What's Happening in Barnegat Bay?
Independent studies confirm that Barnegat Bay is dying! Now is the time for voluntary citizen actions to reverse the tide! Clean Ocean Action and Save Barnegat Bay have developed a simple and easy program to engage homeowners and businesses to connect the drops and become a “Barnegat Bay Buddy.” Citizens earn points by taking actions that will reduce the pollution entering the Bay.
Why? As we all know, the extraordinary Barnegat Bay ecosystem is essential to our quality of life, and to New Jersey's economy. For many, Barnegat Bay is where they first learned how to fish and boat while others enjoy summer sunsets, crabbing, clamming, perfect sails, and boating with friends. Sadly, many of these joys are disappearing or are at great risk.
Excessive nitrogen from lawn care fertilizers, as well as other land-based pollution from pet waste, deforestation, overdevelopment, and air pollution are destroying the fragile and unique ecosystem of the Bay.
Making the challenge even greater is that the Bay’s watershed is over 425,117-acres encompassing 33 municipalities with a combined estimated population of 560,000 that increases to more than 900,000 during the summer months. With such a large area and so many people, it is evident, we need to work together to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the Bay. To that end, Clean Ocean Action and Save Barnegat Bay urge the citizens of Ocean Countyto take the Barnegat Bay Buddy Challenge!
How? By taking the Barnegat Bay Buddy Challenge, individuals can identify small steps to reduce non-point source pollution and implement the most environmentally efficient management practices on their properties and in their daily lives. In addition, the Barnegat Bay Buddy Challenge helps individuals become better Bay stewards, and will incorporate them within a larger movement for collective citizen action to help Barnegat Bay.
Barnegat Bay Buddy is a collaborative project by Clean Ocean Action (COA) and Save Barnegat Bay (SBB), and is part of a bay-wide initiative by Save Barnegat Bay called the Nitrogen Pollution Action Project.
Links:
