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Oily Birds Coming Ashore

News Digest

The Week's v Top Stories

Major Spill Likely COURT HOUSE - A report issued by the county Planning Board indicates a major oil spill could occur in the lower Delaware Bay unless navigational aids in the area are improved. Funded through a $19,000 Dept, of . Energy grant, a consulting firm has studied the potential oil-spill hazards in the bay and suggests a local weather forecast system and a radar beacon be established in the area. These recommendations, it was said, could reduce the probability of oil spills by about 50 per cent .

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By Robert Gunther At least two oil-soaked birds found at two different locations along the Jersey Cape beachfront earlier this week may be survivors of a massive oil spill off New York which escaped the news media. And the plight of the birds - one which washed ashore in Cape May, the other found in Wildwood Crest — highlights the need for nearby rescue and rehabilitation centers in this county for creatures that run afoul.of oil. LYNN FRINK, spokeswoman for Tristate Bird Rescue Organization in Delaware, said Monday that oiled birds have been reported in small numbers down the length of the Jersey Coast as a result of a recent spill of more than one million gallons of oil off the New York Coast, She said there wasn't any newspaper report of the spill. "If they are large birds, Mrs. Frink explained, "it is possible that they could have made it down to South Jersey.” COAST GUARD OFFICIALS in Cape May said there haven't been any major spills in this area. However. Mrs. Frink said the oil problerhs might be the result of a more localized spill. "We haye a chronic oil pollution problem on the Delaware River," she said. "There are an average of 2.4 oil spills a day on the Delaware. Some are only as small as a gallon or two — but they add up. IT WAS THE Wetlands Institute near Stone Harbor that received the two reports Monday of the oil-soaked birds this past weekend. Like other environmental aviah agencies in the county, the institute doesn’t have facilities to care for birds which come up against oil. the closest facility is in Surf City on Long Beach Island, Ocean County. Special equipment and federal and state permits are required to keep and save*the oiled birds. Cleaning such fowl is a very difficult operation and shouldn't be attempted by untrained persons, it was explained. "THE ANALOGY,” said Frink, "is like taking bubble gum off a butterfly's wings without hurting the butterfly." Before the creation in 1977 of the Tristate Bifd Rescue group, the average mortality rate of rescued birds was about 98 per cent, she said. Until such agencies came into being, the cleanup effort was much less organized, depending upon private individuals and makeshift facilities. Barbara Kozak of Goshen, a local humanitarian,' doted she worked to save birds during a large oil spill which occurred more than 10 years ago. Using Crisco oil and mild detergent, Mrs. Kozak saved The Reagan Axe

hundreds of birds. But there were thousands didn't survive that spill. "Any of the birds that weren't cleaned during the first few days, died,” she recalled this week. Today, as then, the recovery of the birds depends upon the rapid

response of individuals who find them. Often those who recover birds are at a loss of what to do. When someone finds a bird, Mrs. Frink explained, "He should wrap it up immediately in sheeting with <Page 19 Please)

^ PHIC . ILLlJ ^ AT,0N 0f e^0 * ,0,, 0,1 th * Cap®- The base of the second 1 ghthouse is washing away in the view of the 122-year-old third light: while in between, a lin; of snowfencing is undermined as the effects of a relentless sea inlh inland. Sea Doing In Landmark

CAPE MAY — For 134 years the red brick and stone foundation of the old lighthouse has withstood both natural and man-made forces that have altered the shoreline. But this winter, a piece of Cape May County history was lost when all but a small segment of the foundation toppled oyer in a storm and the rubble washed away. "The foundation of the old light may be completely gone in another winter or two," according to Phil Breden, Chief Ranger at Cape May Point State Park. “There are no ^plans to save or rebuild," he said of the * eroded landmark. Mr. Breden told Herald and The Lantern last week that a great deal of erosion has

taken plate this year. Unless protective methods are implemented, he said, the entire park area will eventually be claimed by the sea. The October 25 storm damaged a number of sand dunes located along the park’s beach front. Park officials are now waiting to learn where the money will come from to fund the repair project. The first lighthouse here was built in 1823. Due to continual beach erosion, it was moved about aDiird of a mile inland and rebuilt in 1847. The present structure, which is 170 ft. tall and can be seen on a clear night approximately 19 miles out at sea, was constructed and began operation in 1859.

