WEST JERSEY
SIERRA 2004
YEAR-END
ANNUAL
REPORT
Chair: Gina Carola
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
MAP
CAMDEN BURLINGTON
GLOUCESTER
Wayne Zanni, Vice Chair
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
CONTENTS
• Membership
• Account
• Fundraising
• Politics
• Conservation
• Presentations
• Events
• Inner City Outings
• Refreshments
Secretary:
Becky Payne
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Account
December 2003
$4,665
December 2004
$3,450
Deficit
$1,215
Treasurer: Trish Clements
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Membership
Membership Chair: Mike Brown
December 2003
2,271
December 2004
2,659
Gain
388
+17%
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Fundraising
Fundraising Chair: Reiss Tiffany
Purchase
Projector
$1,000
Sales
– Onions
$ 1,257
– Calendars $ 518
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Conservation
Conservation Chair: Stacey Ayala
• Camden Greenways
• Petty Island
• Pinelands
• Fast Track Bill
• Highlands
• Other
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Conservation
Lower Delaware River
• Delaware Deepening- The Army Corp of Engineers
was denied its permits that it has been after for over 5
years.
The request was denied citing “too many
environmental issues”.
• Delaware Oil Spill - On November 26, an oil tanker,
damaged while attempting to dock at a Citgo Petroleum Corp.
terminal in West Deptford Township, spilled a still-undetermined
amount of crude oil into the Delaware River. Since that time, the
DEP has been on the scene daily, working closely with the U.S.
Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies to contain
and clean up the oil.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Conservation
VX Nerve Gas
The DuPont Corporation has submitted a bid to
treat the VX nerve gas at their Deepwater facility
in Salem County, NJ. This process would include
releasing the effluent into the Delaware River.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Camden Greenways
Greenways Chairs: Frank and Ellen Zinni
Mission of Camden Greenways:
To create new parks and link existing parks along the Delaware River,
Cooper, and Newton Creek in Camden, NJ. This park system will link
the City with surrounding County Parks and the Camden and
Philadelphia waterfronts. It will provide recreational and educational
opportunities for young and old alike.
About Camden Greenways Inc (CGI):
CGI is a partnership of neighborhood organizations, both local and
regional organizations as well as governments including, local, county,
State and federal government. CGI is a 501 C 3 not-for-profit
organization organized to help promote greenways within the City of
Camden and the region.
http://sierraactivist.org/CGI-brochure2.21.03.doc
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Pinelands
Pinelands Chair: Lee Snyder
• Atlantic City Airport Expansion - The airport is planning an
expansion of its facility which is all within Pinelands jurisdiction.
• Batsto Fish Ladder This took several years of lobbying but DEP
is finally going to build the fish ladder.
• Conectiv Tract - A 1,500 acre tract of land in Millville is
possibly going to be sold to a developer who plans to build 800900 new homes and a golf course. Most of Millville does not fall
under Pinelands jurisdiction but this area could be and the state
offered $2,000,000 to purchase it for conservation. As the city is
for the development, it looks as though the developer will be
winning the bid on the land. In a cost analysis, it was
determined that it would actually cost more to develop the land
than to preserve it.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Petty Island
View of Petty's Island
from Pyne Point Park,
Camden, NJ.
Petty's Island & North
Camden - Shows wetlands
& eagle buffers + nest.
Source: Pennsauken
Waterfront Master Plan
Another view of Petty's Island from
Pyne Point Park, Camden, NJ. Here
we see the southern tip of the island
contrasting with the industrial
development on the Pennsylvania
bank of the Delaware River.
Petty's Island detail showing
wetlands and protective radius
about nest. Source: Pennsauken
Waterfront Master Plan
Petty's Island View
facing south with
36th Street Bridge
lower left.
Petty's Island wetlands
and environmental
sensitive areas. NJDEP
staff overlay.
http://sierraactivist.org/gallery/pettys
Photographs by Dennis Schvejda
Petty's Island today. Oil
tanks in upper right no
longer used. Marine
terminal in middle.
Eagle nest in between.
