![]() ![]() Business in New Jersey is always steady because most of the shells on the beach actually are washed-up pieces of Grandma Betty’s dentures she lost on vacation last year. Instead, I have returned to Seaside Heights to stand on the boardwalk and convince frazzled tourists whose kids thought it would be a good idea to go to the beach in below freezing temperatures that their lives would be a little better with the purchase of a Blue Mussel shell, or a Knobbed Whelk. When I was informed that the shutdown would mean implications for our agency, I was crushed ( NOT a shell pun). I thought that I would never have to see another goddamn sand dollar again. By 25, I became head of the Seashell and Crustacean Commission. At the age of 23, I was the youngest person to ever be hired to an upper-level position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Same shells, same greasy, sun-soaked tourists, year after year. Selling seashells by the seashore isn’t the worst job, but there’s no room for growth or upward mobility. ![]() Now, they are shocked and dismayed that I have been forced by the recent government shutdown to return to the family business. When I graduated from Yale with my bachelors in marine biology, they could not have been more proud. Growing up in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, my parents always envisioned a brighter future for me. During the off months, father picked pecks of pickled peppers to make sure we had enough food on the table. It was the first job my great-grandmother had when she came through Ellis Island in 1917 at the age of 15, and it was the last job my mother had before she retired. Visit us at on Facebook Twitter and Instagram About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.I never thought it would come to this, but I’ve had to resort to selling seashells by the seashore to make ends meet.įor generations, the women in my family have sold seashells by the seashore. Once park crews have assessed the islands additional updates will be provided.Ībout Gulf Islands National Seashore: Created in 1971, the national seashore stretches 160 miles along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida and Mississippi, and includes barrier islands, maritime forests, historic forts, bayous, and marine habitat. Barrier islands managed by the National Park Service, including Petit Bois, West Petit Bois, Horn, and Ship islands, as well as the NPS-owned portion of Cat Island remain closed at this time. On Saturday, September 12, the National Park Service (NPS) closed all areas and islands of Gulf Islands National Seashore in advance of Hurricane Sally impacting the Gulf Coast. Colmer Visitor Center remains closed at this time under the park’s Phase II COVID-19 Adaptive Recovery Plan. With public health and safety in mind, the William M. Reservations will be honored upon reopening, and the campground registration building at the entrance to the campground will be open. The Davis Bayou campground will reopen at 12:00 noon on Monday, September 21. The Davis Bayou Area of the park will open at 8 a.m. Debris has been cleared and day use of the area will resume under COVID-19 Adaptive Recovery Phase II operations. – Gulf Islands National Seashore crews were able to complete assessments at the Davis Bayou Area of the park. ![]()
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