Categories
bayshore recovery

An urgent summer request from Baysave

We are very close to reopening a number of community support programs after several years of shutdown:
– Redesigned boat launch
– Boat and kayak rental
– Emergency boat services
– Educational programs
– Oyster shell recycling
But we’ve simply run out of recovery funds and need to ask for your support to raise $12,000 to get us past this last financial barrier to reopen services this month.

Baysave took over the public programs after the business at Money Island Marina closed in 2019. The current regulatory and legal environment makes many of these important services unsustainable by a private business and so long term public involvement is required. Permanent solutions probably will not happen until later this decade. We estimate 2030. Meanwhile, Baysave is trying to keep alive the basic services like docks, boat launch, boat and kayak rentals, bait and ice, and educational tours. We’ve taken our recovery efforts as far as we could without external support. We are now very close to being able to reopen programs to the public, but now out of funds to get us past that last barrier.

You probably know that the past few years have been difficult for us. Most of the key people in our community from before the Covid era are no longer with us. Our small community suffered an unusually high rate of death and disability. Those who survived still lost months of work time in recovery. Meanwhile, local people out of work spurred an unprecedented rash of crime, stealing and looting items from the closed buildings and work yards here. The financial aid that helped other business communities recover never arrived here.

Storm Isaias during the Covid shutdown caused more physical damage to the marina facilities than any other storm, including Sandy. Since this was likely a localized disaster, no source of recovery funds was available. We’ve made progress each month and the important major infrastructure is now rebuilt or planned for reconstruction. We lifted the boathouse, raised the road, upgraded the water well system and electrical services, and completed many smaller projects.

We were forced to invest in increased security protections before attempting to replace the stolen equipment. Next week Baysave will implement new AI-assisted technology to help deter illegal harvesting at restorative aquaculture sites here. This technology is expensive to install and requires a monthly monitoring contract, so we need to expand ongoing revenues from rentals and boat launch use to sustain this protection. Finally, we need to cover the cost of liability insurance that is increasingly difficult to find at an affordable price for a small operation like ours. But we have some new options as soon as funds are available.

Your generous donation can help us get past this final obstacle to reopening services immediately this month.

Baysave is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation registered with the State of New Jersey. Our web site is Baysave.org. Donations can be mare online though https://paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2054623, or in person. Contact Tony Novak, controller, at 856-237-9199 with any questions.

Categories
New Jersey oysters regenerative aquaculture

North Jersey and South Jersey face much different challenges with artificial oyster beds

Researchers in North Jersey working with artificial oyster reef projects in Raritan Bay and the Hudson Estuary in New Jersey report that after 2-3 years the living oysters die off and recruitment of new oysters is very low. New Jersey SeaGrant is supporting further study.

Meanwhile here in South Jersey, anecdotal observation of our artificial oyster reefs here at Money Island Marina indicate the opposite. The reefs are thriving. Unfortunately, this is attracting unwanted attention from illegal harvesters. Growth on the reefs was slow and almost unnoticeable in the first few years after implementation and Baysave previously reported almost 100% winter die-off of intertidal reefs exposed to freezing temperatures. But now the reefs are thriving.

Our largest concern is preventing non-English speaking visitors from illegally harvesting the artificial beds in environmentally sensitive or dangerous areas. In recent years a wave of Asian visitors from Philadelphia have shown unwillingness to abide by warning signs and physical barriers protecting the reef areas. Visitors trample the mash grass and climb over slippery moss-covered rock jetties to get to the oysters. Some shuck the oysters there as soon as they are pulled from the reef, collecting the oyster meats in a bucket. Law enforcement resources are understaffed and mostly ineffective in dealing with this new challenge. A video traffic study by Baysave in 2021 documented the phenomenon that over 90% of the daily visitors to Money Island are Asians with Pennsylvania license plates. The same pattern is noticed in criminal trespass complaints by local businesses. Most visitors have limited English language skills. We presume that at least some of the behavior is willfully negligent. New AI-assisted traffic surveillance and reporting technologies are being implemented this month. This may connect law enforcement databases across state lines to be able to more easily identify Pennsylvania vehicles connected with crimes in New Jersey. It is not yet known what effect this will have.

Categories
sustainability

Oyster shell recycling program ends

Baysave is sad to announce a halt of oyster shell recycling programs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The program began in 2003 and helped recycle hundreds of tons if shells back to oyster aquaculture and oyster reef restoration efforts. But the program has not been funded since before the pandemic. Baysave was approved for pandemic relief funding, but the funds never arrived from the Small Business Administration that was charged with administering the program. Already in 2023 several usually reliable funding sources have declined applications for support. We are unable to continue operating without community support.

oyster shell pickup in Philadelphia
oyster shell pickup in Philadelphia
Recylced oyster shells are cleaned and then used to rebuild oyster reefs.
Categories
government New Jersey sustainability

NJ moves toward zero emissions

Yesterday, 2/15/2023, New Jersey became the 12th state to adapt a zero emissions energy plan by 2035. (Two states use a target date of 2033).

The action yesterday came by executive announcement. Pending legislation like S2978 and A4658 will eventually codify the plan. The governor emphasized that individual rights must be upheld saying “No one is going to be forced to do anything in any way.” He added “No one is coming for anyone’s gas stove,” referring to recent misinformation campaigns. Environmental groups criticize the governor for failing to act on campaign pledges.

