Committees and Structure

The Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) is a partnership of federal, state, county, municipal, academic, business, non-profit, and private organizations working together to protect, restore, and enhance the natural resources of the Barnegat Bay ecosystem. Since 2003, the BBP and its staff have been administered through Ocean County College and supported with a grant award from the USEPA.

The BBP is administered as a department of Ocean County College, and currently has a 7-person staff (6 full-time, 1 part-time).

The Partnership’s management structure includes:

Policy Committee

The Policy Committee is comprised of high-level municipal, county, state, and federal leaders, as well as a Science and Technical Advisory Committee member and a Citizen representative. The Policy Committee provides overall direction and sets priorities for the BBP, defines Advisory Committee membership, and selects the Program Director.

Advisory Committee

The AC is comprised of representatives from federal, state, and county agencies, other partners, and the chairs of the Science and Technical Advisory Committee and Communication and Education Committee. The AC refines the definitions of watershed problems and develops strategies to solve them, provides oversight to the scientific characterization of the watershed, prepares action plans for the CCMP, and plans programs to implement the CCMP.   All AC members who have taken responsibility for implementing an action from the BBP 2012 -2016 Strategic Plan are eligible for membership on the BBP Advisory Committee.

Science and Technical Advisory Committee

The STAC is composed of scientists, engineers, environmental professionals, planners, citizen interest groups, representatives from federal, state, and local governments, and individuals from academia and industry. The STAC provides the BBP and collaborating entities with objective, expert advice and peer review for overall scientific and technical matters related to National Estuary Program activities and goals, such as those specified in the CCMP and the BBP’s Strategic Plan. It works with the Advisory Committee to identify and prioritize science and technical needs within the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary and its watersheds, and assists with the BBP’s efforts to raise awareness and resources for addressing these needs. The STAC also facilitates communication among other specialized science and technical subcommittees, and recommends forming and disbanding new STAC sub-committees and technical work groups as needed.

Communication and Education Committee

The CEC provides the 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 CCMP, the BBP’s Strategic Plan, and the BBP’s Communication Plan.  The CEC works with the Advisory Committee to identify and prioritize communication, education, and outreach needs within the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary and its watersheds, 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.

BBP Governing Documents

For information on committee meetings, please check our calendar of events.

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.