This is additional information concerning the Jamaica Bay Task Force meeting at Ryan Center, Floyd Bennett Field on July 1st...In addition to the Nitrogen Abatement discussion which I wrote about previously on the blog, the topics included National Park Services’ “Operation Clean Bay with a presentation by John Daskalakis, National Parks Service...The plans and progress of Oyster Restoration with Dan Mundy, Jamaica Bay Eco-Watchers and John McLaughlin, NYC DEP...A report from Len Houston, Army Corps of Engineers on all of their Jamaica Bay projects... and Doug Adamo gave a power-point presentation on the Gateway Management Plan...
The task force is a body of private citizens, scientists and public officials who are dedicated to preserving the environmental quality of Jamaica Bay.
This post contains additional information on "Operation Clean Bay"...I'd sure like to see their operation first hand...
msnbc.com - National Park Bay in NYC is a Nautical Graveyard
Scores of Boats Litter the Shores and Lie Submerged in Shallow Waters...
But Jamaica Bay also is home to something far less breathtaking: abandoned boats.
At any time, scores of discarded boats — dinghies, rowboats, runabouts, even the occasional barge — litter the shores and lie submerged in its shallow water. It's a nautical junkyard, one more worry for ecologists in an area of the Gateway National Recreation Area where delicate marshes already are imperiled by rising water.
National Park Service officials say many of the boats are dumped by owners who simply don't want to deal with the hassle and cost of taking them to salvage yards. Others have simply drifted in after breaking away from their slips.
Clean-up Effort Ongoing
A dozen state, city and federal agencies have teamed up recently to clean up Jamaica Bay's not-so-incredible hulks, spending hours each week yanking them from the bay. But as crews pull the watercraft from the bay, more replace them.
John Daskalakis, a National Park Service district ranger, said a recent GPS survey of Jamaica Bay pinpointed about 88 wrecks and discards along the shore, of which 38 have been recovered, leaving 50 yet to be pulled out.
"That doesn't include the creeks leading into the bay," he said. "I've heard there are as many as 160, and a lot of them wind up in the creeks."
They may pose threats to the environment, to navigation, or simply spoil the experience for visitors. Some derelict craft have become hangouts for drug users, and those with engines can leak oil onto beaches or into the water, especially during storm surges, he said.
The 25,000-acre bay, flanked by John F. Kennedy International Airport and blocked from the ocean by the Rockaway Peninsula, is a key part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. About a third is set off as a national wildlife refuge, with more than 350 reported resident and migrant fliers, from hawks and herons to Monarch butterflies.
Cruising Gerritsen Creek with Capt. Bernie Schachner at the helm of his 26-foot "emergency response" boat White Cap Salvor, Daskalakis pointed out a half-dozen abandoned boats lying in weeds along the shore.
Up ahead, Schachner's brother and business partner, Capt. Jack Schachner, maneuvered another launch so his crewman could attach a line to a shabby motorboat on the beach.
The pair pulled the derelict free, lashed it to the side of the launch to keep it from sinking, and headed for a seaplane ramp at Floyd Bennett Field, where a Sanitation Department front-loader waited to drag it ashore.
Some people try to avoid getting caught by removing the identification number on the hull, but Jack Schachner radioed that the recovered boat still had numbers, which would enable officials to track down the former owner and bill him for the salvage. The towing alone would run $2,500, Bernie Schachner said. In addition, the owner might be fined for abandoning the boat rather than disposing of it legally. Owners are also assessed for any costs of cleaning up pollution.
Some try to sink boats by loading them with sand or drilling holes in the hull. "You have to patch the holes before you can pull them out," said Bernie Schachner.
One large boat found on shore was so firmly ensconced in underbrush that it took 40 Marine Corps reservists to lift it out.
But if birds nest in a derelict boat and there is no environmental issue, the craft is left in place. "We don't disturb habitat," Daskalakis said
That rule also applied last winter when a group of harbor seals "took over a boat and were resting on it," he said. "We left it alone.
Fox News - Protected Nat'l Park Bay in NYC is a Boat Graveyard - By Richard Pyle, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK — Jamaica Bay is located within the only national park in New York City, a place where herring gulls pirouette overhead, Canada geese sail in naval formation in quiet coves and harbor seals frolic on the shoreline.
But Jamaica Bay also is home to something far less breathtaking: abandoned boats.
At any time, scores of discarded boats _ dinghies, rowboats, runabouts, even the occasional barge _ litter the shores and lie submerged in its shallow water. It's a nautical junkyard, one more worry for ecologists in an area of the Gateway National Recreation Area where delicate marshes already are imperiled by rising water.
