Communication and Education Committee

The role of the Communication and Education Committee (CEC) is to provide the Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) and collaborating entities with objective expert advice and peer review for overall communication, education, and outreach matters related to National Estuary Program activities and goals, such as those specified in the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), BBP’s Strategic Plan, and BBP’s Communication Plan (see links below for access to these documents).  The CEC works with the BBP Advisory Committee to identify and prioritize communication and outreach needs within the Barnegat Bay watershed, and assists with the BBP’s efforts to raise awareness and resources for addressing these needs.  The CEC also facilitates public participation and diverse stakeholder involvement in BBP-related activities and assists with the selection of the Citizen Representative to the BBP Policy Committee. Through its Communication and Education Grant Program, the CEC supports projects which advance Barnegat Bay education and public participation activities.

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The functions of the CEC are to:

  • Oversee the implementation of the BBP’s Communication Plan;
  • Assist the BBP office in periodic updating of the Communication Plan in concert with the updating of the BBP’s Strategic Plan;
  • Provide priority Communication Plan funding recommendations to the BBP Office for inclusion in annual work plans;
  • Assist the BBP office in looking for additional sources of funding for Communication Plan implementation activities;
  • Serve as the planning committee for the annual Education and Outreach Retreat for the Barnegat Bay watershed;
  • Provide input for the Barnegat Bay Festival; and
  • Oversee the nomination process of the BBP Citizen Representative and Alternate.

Committee Members

Joel Mott (Chair), New Jersey Pinelands Commission

Kaitlin Gannon, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JC NERR)

Shari Kondrup, Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority

Will Ruocco, Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (Alternate)

Nina Sassano, Barnegat Bay Partnership (Staff liaison)

Angela C. Andersen, Long Beach Township

Peter Brandt, US EPA, Region 2, Public Affairs Director for Estuaries & Lakes and Senior Communication Advisor

Barbara Spinweber, US EPA, Region 2 (Alternate)

Kelly Scott, Island Beach State Park and NJDEP Alternate

Becky Laboy, Ocean County Soil Conservation District

Christine Raabe, Ocean County Soil Conservation District (Alternate)

Chris Claus, Ocean County Department of Parks & Recreation

Dr. John Wnek, Ocean County Vocational Technical School (MATES)

Wes Dalzell, ReClam the Bay

Chelsea Kulp, New Jersey American Water

George Murnyak, Citizen Representative to the BBP Policy Committee

Murray Rosenberg, Citizen Representative to the BBP Policy Committee (Alternate)

Stan Hales, Barnegat Bay Partnership (ex officio)

Communication Committee Resoures

  • CEC Minutes by Year
    • CEC CharterCommunication and Outreach Plan to Support the BBP 2012 – 2016 Strategic Plan
    - This is the current Communication Plan guiding the actions of the CEC.
    Putting All the Pieces Together: A Communication and Outreach Plan to Support the BBNEP 2008-2011 Strategic Plan
    - This is the original Communication Plan, which is now replaced by the 2012-2016 plan.
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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.