Young Professional Opportunities

The BBP is seeking applications from passionate students and recent graduates with an interest in gaining hands on field experience in marine and environmental science. Interns will join our program scientists to support our 2024 spring field research season. Field technicians will join the team to help with ongoing research initiatives.
Footbridge and damSeining
Measurements on the beachssim vegetation field work sample
Stream Crossing

Field & Lab Technicians

Recent graduates and current students are encouraged to apply for the Field and Lab Technician position. This position works under designated Barnegat Bay Partnership staff to conduct various field and/or laboratory projects and other project tasks including but not limited to data entry, data compilation, data analyses, report preparation, and public presentations. The Field and Lab Technician I may serve as the leader of a team of employees and/or volunteers on some field projects.
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Spring 2025 Internships

Have Additional Questions?

Contact Nina Sassano

Field Internship

The Field Intern will assist in data collection and monitoring through the spring season of field work. This may include, but is not limited to, specimen collection, identification, and release; wetland assessments; water quality data collection; and more.
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Paddle for the Edge Internship

The Paddle for the Edge intern will assist in the development of training materials, marketing, registration, and fieldwork for the Paddle for the Edge program with the Barnegat Bay Partnership. Working closely with the Wetlands and Watershed Specialist, the intern will promote and engage the community in data collection throughout the Barnegat Bay watershed.
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UNKNOWN

There is limited data available to quantify Wetland and Riparian Buffer Preservation, or updated data to quantify Wetland Acreage. The BBP has obtained funding and will begin assessment efforts for both targets, in the next few years.

 

 Hard Clam abundance has not been updated since 2012. Recovery of the stock will be guided by the Fishery Management Plan for Hard Clams, which is under development with the NJDEP, BBP, and other organizations. Reclam the Bay and other partners have continued to plant clams for restoration purposes. Continued plantings in strategic locations which maximize survival and reproduction is one strategy to pursue in the coming years. This work can use a model developed by Rutgers with BBP funding which identified areas where planted clams could have the greatest dispersal of their larvae and thus potentially maximally contribute to the recovery of the stock.

 Water Withdrawals were over the target in the 2021 report; USGS has not yet completed its latest update, so a definitive determination of status is not available. However, additional NJDEP data show that it is likely that we continue to not meet the target. Per capita water use has gone down, demonstrating the effectiveness of water-saving appliances and practices, but that decrease has been offset by population gains. 


IN PROGRESS

New maps quantifying Submerged Aquatic Vegetation extent were developed, but poor image clarity resulted in a high degree of uncertainty in the total acreage. NJDEP and Rutgers are working to resolve the uncertainty of these maps, and improve the total acreage estimate. Funding has also been obtained for further research and restoration activities. Several groups are developing potential restoration actions.

The USGS has completed the first phase of its study to identify minimum ecological flows in select Barnegat Bay tributaries. USGS scientists compared streamflow statistics between historical and current time periods to better understand trends in watershed flow conditions. This work provides a foundation for developing ecological flow targets in the Barnegat Bay watershed.  Similar to SAV extent, funding (approximately $450K) has been obtained by the BBP to complete the remaining phases necessary for threshold determination.

 

TARGETS ACHIEVED

No targets can be considered “Achieved” at this time.

 

NOT ACHIEVING

Several Public Swimming Beaches exceeded their safe swimming standards more frequently than during their baseline time period (2016-2018).

While most beaches are routinely safe for swimming, several problematic areas such as Beachwood, Hancock, Windward, and several lake beaches need track-down studies and restoration to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

Acres of Approved Shellfish Waters decreased from the last report. While this decrease was small, it represents a loss of previously approved waters. Similar to public beaches, track-down studies and restoration work are needed to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.