Where will it Hit the Cape?

By Bob Shiles Although it is evident the Reagan administration’s plan to cut federal spending by some $467 billion will have a significant impact on many of the government programs now operating in Cape May County, exactly where the axe will fall and to what degree individual programs will be slached is a question still shadowed in uncertainty. Like the average citizen, local, county and state officials have all turned their eyes to Washington, waiting to see how far Congress will go in support of an economic package that if successful would have the greatest impact on the U.S. economy since Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. AN ASSISTANT TO GOV. Brendan Byrne told The Herald on Friday it is extremely difficult to determine on an individual county basis exactly what impact the cuts will have on specific programs. ‘The state itself is going to loae about $1

billion in federal funding,” Mamie Zander noted, adding that approximately 2S per cent of the total state budget is comprised of federal funds. "There is also federal money that comes into the state but is not reflected in the budget," she said. This money goes to conununity-based agencies for such specialties as food programs and job training programs. THE POTENTIAL IMPACT of the Reagan administration's economic plan on Cape May County is being closely studied by U.S. Rep. William Hughes, D-2nd, according to legislative aide Mark Brown. "At this point we don’t know exactly how much will be cut," Brown said. General categories being cut that would probably have the greatest county impact would be in the area of CETA funding, educational loans, Army Corps of Engineers projects and Interior programs, he said. How Coast

Guard operations will be affected is uncertain. "We're advising people at this time not to get alarmed if they hear their pet program is going to be cut,': Brown said. "Congress has to approve the»cuts and it may or may not happen.". PRESIDENT REAGAN is scheduled to submit his budget to Congress on March 10, The 13 congressional appropriation subcommittees will then immediately begin to review their respective areas, and by May 15 the first votes at the subcommittee levels should take place. "Congressman Hughes has made it clear that he generally supports the need for major cuts in federal spending,, Mr. Brown said. "He will have to, however, make derisions based on individual issues. There may be areas which he wants cut more, and other areas he would like to see cut lew."

Hughes for Roe WASHINGTON. D C. - U.S. Rep William Hughes, D-2nd, announced this week he will supjtert U.S. Rep. Robert Roe, D-8th, in his bid for the governor's seat* Roe. a former Wayne mayor, Passaic County freeholder director, and New Jersey Commissioner of Conservation and Economic Development, was supported as a gubernatorial candidate by Hughes in 1977 Vote Shore Funds TRENTON - The x(atc Senate voted last week to appropriate $5.4 million in funds for shore protection projects in .South Jersey. The funds, if finally approved. would become available through the Beaches and Harbors Bond Issue passed in 1977 Projects to be undertaken on a matching basis include: Lower Township. $6,000 sand dune; Upper Township, $12,000 sand dune; Sea Isle City $800,000 four groins: North Wildwood $12 million seawall, Cape May City $600,000 seawall. AvAlon $250,000 seawall. No Cleanup Funds SWAINTON — ThC U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided for the present not to provide funds for the clean-up of a chemical dump, here More than 100 chemical drums were deposited In a field off Siegtown Rd Many of the drums leaked causing the chemicals to spill into the sand and groundwater. Estimated cost of restoring the site to a safe condition is about $3 million. School Aid Cuts May be Restored TRENTON — After last week's hearing before the state Joint Appropriation's Committee, it appears the $64 million in "minimum aid" to public schools that would have been lost under Governor Byrne’s proposed budget, may be restored. Jersey Cape districts that would be af fectedand the state aid allowances lost if the culifare approved include (rounded (Page 19 Please)

A NEW hbtMic attraction will fen in Cape May Caoirty la a con pie of montlw. See a preview oa lasMe cealerfoM.