Community Initiatives

Building a Connected Bay Community

The Barnegat Bay community is a diverse group of individuals, organizations, and businesses that all share a common goal: to protect and preserve the Bay for future generations.
From local residents and volunteers to scientists and policymakers, every member of this community plays a vital role in ensuring the health and sustainability of the Bay's unique ecosystems. Together, we work to foster a deeper connection to the environment and promote stewardship across the region.
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Initiatives

Our community thrives through a variety of initiatives that promote the stewardship and protection of Barnegat Bay. Each program is designed to engage and educate, providing meaningful ways for individuals to make a lasting impact. Learn about the key efforts that help preserve the Bay and how you can contribute:

Make Your Yard Jersey-Friendly

Join the hundreds of residents within the Barnegat Bay Watershed and throughout the state of New Jersey who have become Jersey-Friendly yard certified! By transforming even a small portion of your landscaping to include native plants, you are helping to reduce stormwater runoff and contributing to healthier waterways.
Learn More

Why Your Help Matters

Barnegat Bay’s marsh edges are dynamic, ever-changing habitats where land and water meet. Influenced by storms, boat wakes, and species like mussels and plants, these shorelines grow and erode, shaping the bay’s ecosystem.

The BBP survey tracks key shoreline features and biotic indicators, such as recreational use, shellfish growth, water quality, erosion, and plant and animal diversity. This data helps monitor shoreline health, predict environmental changes, and identify areas for restoration.

Have Additional Questions?

Help us safeguard these vital ecosystems and their role in our community.
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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.