Winter Woes Still Plague Barnegat Bay

This winter's wicked weather is still taking its toll on the Barnegat Bay - in ways you might not expect.

Barnegat Bay Partnership Program Director Dr. Stan Hales says it all has to do with how lawn fertilizer gets absorbed... or doesn't.

"We know that any fertilizer put on the ground late in the year is likely to end up in the Bay," Hales said.  "The ground's too hard for the fertilizer to infiltrate into the ground."

Hales says the current regulations allow fertilizer to be spread up until December 15th, but the Partnership is working to get that cutoff moved to an earlier date.

"We'd like to push back the seasonal limits to earlier in the year," Hales said.  "So that the later dates of application are in November and not December."

You can check out the Partnership's latest State of the Bay report by clicking here.  For more information on the Barnegat Bay Partnership and its mission, just click here.