NJDEP Staff Overlay Petty's Island buildable
acres with minimum
environmental
protection buffers.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Petty Island
Elmer Clegg, NJ bald eagle
monitoring volunteer,
posted these signs around
the perimiter of the bald
eagle nesting site.
A view of what had been a dirt
road, now overgrown with
grasses and shrubs, on our way
o the freshwater ponds on
southern Petty's Island.
Here's the nest of the bald
eagle pair that have captivated
newspaper headlines. The nest
may look small, but it's about
six feet across.
Petty's Island has several
freshwater ponds surrounded
by emergent grasses and
wetlands. They provide habitat
for waterfowl and wading birds.
A view looking west from the old dirt
road, into what are essentially early
successional trees. The most common
on Petty's Island are cottonwoods,
birches, paulownia, and a smattering
of sweet gum and sycamore.
Yellow-crowned and blackcrowned night herons also
nest on the island. We are
looking at a heron rookery.
The dark "splotches" in the
tree are heron nests.
http://sierraactivist.org/gallery/pettys
Photographs by Dennis Schvejda
A closer view of the
opposite pond shore.
Our guide, Don Griffin of
Citgo, showing Dennis
Schvejda, Sierra Club's
Conservation Director,
the heron rookery.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Petty Island
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Petty Island
THE
CHEROKEE
PLAN
Cherokee Building Plan Petty's Island. Shows golf
hotel, Club Crescent, and
Gateway Villages. 751
homes, 250 room hotel.
Cherokee Plan with 18
hole golf course covers
Petty's Island. Eagle nest
forest thinned for paths.
http://sierraactivist.org/gallery/pettys
Photographs by Dennis Schvejda
Plan for Petty's Island Detail.
Note development on both sides
of treed area with paths where
eagle nest had been.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Politics
Sierra
A record number of members voted in the election and good
has triumphed over evil. The winners were all nominating
committee members and the outsiders were vanquished.
National
Lisa Renstrom
141,407
Jan O'Connell
132,262
Nick Aumen
123,332
Sanjay Ranchod
123,332
David Karpf
110,756
Group
Gina Carola
(enough)
Wayne Zanni
(enough)
Rebecca Payne (enough)
Trish Clements (enough)
Political Chair: Marie Hageman
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Politics
National
President
George W. Bush
NJ 1st Camden / Gloucester
Andrews
endorsed
NJ 2nd Atlantic / Cumberland /
Cape May / Salem /
Gloucester
LoBiondo endorsed
NJ 3rd Burlington / Camden
Saxton
endorsed
Political Chair: Marie Hageman
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Legislation
CLEAN CAR LAW - state
The first win of the year was the Clean Car Bill.
This new law encourages car manufactures to produce
the cleanest cars possible for New Jersey as early as this
year and in increasing numbers over time. Although the
bill would not mandate manufacturers produce clean
cars for New Jersey before 2009, it is believed that the
state would immediately see the impact of the bill
because automakers would want to start banking credits
for the 2009 requirement by placing cleaner advanced
technology cars in New Jersey right now. It is expected
that the results will be that air toxins will be reduced by
an additional 23 percent more than the federal emission
standards and smog precursors by 19 percent by 2020
through stricter car emissions standards and the
promotion of cleaner, advanced technology vehicles
across the state.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Legislation
THE FAST TRACK LAW - state
• This bill will enable builders to pay an extra fee
to have their applications for developing
reviewed quickly. If the DEP has not responded
within 45 days, the application is immediately
approved. If the DEP rejects the application,
they must defend their reasons in court if the
developer decides to sue. Also, the developers
can have the application review done by the
reviewers of their choice from a list of “preapproved” reviewers.
• However, all is not lost. On November 6, 2004
Gov. McGreevey, just before leaving office,
signed
an
executive
order
delaying
the
implementation of the law.
There is still hope.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Legislation
HIGHLANDS LAW-state
Next very significant win: Highlands Bill
• On June 10, 2004, both houses of the New Jersey
Legislature passed the Highlands Water Protection and
Planning Act. This bill--signed by the governor on
August 10--is the most significant piece of state land
use legislation since the State Planning Act of 1985, and
is among the most significant environmental bills ever
passed by the State of New Jersey. Protection of fresh
water was a primary motivation.
