It was a steamy, misty morning in Palmyra Cove Nature Park. Fifteen passionate volunteers from Cinnaminson, Delanco, Westmont, Palmyra and even Pennsylvania braved the weather to exchange ideas - thank you everyone! As the grey skies parted and the rain showered down upon us, the trees drinking in the overdue libation, the brainstorming began. Here are some things we talked about:
- Establishing partnerships with political, environmental and cultural organizations. We want communication, conversation and answers; one of the ways to get those is to reach out to as many community organizations as possible, including the Burlington County Board of Freeholders (can they make us a PROTECTED park?), the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and local gardening clubs, local schools and teachers, among others.
- Marketing materials: We need to educate and inform the public clearly and concisely. We will work to develop a simple summary of the whole story - how it stands today. The challenge with this is that it changes so frequently. As of this date, the Army Corps/NJDEP want to use 22 acres of the park, the area around Dragonfly Pond, for depositing dredge materials for a maintenance dredging project (This is a separate issue than the NJ v. PA dredge battle that ended with Gov. Rendell accepting responsibility for all dredge sludge). The Bridge Commission, which owns the nature park, signed an agreement in 1998 allowing the Corps. to use an area of the park for dredge deposits - it's a legally binding agreement and it's going to take a LOT of public support and many people's voices to overrule it. A map showing the approximate 22-acre site in question is available as part of the park's Trail Map; this site is just the beginning - the Corps. needs at least 70 acres of the site over the next few years, according to what we've heard.
- Public Hearing: We need a forum in which to ask the NJDEP, the Army Corps. of Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Commission and other parties involved a whole slew of important questions. Our ally Senator Lautenberg will have to be the one to arrange the public hearing - please call or email him and ask him for a public hearing! (856) 338-8922 or http://lautenberg.senate.gov/contact
- Committees: We also divided up into committees in the areas of (1) Marketing, (2) Recruiting, (3) Strategies and (4) Event planning. If you haven't already signed up for a committee and you would like to be involved, please email me at savethecove@yahoo.com
- Long term protection: We need to get Palmyra Cove Nature Park's name removed from the NJDEP's list of possible dredge sites to protect the park in the future.
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