At the Old Coast Guard Station in the Rockaways, a group
of men in National Parks Service uniforms talked about the day’s
upcoming boat ride, braving the early morning chill.
"It’s too windy," one man remarked. "We
should reschedule."
But the comments did little to deter Councilman James
Gennaro, who along with a group comprised of federal officials, an
environmentalist and reporters, embarked on a sail to examine the eroding
salt marshes of Jamaica Bay – land that is wasting away at a rate of 50
acres a year according to some estimates – land that could be totally
gone within the next 20 years.
Jamaica Bay consists of 13,000 acres off southern Queens
and Brooklyn.
The bay is bordered by Gateway National Recreation Area, a
natural preserve containing a wildlife refuge for birds and rare species
along with thousands of other fish and organisms that live and migrate
there.
But a few years ago, a group of local fishermen called the
Jamaica Bay Eco Watchers discovered that the marsh islands in the bay were
disappearing.
When the findings were later confirmed by a study by the
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) it appeared that time
could be running out for the marshland.
According to Christopher Ward, Commissioner of the New
York City Department Of Environmental Protection (DEP), possible causes
for the salt marsh erosion include the bay’s history of dredging,
recreational boating in the bay, geese feeding patterns, rising sea
levels, tidal flows, and the emptying of nutrient-rich waste water into
Jamaica Bay.
"We’re going to save the bay," said Gennaro,
the City Council’s Environmental Committee chairperson, who helped
organize the Nov. 6 boat tour of Jamaica Bay along with Gateway National
Recreation Area officials.
As the boat passed under the Gil Hodges Bridge and stopped
at a nearby salt marsh, Gennaro listened to Dan Mundy of Jamaica Bay
Ecowatchers, who explained about the wetland deterioration.
"My goal is to preserve, protect, enhance, and
restore the ecosystem of Jamaica Bay," said Mundy, who remarked that
complete marsh loss could impact property owners along the Rockaway
Peninsula, as well as impacting subway and driving routes in the area.
Mundy, a long time area resident and environmentalist,
noted the marshland deterioration in the mid 90’s and began contacting
political officials to investigate causes.
During the breezy morning, Mundy showed Gennaro patches of
sand and grass in the middle of the water that he said are withering away
at the rate of 5000 square feet a day.
Mundy said that an area called Plum Beach near the Belt
Parkway "sits 50 feet from the bay. If that area washes away, the
road will too."
The marshes, which Mundy said are up to 1,500 years old,
dull the effects of ocean waves, which have the potential to damage
shoreline properties if they continue to deteriorate. Deteriorating salt
marshes also mean a habitat withering away for birds that settle in the
bay, environmentalists said.
