The park is open, the water is warm, and we have so many great things to report:
- We are excited to welcome a new volunteer coordinator, Stevie Thorsen!
- We have great volunteer opportunities coming up
- Interested in the fox population, moon snails, and summer books? Scroll down for some good reading.
Do you enjoy the Osprey Camera and Bathing Area 1 Camera? Please consider making a donation to the
Pete McLain Osprey Camera. The cameras are live and require constant maintenance from our team.
See you around the park!
Friends of Island Beach State Park
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Petition: Stop Future Park Shutdowns
As you are most likely aware the NJ State Parks and Beaches were shut down from July 1 through July 3rd.
Assemblyman McKeon introduced
A5128
along with Co-Sponsor Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle on July 13th to hopefully prevent this from happening again in the future.
Please consider joining the petition and, if you are in favor of this, contacting your Assemblyman to encourage support of the bill.
Thank you!
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Welcome our new volunteer coordinator: Stevie Thorsen!
Stevie has joined us as our new volunteer coordinator. Interested in volunteering or getting more involved you can email Stevie at stevie.thorsen@friendsofislandbeach.org.
Stevie is a Toms River local. And, most recently held a position as the Education Director at the the American Littoral Society, based in the Highlands. She is a graduate of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, at Rutgers University.
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Goodbye to our Friend Ferd Klebold
Longtime Friends of Island Beach State Park trustee and member Ferd Klebold died earlier this month at the age of 95.
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1922 - 2017 |
An author, historian, sailor, veteran, and volunteer, his contributions were many. He was a volunteer in the Interpretive Center and was a fountain of knowledge, regaling visitors with tales of life long ago and Island Beach before it became a State Park. He donated a beautiful bookcase to the park in honor of his late wife Nancy that was filled with his colle
ction of books about Island Beach and Ocean County.
He could often be found demonstrating beach plum jelly making with Clara La Parch at the annual Beach Plum Festival or hitting up visitors for donations at the gate. He knew the best spots to pick beach plums but would not divulge the locations, no matter how many times you offered to help him. He will be sorely missed at this year's 20th Annual Beach Plum Festival on September 10th.
He also wrote and published the Beach Plum Cook book, an Island Beach coloring book for kids, a booklet about the construction of the North jetty, a pamphlet about the Bumblebee Project and often replenished those publications at his own expense.
He was young at heart from the time I first met him when he was in his 70s and had an inquisitive nature, always researching to find the answers. RIP, Ferd. Island Beach and the Friends will miss you!
- Bonnie Delaney, Friends of Island Beach State Park recording secretary.
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Volunteer Opportunities
"It's always been the case in this country-that notion that we invest ourselves, our time, our energy, our vision, our purpose, into the very fabric of this nation. That's the essence of our liberty - that we give back freely." - Former POTUS
Scraping and Painting the Aeoleum
The Friends of Island Beach State Park have adopted the Aeoleum as one of our BIG projects.
The Aeoleum Building, formerly the nature center (originally a post office) is on it's way to to getting revamped a welcome center.
A few of our friends were out scraping and painting over the last few weeks. Thanks Bill, Cheryl, Mike, Barb, Ray, jack and Stella for your help!
We need more volunteers, give Bill Gwyer a call (848) 221-9119
Gate Days
One of the largest fundraisers for the Friends of Island Beach State Park is collecting donation at the gate.
This year we have six fantastic opportunities to collect donations at the gate.
Can you help us at the gate on any of these dates:
- Thursday, August 3
- Thursday, August 10
- Thursday, August 17
- Thursday, August 24
- Thursday, August 31
- Sunday, September
Email angelo.sica@friendsofislandbeach.org
Beach Plum Festival
It's that time of year! All hands on deck! We need a very large team of volunteers to pull off the Beach Plum Festival this year. Come and help us make this 20th annual event a success. Email Stevie for more info: stevie.thorsen@friendsofislandbeach.org
Barrier Island Classic - Surf Contest
Want to lend a hand at the Barrier Island Classic? We could use 10 volunteers to help sell water, merchandise, setup and breakdown.
Email Stevie for more info:
stevie.thorsen@friendsofislandbeach.org
Graphic Design
Are you a graphic designer? Willing to donate some of your talent to the Friends of Island Beach State Park? We'd love your help to design t-shirts, logos, etc. Email: grace.sica@friendsofislandbeach.org
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Barrier Island Classic Surf Contest
Registration now OPEN!
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Summer Reading: My Island Beach
One of our Friends, Robert E. Schwartz, wrote a fiction series about Island Beach State Park.
"Katy," said Grandpa, addressing me, but speaking to both of us. "Do you remember what I said about calling this place 'My Island Beach'?"
"Yes I do. You called it a 'small vanity'," I replied, recalling precisely what he had said.
"It was...it is. But don't misunderstand," he cautioned, "It's not meant to imply ownership. What it implies is responsibility." .....
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Q&A with the Park Manager ...
To date this summer I have not seen a single fox and noticed an increase in rabbits. In discussions on the beach it was rumored that the fox population was put down in an effort to protect the Plover population. Is this an unfounded rumor and if so, are you able to explain the disappearance of the foxes?
That is a completely unfounded rumor! While we do not keep actual population numbers, and there have been no formal studies on the fox at IBSP, we did anecdotally notice a decline in the fox population. We suspect that there was a disease, likely mange, since we did see some sickly foxes last year. Natural fluctuations in populations of any animal is a common occurrence. Apparently the same cycle was seen with the IBSP fox population about 10 years ago. It is likely the more prominent foxes were immunocompromised from eating an unnatural diet. I have seen a few healthy fox, which are likely the natural hunters who have stayed away from humans and the food they would steal or beg.
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What the Heck are Those? Moon Snail Casings
This is the ninth installment of the "Science of the Shore Column" written by Bianca Charbonneau, Phd candidate.
It's a bird, it's a plastic plane, no it's a moon snail (Neverita lewisii) egg casing, also known as a sand collar.
Moon snails are univalve gastropods in the family Naticidae which is composed of predatory marine snails and mollusks with globular shells that have a half moon shaped shell opening (aperture). They live just below the surface of the sand, 10 cm or deeper.
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Healthy Earth, Healthy Life Celebration
The first HEALTHY EARTH, HEALTHY LIFE CELEBRATION kicks off on Thursday, August 3rd.
Each Thursday in August, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Friends of Island Beach will sponsor the event. The other dates are August 10, 17, 24, and 31.
Our partners, including Barnegat Bay Partnership, Save Barnegat Bay, Clean Ocean Action, American Littoral Society, Ocean County Soil Conservation District, NJ Fish and Wildlife, and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ will have informational and environmental tables and displays. The Friends will provide information from Balloons Blow and Plastic Bites, as well as information about the nonprofit Friends group. Friends t-shirts, hats, and merchandise will also be available.
A dermatologist and chiropractor have also volunteered their time to come to the celebration and more healthy living and environmental advocates are expected to be added.
Entry to the park is FREE on those Thursdays, but Friends volunteers will be at the gate seeking donations.
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Save the Date for the annual Beach Plum Festival!
The festival features 100 vendors of local arts & crafts, food and non-profits.
September 10, 2017
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We're committed to making Island Beach State Park - one of New Jersey's most popular state parks - one of it's best cared for. Thanks for your continued support!
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