Hess, Jersey Shore Real Estate Agent