September 22, 2025The Barnegat Bay Partnership is thrilled to welcome Amy Lynn Johnson to our team during her term of service with…
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.
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.
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.
The Barnegat Bay Partnership is thrilled to welcome Amy Lynn Johnson to our team during her term of service with the AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador Program!
A lifelong resident of the Barnegat Bay watershed, Amy brings a strong local perspective and is eager to share her knowledge with communities throughout the region.
Amy earned her Associate’s degree in General Science and her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science through the Kean Ocean partnership between Ocean County College and Kean University. Her hands-on experience includes her acceptance as a water quality researcher in the Student Grant Program for Save Barnegat Bay’s Bay Nettle project and later as their Environmental Outreach and Photography intern.
During her undergraduate studies, Amy joined Dr. Jun Cheng in a coastal erosion study that was published in 2023 by the William Morris Davis Journal of Geomorphology and which she presented at the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association Conference in Galveston, Texas. She also expanded her fieldwork experience internationally, studying tropical ecology in Blue Creek and South Water Caye, Belize.
Amy is not the first team member at the BBP who has participated in the AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador Program. Associate Director of Outreach Nina Sassano and Stewardship Specialist Caroline McFarland each served as members (Nina in 2011, Caroline in 2024 & 2025) before joining the BBP team.
The AmeriCorps New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program (NJWAP), run by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, is a 10-month, full-time service opportunity that places recent college graduates or other committed individuals at a host agency in each of New Jersey’s 20 Watershed Management Areas (plus three Source Water Protection regions) to promote water quality and watershed stewardship. Ambassadors serve ~35-40 hours/week (1700 hours total), conducting stream health monitoring (both visual and biological assessments), leading community outreach and volunteer-based projects, delivering educational presentations, and engaging with citizens to raise awareness about pollution, conservation, and local watershed issues. In return, participants gain extremely valuable professional experience and connections in the field that help them move to the next steps in their careers as environmentalists.
We are excited to see the impact Amy will make during her AmeriCorps service year and look forward to the energy, expertise, and passion she brings to the Barnegat Bay Partnership. With her strong academic background, diverse field experience, and dedication to protecting our watershed, Amy will be a valuable resource to both our team and the communities we serve. Please join us in welcoming Amy to the BBP family!