Traders Cove in 'Top Projects' Report

On the heels of a Dec. 30 contract award to with park construction at the Traders Cove marina site, then some indecision on whether to , the project itself got some positive national recognition.

Traders Cove Marina and Park was chosen as one of two conservation projects in New Jersey to be featured in the United States Department of the Interior 'America's Great Outdoors Fifty State Report,' according to township officials.  The report showcases two projects from each state and the District of Columbia.

The America's Great Outdoors Initiative was launched in April 2010 by the Obama administration to "foster a 21st-century approach to conservation that is designed by and accomplished in partnership with the American people."

The Fifty State Report highlighted conservation projects throughout the United States that "aim to reconnect Americans to the natural world through parks, trails, and rivers and to conserve and restore working lands and wildlife habitat" and that the projects included will create jobs through travel, tourism and outdoor activities.

According to the report, Traders Cove will "provide much needed public waterfront access and outdoor recreation opportunities on the bay."

"Traders Cove is going to be one of the jewels of not only Brick Township, but the Jersey Shore as well. It will provide citizens with waterfront access to the Barnegat Bay and it will have something for everyone," said Mayor Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis, in an e-mail.

On Tuesday, the township council the project by voting to rescind a previous council vote that awarded a contract for the construction of a spray park at the site. Construction on the basic aspects of the project that will allow it to be transformed into a park, which will cost about $3 million, was allowed to continue.

The report can be downloaded at http://americasgreatoutdoors.gov/.