At 12:15 PM 11/5/2015, Richard Cuff wrote:
>Hi everyone - See the note below...the US Fish &
>Wildlife Service is considering some shoreline
>pole removal for AT&T's WOO shore-to-ship
>transmitter site in New Jersey; this site was
>also used for VOA broadcasts from 1944 onward.
>Public comment is invited; see the link down
>near the bottom of the message.. Also - we
>should have an update on the 2016 Fest
>information within the next week; watch this
>space! Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA
>---------- Forwarded message ---------- From:
>Cultural Resources, FW5 <northeastcr@fws.gov>
>Date: Tue, Nov 3, 2015 at 3:12 PM Subject:
>Public comments sought for anticipated adverse
>effect on historic properties To:
>rdcuff@gmail.com Dear North American Shortwave
>Association: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
>proposes a pole removal project in the tidal
>marshlands of the Good Luck Point (Ocean Gate)
>and Manahawkin units of Edwin B. Forsythe
>National Wildlife Refuge in Ocean County, New
>Jersey. The undertaking will contribute to
>saltmarsh enhancement funded by the Disaster
>Relief Appropriations Act of 2013. The proposal
>is for hundreds of poles to be removed, in
>addition to cables, wires, metal towers, and
>concrete blocks. The goal of this action is to
>enhance coastal marsh habitats by increasing
>marsh resiliency from impacts of large storm
>events and other ecosystem stressors. The poles
>are part of inactive shortwave antenna fields
>associated with AT&T???s ship-to-shore shortwave
>communications system, which was in operation at
>the sites from the early 1930s until 1999. The
>wires connecting the antenna poles were removed
>by AT&T prior to the creation of the National
>Wildlife Refuge units. Good Luck Point in
>Berkeley Township, Ocean County includes a
>shortwave transmitter building and antenna
>field. The municipality owns the shuttered
>building, while the poles of the inactive
>antenna field are on Refuge land. Under the call
>sign WOO, the shortwave facility at Good Luck
>Point (known as Ocean Gate) was a renowned
>transmitting station, which helped broadcast
>Voice of America around the globe after 1944 and
>enabled communication with ships at sea
>throughout the twentieth century. The historic
>property is eligible for listing in the National
>Register of Historic Places. The proposed
>project will remove approximately 340 wooden
>poles from the inactive antenna field, along
>with several metal antennae. Manahawkin in
>Stafford Township, Ocean County includes the WOO
>companion site, which consists of a shortwave
>receiving station and antenna field. Via
>Manahawkin, shortwave communications from ships
>at sea were linked to America???s telephone
>network from the 1930s until 1999. The entire
>Refuge unit is within a conservation easement to
>the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which does
>not own the building. The historic property is
>eligible for listing in the National Register of
>Historic Places. The proposed project will
>remove approximately 113 wooden poles from the
>antenna field. Several metal antennas will be
>removed, as well. Because both of the historic
>properties represent well-preserved examples of
>nationally significant shortwave facilities,
>they have been determined eligible for National
>Register listing. Consequently, the proposed
>removal of poles from the antenna fields will
>cause an adverse effect under Section 106 of the
>National Historic Preservation Act. A mitigation
>program is being developed in consultation with
>the New Jersey State Historic Preservation
>Office. In accordance with Section 106 of the
>National Historic Preservation Act, the U.S.
>Fish and Wildlife Service seeks public comment
>on the anticipated adverse effect. The public is
>invited to submit comments concerning the
>project???s effects on the historic properties
>to northeastcr@fws.gov . The public comment
>period ends on November 15, 2015. Additional
>information is available via this Web link:
>
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/edwin_b_forsythe/>Thank you for your interest. -- U.S. Fish &
>Wildlife Service Cultural Resources Program
>Division of Refuge Field Support Northeast
>Regional Office 300 Westgate Center Drive
>Hadley, MA 01035-9589
Topic: [Swlfest] Public comments sought for historic site (Read 1420 times)
