Map reference courtesy of Carl Swenson (OG). Click to see details. Note island in the Lake and the east termination to the ocean.
Click for enlarged details. Note a large stream feeding into or next to Wesley Lake originating in the Whitesville area. Where is that stream today? You can imagine how pristine the Lake water was back then, at least 150 years ago; much different from today, despite what the “professor” on the Wesley Lake Commission says. © Reposted from prior Blogfinger article.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor@Blogfinger.
In our last article about Wesley Lake, we have a quote from a “professor/scientist” on the Commission who said, ” “The condition of Wesley Lake is the same now as it has been for the last 10,000 years.” But above is a map from around the time of the founding of Ocean Grove. You can see that even since then, things are different.
In the top map there is an island at the west end—now gone. And you can see that the east end of the Lake swings eastward to terminate at the Ocean, something which no longer exists. That is when the Lake was an estuary (Wikipedia: ” An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.” )
The lower map shows a large water-way heading towards Wesley Lake, and note how the lake opens directly into the Ocean. There are other maps that show feeder stream water sources emptying into the Lake from the west; now gone.
TIN PENNY “Jersey Shore.”
Phil: You might contact the Wesley Lake Commission to be put on their agenda. Dr. Michael Brantley has been the Chair of the Commission, and you can reach him through town hall. But I hear that he has resigned. Jack Bredin of the BF staff has been attending the meetings.–Paul
… and with redevelopment (or park space creation) of the North End and the Casino, there may be designers contemplating restoration projects, to gain public support.
Your analysis is spot on… major changes have occurred and now the lake is an urban stormwater storage basin. Pretty disgusting!
I am an expert on estuaries and have colleagues who study and create urban green infrastructure. If you can point me to who this decision making body is and their contact info, I can try to change the status quo. I don’t think it’s a far-fetched idea to restore the tidal and stream forcings, and perhaps even have some natural wetlands in a decade or two.