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SANDY PERRY, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
PHONE: 908-234-1225, EXT. 104
SANDY@NJCONSERVATION.ORG

Lakes Bay point is windsurfing haven

FAR HILLS, NJ, Aug. 20, 2007 – A 24-acre point of land jutting into Lakes Bay near Atlantic City will become a haven for windsurfing and other non-motorized water sports, thanks to a unique partnership between the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) and a newly-formed recreational group that has pledged to maintain the land as a clean and safe public open space.

NJCF, owner of the property in Egg Harbor Township, has agreed to allow the new Lakes Bay Recreation Association (LBRA) to manage the preserve as public open space. The property once was the site of the Ventnor Boatworks - a builder of PT (patrol torpedo) boats during World War II.

“This is fantastic,” said Stanley “Jake” Glassey, deputy mayor of Egg Harbor Township, who envisions walking trails as well as a small windsurfing and kayaking beach. “It’s going to be a great place to enjoy nature without motors. We’re gung ho for this, and we’re gung ho for the right reasons.”

Tim Morris, Director of Stewardship for NJCF, noted that Windsurfing magazine recently named Lakes Bay as one of the 10 best windsurfing spots in the United States because of its strong, steady winds. On a sunny summer day, Morris said, the bay is filled with windsurfers, kiteboarders and kayakers.

Laurie Walters, one of the key organizers of the LBRA, said her group is excited about the prospect of becoming caretakers of the land. “I think it’s totally a win-win situation for everyone,” commented Walters, a high school environmental science teacher who also plans to bring student groups to the preserve for research and periodic cleanups.

Glassey agrees. “We’re all sailors and we’re all environmentalists, so this goes hand-in-hand,” he said. The deputy mayor added that he is grateful to NJCF for allowing the property to be turned into a passive recreation park. “We’re going to make this something to be proud of,” he pledged.

Lakes Bay Recreation Association, which recently incorporated as a non-profit organization, is working with NJCF on formalizing an agreement to protect and maintain the property, known locally as “kite point.” According to the group’s mission statement, the LBRA is “a community of people who enjoy non-motorized water sports. Our goal is to advocate continued safe, clean access to Lakes Bay and local waters, encouraging a deeper community appreciation for these natural resources.”

The uplands portion of the NJCF property will give non-motorized water sport enthusiasts a place to drop off their boards, boats and other equipment, and to launch their crafts into the bay. The marshy lower portion of the property, home to species such as osprey, great blue heron, brown pelican, raccoon, fox, muskrat, sandpaper and fiddler crab, will be preserved as a natural area.

The property is located just south of the Route 40 causeway that connects Egg Harbor Township with Atlantic City. NJCF acquired it at an Atlantic County sheriff’s sale in 1998 after the failure of a development project. The conservation organization made no changes to the site until approached earlier this year by Egg Harbor officials and a group of windsurfing enthusiasts, now formed as the LBRA, who sought improvements to prevent littering and inappropriate uses of the land.

Members of the new LBRA removed 5.1 tons of litter from the site while participating in Egg Harbor Township’s 10th annual Community Pride Day in June. In response to a request from the group, NJCF recently installed a gate at the entrance to the property to ensure proper use of the site. In addition, a security camera has been mounted on an office building on a neighboring tract to allow 24-hour monitoring by officers at Egg Harbor Township police headquarters.

The Lakes Bay Preserve site will be open to the public from dawn to dusk. For more information about joining the Lakes Bay Recreation Association, visit the group’s website at www.lakesbayrec.org.

Since 1960, NJCF has preserved more than 100,000 acres of land, from the Highlands of northwestern New Jersey to the Delaware Bayshore. For more information about Lakes Bay Preserve or any of NJCF’s other properties across the state, visit our website at www.njconservation.org.