• The Highlands Region supplies drinking water for more
than 11 million people and is home to more than 200
plant and 50 animal species. It also serves as a
recreational area for nearly 25 million people who live
within one hour's drive of the region that stretches from
Pennsylvania and New Jersey through New York and
Connecticut.
• Hovnanian Builders - Agreed to donate 6,000 acres to
conservation efforts and plans to build 2,450 homes on the
1,000 acres.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Legislation
HIGHLANDS LAW-federal
• Surprisingly, on a Federal level, Bush signed the Highlands
Conservation Act on Tuesday, November 30, authorizing
$110 million to preserve open space in northern New
Jersey and neighboring states.
• The act was supported by New Jersey's Democrats and
Republicans in Congress -- the chief author was Rep.
Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, who said he was thrilled
that Bush had signed it. Democratic Sens. Jon Corzine and
Frank Lautenberg worked on the bill with Frelinghuysen.
• "This is a historic achievement and major victory for the
preservation of the New Jersey Highlands, one of the last
open space treasures in the most densely populated area of
the country," Frelinghuysen said.
• Corzine said the Highlands region is a national treasure that
must be preserved, and that the measure would keep the
area from being developed.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Legislation
SNOWMOBILES-federal
We lost the Holt amendment to ban
snowmobiles from Yellowstone by a
vote of 198-224. Congressman Rush Holt
tried hard to get this amendment passed,
but the snowmobile manufactures lobbied
very hard too. Snowmobilers like to tear
through the wilderness areas of the parks in
large numbers. This frightens herds of deer,
elk and buffalo along with other wildlife.
They start running and often run until they
collapse from exhaustion.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Legislation
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
ANWR-federal
Looks like President Bush took
drilling in ANWR out of the energy
bill and hid it in the House
omnibus bill.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Presentations
• January - Delaware River Bayshores Discovery Project:
Kristoffer Whitney
• February - Water Testing Volunteerism: AmeriCorp.:
Mike Gross & Josh Melissari
• March - Fish Kill: - Roxanne Shinn: RiverKeepers.
• April - Organic Gardening: Rutgers Co-Op Tom Polinski,
Master Gardener
• May - Smart Growth: Rowan Prof. Dr. John Hasse.
• June - Solar Power: Tim Fostik.
• September - Population Control: Bonnie Tillery.
• October - Heritage Trail: Celeste Tracy.
• November – TerraCycle: Bob Chioppa.
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Events
•
•
Habitat for Humanity
Earth Fairs
–
–
–
April 24 - Wash Twp
June 13 - Burl County
June 13 - Glouco Waterfest
Publicity Chair: Bud Kaliss
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Outings
Inner City Outings
Thanks to
Jennifer Grenier
&
Maxine Vogt
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
Refreshments
Thanks
to
Ellen Zinni
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
COMING UP FOR 2005
• Fast Track Legislation repeal
• Petty Island preservation
• Politics
– State Gubernatorial
– State Assembly
• Delaware Oil Spill Clean-up
• Liquid Natural Gas port in Logan Twp.
• VX Nerve Gas
• Programs –
– January
– February
Jessica Grudowski – N.J. Watersheds
Mike Hogan - Rebirth of Big Timber Creek
And of course---
BUSHWORLD MONITORING!
WEST JERSEY SIERRA 2004
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chair:
Vice Chair:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Political Chair:
Publicity Chair:
Conservation Chair:
Membership Chair:
Fundraising Chair:
Pinelands Rep:
Greenways Chairs:
Outings Chair:
Program Chair:
Gina Carola
Wayne Zanni
Becky Payne
Trish Clements
Marie Hageman
Bud Kaliss
Stacey Ayala
Mike Brown
Reiss Tiffany
Lee Snyder
Frank and Ellen Zinni
Jennifer Grenier &
Maxine Vogt
Open
WEST JERSEY
SIERRA 2004
YEAR-END
ANNUAL
REPORT
Prepared by:
Wayne Zanni, Vice Chair