Featuring...Save Barnegat Bay

Since our bays and oceans are closely connected, it is most fitting to have Save Barnegat Bay (SBB) as part of our COAlition.  SBB is a small not-for-profit environmental group working to conserve  undeveloped  natural land and clean water throughout the Barnegat Bay watershed, over 660 square miles in Ocean County and parts of Monmouth County, New Jersey.  

Founded first in 1971 as a local chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, a leading national environmental organization, SBB is an environmental leader in NJ and a crucial voice for Barnegat Bay.

Over the years SBB has taken-on developers, planning, and zoning boards, and the NJDEP in court battles to conserve land and improve water quality.  SBB also uses Green Acres, foundation, and other funding to purchase environmentally sensitive land in order to convey it to public ownership as permanently protected natural open space, with appropriate public access allowed. 

Some of SBB’s most noteworthy accomplishments include its success in helping to create NJ’s first Marine Conservation Zone around the Sedge Islands at Island Beach State Park in 2001.  In 1987, SBB successfully lobbied for the Barnegat Bay Study bill, the legislation that led the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program. 

SBB’s continuous battle is over-development, which is the primary threat to the Barnegat Bay ecosystem and to the quality of life for those who live in or visit the Bay area.  The group is also leading the charge against "pay to play" practices in New Jersey, which have an adverse affect on environmental policies.

To help further its mission, SBB holds an annual meeting (next: June 28, 2004), local waterway cleanups, and fundraising events.  The small staff of SBB, led by Willie deCamp, Jr. (also Vice President of COA’s Board of Trustees), and Jennifer O’Reilly, have made big strides in protecting the Bay.  

SBB is looking for volunteers.  To lend a hand or learn more about SBB, stop by their office at 906 B Grand Central Avenue (Route 35 North) in Lavallette, call 732-830-3600, or visit www.savebarnegatbay.org.