ASSEMBLY AGRICULTURE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION No. 23

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: MAY 20, 1996

 

      The Assembly Agriculture and Waste Management Committee favorably reports Senate Joint Resolution No. 23.

      This joint resolution would designate the second Saturday in June of each year as "Delaware Bay Day" in New Jersey. The Delaware bay is a thriving ecosystem, a wetland of international significance, and home to 130 fish species, hundreds of thousands of shore birds, waterfowl and raptors. A major river system of the Delaware bay, the Maurice river and its tributaries, has been included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. A healthy, prosperous integration of industry and the environment can be based on the recognition that the life of the Delaware bay is important to our economy. The rich natural and cultural heritage of the Delaware bay has been celebrated on "Delaware Bay Day" since 1993 with family activities, crafts, exhibits and entertainment. The host of this event has been the Delaware Bay Schooner Project, whose mission "is to build stewardship and provide education to conserve and enrich the culture, history, and natural resources of the Delaware Estuary.

      As reported by the committee, this resolution is identical to Assembly Joint Resolution No. 40 of 1996.