Alliance for a Living Ocean History Page

History of the
Alliance for a Living Ocean

2007 Long Beach Boulevard
North Beach Haven, New Jersey 08008
(609) 492-0222

Mission

The mission of the Alliance for a Living Ocean shall be to promote and maintain clean water and a healthy coastal environment through education, research and active participation. We recognize the need to manage our watershed, bay and ocean holistically since all water flows from "the raindrop to the ocean.'.

Founding in 1987

The summer of 1987 was a very difficult summer for the New Jersey shore. A fifty-mile garbage slick, including medical waste products, loomed off the Jersey coast. After three days of closed beaches in August, the tourist season was essentially over for Long Beach Island.

During September 1987, Ken Smith, a LBI insurance broker, called a group of concerned citizens to discuss the problem of ocean pollution and to do something about it. The early ALO meetings were held at Carroll's restaurant in Manahawkin, then moved to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Brant Beach. Because of the vital importance of tourism to the economy of the New Jersey shore, many of these individuals were motivated by economic self interest in the beginning. However, the continuing dedication of the group put to rest the idea that the mission was solely to counter bad media exposure.

Karen Kiss, Ken Smith , John Woodland and other community members representing business interests such as real estate, retailing, entertainment and the legal profession continued to meet on a weekly basis to organize a campaign to protect the New Jersey shore. Their first priority was:

To find out where the floatables on the beach were being generated.
To stop the pollution at its source.

During the first year of this grass roots organization, ALO undertook many activities to focus public attention on the problem and to make people recognize that something can be done about solving the problem, both individually and as a group. These early activities included:

Organizing "Hands Across the Beach" to make a public statement about the degradation of the ocean water quality. Karen Kiss, ALO's first president, rallied more than 40,000 people of all ages to join hands on a rainy Saturday afternoon along the entire length of Long Beach Island's eighteen miles of ocean front, showing their individual concern.
Mounting letter-writing campaigns to urge the New Jersey Legislature and the federal government to stop ocean pollution at its source.
Meeting regularly with other organizations that were actively promoting ocean clean-up activities. These other organizations included the Littoral Society, Clean Ocean Action, the New Jersey Environmental Federation and Save Our Ocean.
Holding ALO's first seminar on ocean pollution at Southern Regional High School, and organizing a NJ Environment Congress at Allair State Park.
While all these activities were going on, the ALO's leaders concentrated on educating themselves about the problem and its scope.

A fitting conclusion to its first year, the Alliance for a Living Ocean became officially incorporated on December 31, 1987.

Fifteen Years of Mission to Action

ALO translated its Mission Statement into action by adopting a three pronged strategy. ALO's activities to protect of the ocean, beach and bays throughout New Jersey, are focused in three areas of action.

Legislative and Governmental Actions
Local Activities and Individual Responsibilities
Educational Programs

1. Legislative and Governmental Actions

Of primary concern to ALO is to stop the pollution of the bays and ocean at its source. Since this often requires governmental action, ALO has been part of many endeavors to influence State and Federal legislation. There have been many success stories over the past 10 years.

