Wild New Jersey

No, it's not an especially crazy episode of the locally-despised series The Jersey Shore, it's a new book chronicling author David Wheeler's travels through-out New Jersey's varied natural habitats.

Wheeler's New Jersey is a place where the fastest animal on earth dive-bombs him from the skies. A young black bear bounds up a mountain trail a few yards away. Poisonous snakes swirl at his feet. A thousand bats careen past his head in a pitch-black roost. Pods of dolphins swim right past him by the scores. Where? You may ask, in Wild New Jersey, of course.

Wheeler traversed mountains, valleys, beaches, forests, caves, rivers and marshlands via kayaks, pontoon boats, dogsleds, canoes and his own feet. Among his non-human companions were porcupines, bobcats, snapping turtles, beavers, Atlantic puffins and peregrine falcons...through-out the region's diverse wildlife and terrain - possibly the best kept secret in a state known for malls and diners, not nature.

The book looks at the different geographic regions of New Jersey: the Rugged Northwest, the Urban Northeast, the Jersey Shore, the Cape and Pines, and the Heartland, and includes maps and images taken by a variety of photographers.

Among the state's attractions Wheeler lists are "world-class" bird migrations along The Jersey Shore, scenic marshes around Trenton and Hamilton, and "rugged and dramatic wilderness" in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

The area known as the Pine Barrens is particularly intriguing to Wheeler, who calls the region "the last true wilderness on the eastern seaboard" and lived for a time in Toms River, just outside of the 1.1 million-acre tract of forest.

Wild New Jersey invites readers along Wheeler's whirlwind year-long tour of the most ecologically diverse state for its size in America. Along with the expert guidance of charismatic wildlife biologists and local conservationists, he explores mountains, valleys, beaches, pine barrens, caves, rivers, marshlands, and more-breathtaking landscapes and the state's Noah's Ark of fascinating creatures.

This isn't your ordinary ride on the Jersey Turnpike. Fasten your seat-belts and join Wheeler as he, kayaks through the Meadowlands under the watchful eye of the Empire State Building, pans for cretaceous fossils in a hidden brook once home to mastodons and giant sloths, rides a fishing boat in the frigid snows of winter on a high-seas quest for Atlantic puffins, trudges through the eerie darkness of a bog on a mysterious night hike, dogsleds across the windswept alpine slopes in the haunts of the porcupine and bobcat.

With Wheeler's compelling narrative, in-depth background details, and eye for revealing the offbeat, you can count this as the first nature book to paint the extraordinary picture of New Jersey's unlikely wilderness in all its glory. Come along for all the adventure and insight in Wild New Jersey!

Karl Hess, Keller Willams Realty Jersey Shore

NJ Flounder Regulations Approved; Sea Bass Season Delayed

The 2011 summer flounder regulations approved last Thursday by the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Commission increased the bag limit by two fish and lengthened the season to 142 days of fishing. Anglers can now keep eight fish at 18 inches and fish from May 7 to Sept. 25. Last year's regs were six fish at 18 inches with a season that started later, May 29, and ended sooner, Sept. 6.

At the same meeting that approved the fluke rules, it was decided that New Jersey's sea bass season will start start June 4, instead of the expected May 22. The Striped Bass Bonus Program (SBBP) has been an integral part of New Jersey's striped bass management since 1990. It is a popular program with the fishing community and provides valuable data for assessing stock status and fishing trends.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife (Division) initiated the program in 1990 to allow the harvest of an additional striped bass for New Jersey recreational anglers. Although the program has been modified throughout the years, the main goal of the SBBP is to allow anglers to participate in the management process while enjoying their favorite recreational pastime.

 Karl Hess, Jersey Shore Homes

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

Seal'ed with a Kiss

On February 19th, the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park Interpretative Center, will be holding a seminar on the winter population of seals and the work the Marine Mammal Stranding Center does to rehabilitate injured marine life. In conjunction with Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce's LBI Chocolate Week, each attendee will receive a chocolate kiss. Information: 609-494-2016

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC)is a private non-profit organization based in Brigantine, New Jersey. Since the Center's founding in 1978, staff and volunteers have responded to over 3610 calls for stranded whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles that washed ashore on New Jersey beaches.  These animals range from a 5 lb. Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle to a 25-ton Humpback Whale (both of which are endangered species).

Barnegat Lighthouse was re-illuminated on January 1, 2009 - exactly 150 years to the day that it was originally lit in 1859. Thanks to the Friends of Barnegat Lighthouse, the nonprofit group dedicated to preserving and promoting the park, funds were raised to purchase a new Coast Guard-approved lens. The new light creates a single beam that can be visible for up to 22 nautical miles. In 1927, the original lens was removed, and was replaced by a lightship anchored off the coast of Barnegat light. The original lens is still on display down the road at the Barnegat Lighthouse Historical Society's Museum.

A panoramic view of Island Beach, Barnegat Bay, and Long Beach Island awaits visitors at the top of Barnegat Lighthouse. The lighthouse is open daily from 10 AM to 4:30 PM (weather permitting) from Memorial Day through Labor Day and weekends in the winter. There is a $1 fee per person to enter the lighthouse from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Children under 12 are free and must be accompanied by an adult. Visitors can also catch the views from the top without climbing the 217 steps thanks to four cameras that transmit live images of the view to a display in the adjacent Interpretive Center.

Karl Hess, Keller Williams Jersey Shore