June 5, 2018

Barnegat Bay Blitz on June 8th

by S-FX.com

Barnegat Bay Blitz 2018

On Friday, June 8th, thousands of volunteers will join NJDEP staff for the ninth Barnegat Bay Blitz, a watershed-wide cleanup that draws attention to stewardship of the ecologically fragile bay.

The bay’s 660-square-mile watershed spans all or parts of 37 municipalities in Ocean and Monmouth counties. Following a kick-off ceremony at 9:00 a.m. at the Barnegat Municipal Dock, teams will fan out throughout the watershed to clean up wetlands, stream banks, stormwater discharge points, schools, trails, docks, areas around bulkheads, and the waters of the bay itself.

Each team is led by a captain, typically a NJDEP employee. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact one of the team captains for information about clean-up locations in your area, or submit a pledge form to clean up a location of your choice.

The first Barnegat Bay Blitz was held in October 2011. It has grown significantly over the years. To date, more than 31,500 participants have removed 4,579 cubic yards of trash and recyclables from the watershed.

Long, shallow and narrow, the Barnegat Bay is susceptible to the impacts of stormwater runoff and accumulations of trash and debris along its shorelines and in its wetlands. Removal of trash is important to prevent these materials from degrading the bay’s ecological and scenic values. A study by the University of Delaware for the Barnegat Bay Partnership estimates that the watershed and activities related to its natural resources contribute more than $4 billion to the state’s economy each year and directly or indirectly support more than 60,000 jobs.

Blitz sponsors include the Barnegat Bay Partnership, New Jersey Clean Communities, the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust, Wawa, Waste Management, TowBoat US, the U.S. Geological Survey, New Jersey Natural Gas, Ocean Spray, Suez-United Water, Ocean County government, PS&S, Firestone, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, ReClam the Bay, Save Barnegat Bay, AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors, Boating Education and Rescue, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

 

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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.

 

Barnegat Bay Blitz on June 8th

On Friday, June 8th, thousands of volunteers will join NJDEP staff for the ninth Barnegat Bay Blitz, a watershed-wide cleanup that draws attention to stewardship of the ecologically fragile bay.

The bay’s 660-square-mile watershed spans all or parts of 37 municipalities in Ocean and Monmouth counties. Following a kick-off ceremony at 9:00 a.m. at the Barnegat Municipal Dock, teams will fan out throughout the watershed to clean up wetlands, stream banks, stormwater discharge points, schools, trails, docks, areas around bulkheads, and the waters of the bay itself.

Each team is led by a captain, typically a NJDEP employee. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact one of the team captains for information about clean-up locations in your area, or submit a pledge form to clean up a location of your choice.

The first Barnegat Bay Blitz was held in October 2011. It has grown significantly over the years. To date, more than 31,500 participants have removed 4,579 cubic yards of trash and recyclables from the watershed.

Long, shallow and narrow, the Barnegat Bay is susceptible to the impacts of stormwater runoff and accumulations of trash and debris along its shorelines and in its wetlands. Removal of trash is important to prevent these materials from degrading the bay’s ecological and scenic values. A study by the University of Delaware for the Barnegat Bay Partnership estimates that the watershed and activities related to its natural resources contribute more than $4 billion to the state’s economy each year and directly or indirectly support more than 60,000 jobs.

Blitz sponsors include the Barnegat Bay Partnership, New Jersey Clean Communities, the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust, Wawa, Waste Management, TowBoat US, the U.S. Geological Survey, New Jersey Natural Gas, Ocean Spray, Suez-United Water, Ocean County government, PS&S, Firestone, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, ReClam the Bay, Save Barnegat Bay, AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors, Boating Education and Rescue, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

 

Contact Barnegat Bay Blitz on June 8thContact Barnegat Bay Blitz on June 8th
Barnegat Bay Blitz 2018
Photo credit: NJDEP