Advisory Committee

Committee Members

Dr. L. Stanton Hales, Jr. (Co-Chair), Barnegat Bay Partnership
Karen Greene (Co-Chair), NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
Keith B. Marcoon, Ocean County Utilities Authority
Terry Fowler, US Army Corps of Engineers
Mary E. Brandreth, US Army Corps of Engineers (Alternate)
Stephen Rochette, US Army Corps of Engineers (Alternate)
Jeffrey Fischer, US Geological Survey
Tim Dillingham, American Littoral Society
Anika Andrews, NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)
Lynette Lurig, NJDEP (Alternate)
Carrie Mosley, Natural Resources Conservation Service
David Steinmann, Natural Resources Conservation Service (Alternate)
Dr. Peter Rowe, New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium
Michael J. Danko, New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (Alternate)
John Protenensis, Ocean County Health Department
Anthony Agliata, Ocean County Planning Department
Victoria K. Pecchioli, Ocean County Planning Department (Alternate)
Michael DeLuca, Rutgers University – IMCS/JC NERR
Andrea Habeck, Rutgers University – IMCS/JC NERR
Joel Mott, CEC Chair, NJ Pinelands Commission
Dr. Pete Straub, Stockton University
Gregg Sakowicz, STAC Chair, Rutgers University – IMCS/JC NERR
Greg Socha, Trust for Public Land
Virginia Rettig, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
Elizabeth Butler, US Environmental Protection Agency, Region II
Barbara Spinweber, US Environmental Protection Agency, Region II (Alternate)

Robin Parker, US Environmental Protection Agency, Headquarters Liaison
Dr. Steven Yergeau, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County
Thomas Fote, Jersey Coast Anglers Association
George Browne, Jersey Coast Anglers Association (Alternate)
Melissa Danko, Marine Trades Association of New Jersey
Kayci Clayton, Ocean County College
Colleen Adams, Ocean County College (Alternate)
Christine Raabe, Ocean County Soil Conservation District
Becky Laboy, Ocean County Soil Conservation District (Alternate)
Jessica Pinto, Ocean County Soil Conservation District (Alternate)
Angela Andersen, Long Beach Township
Bill Walsh, ReClam the Bay
Liz Silvernail, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ
Tony MacDonald, Esq., Monmouth University
Carleton Montgomery, Esq., Pinelands Preservation Alliance
Charles Caruso, Esq., Pinelands Preservation Alliance (Alternate)
Susan Grogan, New Jersey Pinelands Commission
Edward Wengrowski, New Jersey Pinelands Commission (Alternate)
Louise Wootton, Georgian Court University
Rob Karl, Brick Township Municipal Utility Authority
Will Ruocco, Brick MUA (Alternate)

Advisory Committee Meeting Documents

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    • cattus island beach

    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.