New Jersey Beaches Shored Up for the Summer Season

by Kim Kosko, Director of Communications, NJSGC
 
     NJSGC and the Richard Stockton College Coastal Research Center announced the results of the third annual 2010 New Jersey's Top Ten Beaches Survey at its eighth annual State of the Shore Media Event held on May 27th at The Sea Gull's Nest on Sandy Hook.

     Voted as New Jersey's top beach destination overall was The Wildwoods, followed by Ocean City, Long Beach Island, Asbury Park, Sea Isle City, Cape May, Island Beach State Park, Seaside Heights, Cape May Point and Avalon. The Wildwoods also took top honors in each of the four special categories, selected as the best beach destination for Day Trips, Ecotourism, Family Vacations and Shore Events.

     The popular pre-summer event, hosted in conjunction with Stevens Institute of Technology, was anchored around the release of the 2010 State of the Shore Report compiled by Dr. Jon Miller, Stevens-NJSGC Extension Program Coastal Processes Specialist. The document, traditionally released just before Memorial Day weekend, assesses how the beaches around the state physically survived the winter weather and emphasizes the value of the state's beaches and coastal resources to shore tourism and the economy. Although the shore endured several major storm events this past winter that damaged New Jersey's beaches, Dr. Miller added that "The good news is that most communities have a strategy and have been busy preparing for the summer season" by accelerating the beach recovery process.

     The event featured remarks from Bob Martin, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Anthony Minnick, Acting Director of New Jersey Travel and Tourism. This year's agenda was expanded to include overviews of research projects that have a direct impact on the state of the shore as we head into the busy summer tourism season. The 2010 featured scientists were Dr. Louise Wootton of Georgian Court University whose research, funded by NJSGC, is helping to determine ways to eradicate invasive plant species that threaten the dunes on beaches like Sandy Hook and Island Beach State Park and Dr. Josh Kohut from Rutgers University whose NJSGC-funded research is improving rip current forecasting.