Cape Island NJ History
As storm waters receded in the spring of 1962 Cape May was faced with choices. The city could finish the job nature had started, or it could preserve what was left of the Victorian seaside resort. The decision to modernize the historic main street with a pedestrian shopping mall, the creation of a National Register Historic District and the establishment of a not-for-profit cultural agency to attract and educate Victorian enthusiasts has proven itself. Cape May is now a center of heritage, cultural and environmental tourism. Cape May has also transcended its former seasonality, attracting visitors 12 months of the year. Theatre, chamber music, seminars, festivals and workshops flourish in Cape May's cultural tourism environment. Preservation, education, investment, and outreach have created a tourism destination that speaks to current visitor needs. Romantic bed and breakfast inns, traditional guest houses, historic hotels and modern beachfront accommodations provide a range of quality and affordability. Restaurants, unique retail shops and other visitor service businesses all contribute to Cape May's attractiveness.
Cape May commercial fishermen annually harvest over 45,000 tons of seafood from the surrounding waters. The relationship of the wetlands and bay environment to the health of the marine populations off the coast of Cape May is crucial. Regulation and education as well as the diversification of species harvested will maintain healthy populations for both commercial and recreational fishermen. The availability of water, its use and disposal are also important to Cape May's ability to sustain permanent and seasonal population. With over 65% of Cape May's area controlled by Federal, State and local government, planning for future development must consider waste disposal, transportation and open space preservation.
Migratory birds, marine mammals, and wetlands ecosystems have attracted visitors to Cape May for hundreds of years. while early whalers and hunters came to prey on these resources, today's visitors appreciate the value of their preservation, not only for enjoyment, but also as indicators of environmental health. Birders, whale and dolphin watchers, butterfly enthusiasts, and nature lovers recognize Cape May as an environmental tourism destination. The narrow Cape May peninsula concentrates migratory waterfowl, songbirds and raptors for both appreciation and study. The New Jersey Audobon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory annually identifies and counts hundreds of thousands of birds and conducts educational seminars and tours. They also conduct research projects to better understand the impact of changing habitat and food sources.
Today, the barrier island resorts which eclipsed Cape Island's Victorian primacy are looking in to their origins to find resources which can help them to regain or retain their tourist traffic. How can we learn from the past to better plan for the future? Will resources thought to be worthless today become tomorrow's attractions? How much of the natural environment must we preserve against the relentless pressures of development? Will another natural disaster present a window of opportunity, or will it irrevocably change the future of Cape May? Traditional wisdom teaches that "There is nothing as certain as change" as well as "The more things change, the more they remain the same." Cape May is a study in this fascinating dichotomy.