National Park Service officials say many of the boats are dumped by owners who simply don't want to deal with the hassle and cost of taking them to salvage yards. Others have simply drifted in after breaking away from their slips.
A dozen state, city and federal agencies have teamed up recently to clean up Jamaica Bay's not-so-incredible hulks, spending hours each week yanking them from the bay. But as crews pull the watercraft from the bay, more replace them.
John Daskalakis, a National Park Service district ranger, said a recent GPS survey of Jamaica Bay pinpointed about 88 wrecks and discards along the shore, of which 38 have been recovered, leaving 50 yet to be pulled out.
"That doesn't include the creeks leading into the bay," he said. "I've heard there are as many as 160, and a lot of them wind up in the creeks."
They may pose threats to the environment, to navigation, or simply spoil the experience for visitors. Some derelict craft have become hangouts for drug users, and those with engines can leak oil onto beaches or into the water, especially during storm surges, he said.
The 25,000-acre bay, flanked by John F. Kennedy International Airport and blocked from the ocean by the Rockaway Peninsula, is a key part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. About a third is set off as a national wildlife refuge, with more than 350 reported resident and migrant fliers, from hawks and herons to Monarch butterflies.
Cruising Gerritsen Creek with Capt. Bernie Schachner at the helm of his 26-foot "emergency response" boat White Cap Salvor, Daskalakis pointed out a half-dozen abandoned boats lying in weeds along the shore.
Up ahead, Schachner's brother and business partner, Capt. Jack Schachner, maneuvered another launch so his crewman could attach a line to a shabby motorboat on the beach.
The pair pulled the derelict free, lashed it to the side of the launch to keep it from sinking, and headed for a seaplane ramp at Floyd Bennett Field, where a Sanitation Department front-loader waited to drag it ashore.
Some people try to avoid getting caught by removing the identification number on the hull, but Jack Schachner radioed that the recovered boat still had numbers, which would enable officials to track down the former owner and bill him for the salvage. The towing alone would run $2,500, Bernie Schachner said. In addition, the owner might be fined for abandoning the boat rather than disposing of it legally. Owners are also assessed for any costs of cleaning up pollution.
Some try to sink boats by loading them with sand or drilling holes in the hull. "You have to patch the holes before you can pull them out," said Bernie Schachner.
One large boat found on shore was so firmly ensconced in underbrush that it took 40 Marine Corps reservists to lift it out.
But if birds nest in a derelict boat and there is no environmental issue, the craft is left in place. "We don't disturb habitat," Daskalakis said
That rule also applied last winter when a group of harbor seals "took over a boat and were resting on it," he said. "We left it alone."
On the Net:
Gateway National Recreation Area: http://www.nps.gov/gate/
Shipwrecks Threaten Sensitive Ecosystem in Jamaica Bay – Stephen Del Persio - greenbuildingsNYC
Jamaica Bay has become the dumping ground for derelict yachts, boats, and even barges according to a recent report on MSNBC.com. Despite its protection as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area- the only National Park in New York City- the Bay has accrued 88 shipwrecks.
Jamaica Bay is a 25,000 acre bay which is surrounded by Rockaway Peninsula on one side and John F. Kennedy Airport on the other. A third of the Bay is a national wildlife refuge which plays host to over 350 species.
The number of wrecks does not even take into account close to 160 wrecks collecting in the creeks leading into the Bay. These wrecks pose an environmental hazard by leaking oil and gas into the sensitive ecosystems surrounding Jamaica Bay. The risks are not just environmental; drug users have taken up residence in some of the wrecks and navigation in the Bay is threatened by them as well.
Park caretakers are fighting back. While most boat owners take care to try.
Jamaica Bay is a 25,000 acre bay which is surrounded by Rockaway Peninsula on one side and John F. Kennedy Airport on the other. A third of the Bay is a national wildlife refuge which plays host to over 350 species.
The number of wrecks does not even take into account close to 160 wrecks collecting in the creeks leading into the Bay. These wrecks pose an environmental hazard by leaking oil and gas into the sensitive ecosystems surrounding Jamaica Bay. The risks are not just environmental; drug users have taken up residence in some of the wrecks and navigation in the Bay is threatened by them as well.
Park caretakers are fighting back. While most boat owners take care to try to remove all vestiges of the vehicle identification numbers, often they are not one hundred percent successful at doing so and this allows the government to track them down and charge them for the dumping fee.
The only time that they leave a wreck alone is if the resident wildlife have decided to use the wreck as a nesting ground, as was the case with a pack of harbor seals.
If you want to join the cleanup effort, inquire after doing so with the National Park Service.
More on the Web...
Gateway National Recreation Area (National Parks Service)
