Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), whose district includes portions of Monmouth County, announced that New Jersey will receive $3.99 million to restore and conserve sport fish populations and $4.41 million to restore, conserve and manage wildlife populations.
The funding comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program. The program supports state and local outdoor recreational opportunities and wildlife and habitat conservation efforts, according to a press release from Pallone’s office.
“New Jersey’s fish and wildlife habitats are critical to our state’s economy and outdoor recreation,” Pallone said. “The fishing industry was especially hard hit by the (coronavirus) pandemic, so I am pleased to see New Jersey receive this support from the bipartisan infrastructure law.
“This funding will go a long way to protecting and sustaining our state’s fishing population and ensuring our state’s natural beauty will continue to attract visitors and residents alike for years to come,” he said.
The WSFR program is made up of two funding sources: the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, which was reauthorized as part of the bipartisan onfrastructure law, and the Wildlife Restoration Program, according to the press release.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced it will explore the feasibility of widening the Outerbridge Crossing, which connects central New Jersey to Staten Island, N.Y.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Port Authority wrote a comprehensive study of rehabilitation options for the bridge, which opened for service in June 1928. The new chapter of the study will more thoroughly examine the option of widening the bridge, according to a Feb. 17 press release.
More than 30 million vehicles used the Outerbridge Crossing in 2019. The bridge’s main deck is 62 feet wide and accommodates a total of four travel lanes – two 10-foot wide lanes in each direction. The current lane standard is 12 feet wide, according to the press release.
To help speed travel across the bridge, the Port Authority in 2019 implemented a new cashless tolling system that allows vehicles to move at speed through toll collection zones without stopping at toll booths or merging into toll lanes, according to the press release.
The New Jersey Chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) will host the Jersey Shore Team Hope Walk/5K Run on April 30 at 8 a.m. at Bar Anticipation, Lake Como. All proceeds support HDSA’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by Huntington’s disease (HD) and their families.
Team Hope is HDSA’s largest national grassroots fundraising event, which takes place in more than 100 cities across the United States and has raised more than $20 million for HD since its inception in 2007, according to a press release.
Thousands of families, friends, co-workers, neighbors and communities walk together each year to support HDSA’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by HD and their families.
Huntington’s disease is a fatal genetic disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain that is described as having ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease all at once. Today, there are approximately 41,000 symptomatic Americans and more than 200,000 at-risk of inheriting the disease, according to the press release.
Online registration and donation information can be found at hdsa.org/thwjerseyshore