The Ventnor City Master Plan includes establishing an eco-park at Ventnor West.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has awarded the city a $200,000 grant to begin efforts to create an eco-park in the Ventnor West area.
The award was among 109 grants totaling $144 million awarded for coastal resiliency projects, and one of six grants awarded for New Jersey projects. Other awardees include the State of New Jersey, Weequahic Park Association, The Nature Conservancy and Long Beach Township.
“This is a strong first step toward protecting Ventnor West and improving this treasured area,” said Commissioner Tim Kriebel, who has championed the project for the last six years.
“Creating an eco-park in Ventnor West has always appealed to me,” he said. “We can take an untapped resource to create an eco-park and give people another reason to come to Ventnor.”
The grant will fund a site assessment and preliminary design for a living shoreline to protect the Ventnor West ecosystem from continued erosion and environmental degradation. The project will protect critical infrastructure and habitat and contribute to the Ventnor Master Plan to transform Ventnor West into an eco-park to build resiliency.
“We are ecstatic about getting this grant. Ventnor West continues to be a priority,” Mayor Lance Landgraf and Commissioner Maria Mento said in a release.
Ventnor West is a 150-acre contiguous tract of bayfront land that historical documents show was once designated for development as a residential waterfront community. It is located next to the Ventnor City Educational Community Center and Shalom House senior housing development.
Kriebel said he envisions the park could have a nature observation area, paddleboard and kayak launch area, and be enjoyed by fishers.
“It’s right near our schools so it could include environmental curricula and be used as an outdoor classroom,” he said. “It could be on a visitor’s list of places to see wildlife and marine life and educate the public about how fragile our barrier island is and how it is important to protect it.”
This project was introduced in the Ventnor Master Plan and has had strong local support. The Ventnor West restoration effort brings together a strong team of technical experts, including university professors, federal and state conservation specialists, environmental experts, researchers, engineers and planners with experience developing similar projects.
“Our first phase is to brainstorm with professionals and the public to see how they want to see it utilized,” said Kriebel, who has traveled to other eco-parks along the East Coast.
Partners in the project include the Stockton University Coastal Research Center, The Sea Grant Program, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ventnor Green Team, Ventnor Educational Community Complex, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Forsythe Wildlife Refuge and Atlantic County Utilities Authority.
Grant consultant Jim Rutala of Rutala Associates, a Linwood planning firm, prepared the application.
A 150-acre tract of land remains underutilized in Ventnor West.
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