Actions by ALO and other interested groups caused the New Jersey Legislature and the federal government to introduce medical waste tracking programs. A major milestone was the passage of the New Jersey Medical Waste Tracking Law in February of 1989. Drawing on her background as a registered nurse, Karen Kiss took a lead role in the testimonies that led to the passage of the law. This law requires "cradle to grave" tracking of all hazardous medical waste products.
From the very beginning ALO took action which eventually led to passage of the law to stop the Ciba-Geigy Chemical plant in Toms River, New Jersey, from dumping chemical waste into the ocean off the Ortley Beach section of Dover Township. The Ciba-Geigy pipeline was closed in 1991. Although ALO has taken strong action in opposing Ciba-Geigy expansion and pollution of the environment, the organization still enjoys the active support and participation of the business community. In addition Ciba-Geigy was forced to implement an environmentally superior level of treatment of a tremendously large water supply which was contaminated by their toxic waste dump. They are no longer issued permits, along with other private industrial dumpers such as Allied Signal and DuPont.
ALO took a leading roll in the successful effort to pass the Clean Water Enforcement Act, with amendments acceptable to virtually all interested parties. The Alliance was active in encouraging plastic recycling, since plastics represent a serious threat to marine life, and encouraged the use of environmentally safe alternatives to the ocean dumping of sewage sludge. Federal and State laws were passed after 1991 to prohibit sludge dumping.
ALO was very vocal in urging that the Fresh Kills Landfill use closed handling methods. It was estimated that this landfill, alone, contributed tons of floatable waste to the ocean, every day, because of improper handling of the landfill material. Penalties for illegal dumping have been increased to criminal status. The Fresh Kills Landfill is now closed.
ALO continues to oppose dumping of dredge spoils and other contaminated waste off the New Jersey coastline. The efforts lately have been focused on the proposed dumping spoils at the HARS site (Historic Area Remediation Site). The HARS area had been used to dump contaminated waste for many years. Now it is supposed to be "capped" with clean fill only.
ALO organized a massive Wetlands postcard campaign against the reduction of wetlands acreage in conjunction with the L.B.I. Garden Club. Of the postcards received in Washington, 5% came from Alliance for a Living Ocean supporters. In October of 1992 we joined the Garden Club in their efforts to educate the community on the effects of pesticides/herbicides used on coastal yards. A resultant DEP study took place on Long Beach Island. The Alliance opposed oil drilling in wildlife refuges and marine environments. Our petition against the dumping of Dioxin laden sludge has been signed by 4,200 citizens. ALO also obtained signatures on petitions to keep the Clean Water Act intact.
Joint, State and Federal environmental protection agencies have worked to prevent major garbage slicks from leaving NY harbor and contaminating NJ's beaches. After over fifteen years, alternatives to ocean burning of rotting creosoted piers in the NJ-NY harbor area are mandatory. ALO also supported the location of a Coast Guard Oil Spill Response Team in New Jersey.
ALO acts as facilitator, beginning in 1992, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in their plans for the Bonnet Island Edwin B. Forsythe Refuge and sends helpers to the Holgate Wildlife Refuge. The Alliance refers all reported marine mammal strandings to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine and supports their important work.

2. Local Activities and Individual Responsibilities

Pollution of our bays and oceans is not just confined to businesses and municipalities. Each individual must take the responsibility for their actions that result in pollution problems. To answer these needs, ALO developed a number of programs to help individuals change their environmentally bad activities, and to engage the public in cleanup activities after the damage has been done.

In 1991, the "Crab Connection", an ongoing program, was designed by Dottie Reynolds in conjunction with the Long Beach Island Women's Club. Its purpose is to inform the public on the enormous problems of non-point source pollution. People are the problem - people are the solution.
In 1998, ALO created a new program called, "Adopt-a-Storm Drain". This program takes ALO's "Crab Connection" one step farther, by having residents become stewards of storm drains. Not only do drain stewards stencil a blue crab onto their storm drain, but they also keep their drain clean and clear of debris and weeds.
In the Spring of 1999,ALO will be working with the National Wildlife Federation and their "Backyard Wildlife Habitat" program. The Habitat program encourages citizens to landscape their properties so that they provide native animals with food, water, shelter and a place to raise young. ALO will have a sample habitat on their property, and will help to extend the program to Long Beach Island and other interested communities.
For ten years, ALO took part in a scientific pilot program called the Marine Debris Statistical Sampling Survey. It is designed by the Center for Marine Conservation at the request of the Environmental Protection Agency. Its purpose is to determine the effect the Marpol Treaty is having on the reduction plastic debris in the ocean. ALO's ten year commitment began in July 1991, under the direction of Earl Gottshall. Since his death, this committed team of volunteers was led by Tom Sherman until ALO's commitment ended in 2001.
Hundreds of balloon launches have been canceled as a result of educating the public to their potentially lethal effect on marine life. Several states are adopting strict balloon launch prohibition legislation. Balloon Alert Month stimulated thinking on the perils and litter caused by launching helium balloons. Each year, ALO volunteers find many of these balloons with their ribbons washed up on the beaches of Long Beach Island.
In the summer of 1993, our volunteers became a part of NJ Sea Grant's Barnegat Bay Watch Water Monitoring Program, from Manasquan to Little Egg Harbor Bay. This extension of the Barnegat Bay Watch Project was taken over by ALO in 1995 under the direction of Carol Elliott. It keeps a close indication of habitat and resource quality in local waters. Samples are tested from approximately thirty-eight sites. In 2002, the scientific measurements thakes by the monitors was entered in to the EPA's STORET Database and can be viewed on the internet on the EPA website. (www.epa.gov/storet) The formation gather by our monitors can be accessed and downloaded by all interested parties.
Several thousand citizens join our Earth Week Cleanup in April and the International Coastal Cleanup in September. Divers have been incorporated in our fall cleanup since 1995. These special days reflect the personal pride citizens have in improving and protecting their community waterways.
ALO networks with other environmental groups at the state and national level. Our members served on the Barnegat Bay Study Group, formed by the DEP according to state law, an Environmental Community/Ocean County Utilities Authority Liaison Committee, and the Mullica River-Great Bay (MRGB) National Estuarine Research Reserve in New Jersey. The Alliance is on the Board of Trustees and Steering Committee of the Barnegat Bay Watershed Association; the Volunteer Monitoring Procedures Project Advisory Committee and the Citizen's Advisory Committee Barnegat Bay Estuary Program.
The ALO Barrier Island Ocean Watch Network (BIOWNET), begun in 1995, by Dr. Fred Bach, is an electronic bulletin board to post and receive articles and information from other US Barrier Islands. The program was disontinued last year with Dr. Bach's retirement from the project.