In recent years the state did implement a series of policies through the Department of Environmental Resources that control land use and other climate-related development issues. These changes, along with future legislation, will be the mechanisms of change from fossil fuel to clean energy and the continued adaptations for sustainability.

Categories
climate change fisheries New Jersey

What’s going on with New Jersey whales?

The changing behavioral and feeding patterns of whales of the New Jersey shore have been known to scientists for decades but recently the issue is brought to public attention in an unexpected political association. This is what we know:
– The traditional main food of whales is krill, a small crustacen similar to what many of us know locally as “grass shrimp”, although the species are scientifically different.
– Krill are among the most abundant species on earth. But human harvesting of krill has increased sharply in the past decade as food for the growing aquaculture industry.
– Water warming changes might also be contributing to a decline in krill population.
– Along the New Jersey shore, whales feed on menhaden, that we know as “bunker”.
– Menhaden schools have rebounded close to the New Jersey shorelines.
– New Jersey boat captains report more whales feeding close to shore now.
– NOAA believes increased that strikes between ships and whales is responsible for increased deaths along shore.
– Political groups tried to exploit public ignorance of the issue to associate local whale deaths at the shore to the wind energy industry when no factual relationship exists.

Categories
sustainability

Think globally, act locally

Snags for carbon offset projects

One of the key take home messages from the 2023 World Economic Forum in Davis last week was that our carbon offset market system is not working efficiently. This concept is commonly known as ‘cap and trade’.

The concept is solid. The problem, from our simplified perspective, is that there are too many layers of management and oversight chewing up resources and leaving too little for local ‘shovel ready’ projects. Translating the project goals into a carbon-based accounting system means that we are working in a currency system unfamiliar to all except a few specialists. An emphasis by carbon exchanges on projects in located in remote parts of the world amplifies this problem. There are too many complicating factors for the cap and trade system to work as conceived.

A secondary problem, at least here in the U.S, is that political will is building in opposition to the climate goals adapted by businesses and their customers. Any synergy that could be gained is lost in this environment. Governments historically provide assistance in the form of tax credits; a proven system that is far easier that the carbon credit market.

I fault the AICPA here in the U.S. for not taking a more active role and providing more leadership in this area. Yet I am not surprised. The AICPA seems to focus on the fewer large businesses, not the many more small businesses that dominate this local environmental offset and sustainability market. Despite all the discussion, we haven’t really embraced carbon-based accounting.

The key question remains:

Is there a simple practical way to connect local carbon generators with carbon offset projects here in our own local area without suffering the efficiency losses discussed at WEF? I will continue to look for possibilities.

Categories
sustainability

Request for community support for osprey nest protection signs

Baysave is asking for community support for our Money Island resident osprey pair.

Last season the rush of spring fishermen near our Bayview Road osprey nest disturbed the birds, they spent too long away from the nest, and the eggs died and did not hatch. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen again.

Yesterday and today we had visiting fishermen who disturbed the nest. We will take quick action.

NJDEP provided this sign design. We will print 4 of them and mount them on two double-sided plastic display stands. We will need to anchor them to withstand heavy wind on the beach.

Ospreys mate for life and return to the same nest year after year. Please support us in making sure that our osprey pair has a safe and peaceful nesting season.

PLEASE USE THE DONATE TAB ABOVE AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS PROJECT.

Thank you!

Categories
sustainability

Maximize the tax benefit of your boat donation

Thinking about donating your boat? Here’s a year end charitable donation caution:

Some charities are advertising that they accept donations of boats. What they don’t say is that to maximize your tax deduction the IRS requires a certified appraisal report by a professional marine surveyor for the donor to take a tax deduction for the full boat value. Without a certified appraisal, the tax deduction is limited to the amount that they get when they sell the boat (in the middle of winter in a depressed wholesale market). This typically reduces the tax benefit of your donation.

Baysave is different. We keep the boat to benefit the local community. It may serve the nonprofit marina or may be converted to develop sustainable aquaculture. The tax deduction amount is based on a potentially higher appraised value. The issue is that these certified boat appraisals are very rare.
We don’t think that there is any charity in our region other than Baysave that has the resources

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, expertise and know-how to take charge and get the documentation that a taxpayer needs to get their boat donation tax deduction. The details, documentation and timing matter.

If you are considering donating a boat, rely on the CPA leadership of Baysave to help our rural bayshore and lock in a safe tax deduction.

For more information see IRS instructions for Form 8283 at https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8283

Categories
investment New Jersey sustainability

Wording for 2022 campaigns

Strong messaging is important to the success of any organization. We are working on the messaging for communication programs for 2022.

This is one proposal:

“Rural pristine Money Island on the state’s Delaware Bay west coast hosts a New Jersey Clean Marina

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, is the #2 most productive seafood landing port in the state, and is a hub of shoreline stability research and investment. Millions are invested in sustainability already with even greater investments planned for a sustainable future ahead.

BaySave hosts educational programs for qualified investors and recreational users who want to get involved in the early stage leadership in this new type of environmentally sound sustainable redevelopment.

Ask us how you can get involved in this exciting story of New Jersey’s ground zero test site for clean energy, living shorelines and regenerative aquaculture!”

Categories
sustainability

2022 Post-pandemic business recovery plan

Baysave’s 2022 post-pandemic business plan summary is now available.

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