3. Educational Programs

The Alliance for a Living Ocean has a strong commitment to educational programs for both adults and children. ALO has an active speakers bureau, and all our programs stress clean water stewardship and citizen action. We also sponsors slide shows, public seminars, ecological concerts, field trips, and naturalistic cruises. ALO keeps up-to-the-minute clippings on environmental issues, has an environmental library, including videos, and mails hundreds of informational packets to people throughout the United States. Twice a year, we publish our own newsletter. Here are some outstanding ALO educational programs. Click here for the ALO Event Schedule.

ALO presented "Inherit the Earth" for children ages five through twelve. The purpose of the program was to teach the need for responsible individual action - a goal that will last a lifetime. This five day event saw naturalists and experts teach eighty children about the marine life and environment. It ended with "Sea Science Saturday". Today's "Inherit the Earth" program has involved into weekly environmental field trips for the whole family during the months of July and August. The schedule includes trips to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the Jenkinson Aquarium, and Marine Field Center in Tuckerton.
The development of a "Teacher's Guide to Environmental Instructional Material" has given new energy to the State's pursuit of consistent environmental education for New Jersey's children. To further enrich the environmental education of our school children, ALO members give presentations at a number of local schools.
In 1992, ALO began giving Eco-Tours of a Barrier Island. We host thousands of school children and adult visitors on our year round ecotours.
The "Stories-by-the-Sea" is a one hour ALO presentation of readings, games, and arts and crafts, all deal with a marine theme. With humor and hands-on activities, we teach children responsible stewardship of coastal communities.
Since the summer of 1995,the "Twilight at the Bay" program has been a wonderful celebrations of the relationship between the watershed, estuary, bay and ocean. It is a program that stresses the vital importance of the Raindrop to the Ocean concept. The possible pollution, that can occur during this odyssey, may have grave consequences to our planet. In 1999, ALO added a new weekly program, "Inlet Lore" to its schedule of educational events. During the program, which is held at the Barnegat Lighthouse, people will discover the ecology of the area where Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean meet.
The Alliance supported a student attending an earth watch study in Minnesota and a diamond back terrapin research project in New Jersey. We give two internships to Southern Regional High School Seniors each June and welcome summer college interns willing to work for academic credits. Our summer programs are run by these interns, a vital "shadow" experience for them and vital part of ALO's educational program.

Honors and Awards

Honors and awards ALO has received include:

The 1999 Governor's Volunteer Award for the Environment.
In 2002, Long Beach Township honored ALO with an award for their dedication in working to preserve a Clean Ocean Environment.
The "Take Pride in America" award for our Adopt-A-Beach program in 1988 and again in 1992.
The "Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation, Inc." award for environmental commitment to the community in 1990.
The "Ocean County Soil Conservation District" award for 1990 conservation achievement of the year.
The US Environmental Protection Agency "Environmental Quality" award

In 1992 for our Crab Connection Program
In 1995 for Alliance for a Living Ocean's overall environmental work.
In 1998 for ALO's Barnegat Bay Watch Monitoring Program

The NJ Pride Award was given to Joan Koons, President of ALO, for her outstanding volunteer work for the Alliance.
In 1996 ALO received "A Partnership of Environmental Concern and Duty Award" from CMC for the Marine Debris Monitoring Program.

Each year ALO gives awards of its own.

The "Stewards of the Earth" award is given to a person or persons who quietly work toward a cleaner coast.
ALO's "Indigenous Plantings Award" continues to recognize responsible homeowners.

Original Contributions by Liz Craxton and Joan Koons
With further contributions and editing by Terrie MacCalus, Sheila Schultz and Carol Elliott.

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