April 18, 2019

Barnegat Bay Blitz 2019

by S-FX.com

Barnegat Bay Blitz logo

Common trash makes up the majority of what eventually becomes marine debris, polluting our streams and rivers, bays, and oceans.  To help address this problem, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) started the Barnegat Bay Blitz, a watershed-wide clean-up event, in 2011.

The NJDEP continued to grow the Blitz every year since, with more and more volunteers helping to remove trash and litter from our watershed. This year, the Barnegat Bay Partnership is taking the lead on organizing the Blitz as the NJDEP expands its clean-up efforts to the Delaware River watershed.

Our goal for the 2019 Blitz is to have clean-up events throughout the Barnegat Bay watershed, and we need your help!

How to Help

Volunteer: The first step is to register as a Volunteer. Your information will be directed to the person who is coordinating a clean-up in your area (“Team Captain”), and the Captain will contact you with additional details about your local clean-up. Read “Tips for Volunteers” for information about what to bring and wear and how to stay safe during a clean-up.

Suggest Clean-up Locations: We’re looking for sites that need a clean-up. If you have suggestions, please email Karen Walzer at kwalzer@ocean.edu or call her at 732-255-0472 x 2.

Become a Clean-up Captain: Interested in leading a clean-up? Contact Karen and let her know.

Volunteers still needed in the following towns. Please email the Blitz contact below for details, including date and time.

Barnegat Township contact:  Lauren Keltos at Lauren.Keltos@dep.nj.gov
Bass River contact:  Naomi Jainarine at watershed@marine.rutgers.edu
Beach Haven contact:  James Sferra at jsferra@beachhaven-nj.gov
Brick contact:  Ray LeChien at ambassadorwma13@gmail.com
Long Beach Township contact:  Joe Stefanoni at Joe.Stefanoni@dep.nj.gov
Ortley Beach contact:  Christine Page at Christina.Page@dep.nj.gov
Seaside Heights contact:  Lynette Lurig at Lynette.Lurig@dep.nj.gov
Toms River contact: Crystal Pirozek at Crystal.Pirozek@dep.nj.gov

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Blitz Logo 2019 E1555597884561

 

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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 2019

Common trash makes up the majority of what eventually becomes marine debris, polluting our streams and rivers, bays, and oceans.  To help address this problem, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) started the Barnegat Bay Blitz, a watershed-wide clean-up event, in 2011.

The NJDEP continued to grow the Blitz every year since, with more and more volunteers helping to remove trash and litter from our watershed. This year, the Barnegat Bay Partnership is taking the lead on organizing the Blitz as the NJDEP expands its clean-up efforts to the Delaware River watershed.

Our goal for the 2019 Blitz is to have clean-up events throughout the Barnegat Bay watershed, and we need your help!

How to Help

Volunteer: The first step is to register as a Volunteer. Your information will be directed to the person who is coordinating a clean-up in your area (“Team Captain”), and the Captain will contact you with additional details about your local clean-up. Read “Tips for Volunteers” for information about what to bring and wear and how to stay safe during a clean-up.

Suggest Clean-up Locations: We’re looking for sites that need a clean-up. If you have suggestions, please email Karen Walzer at kwalzer@ocean.edu or call her at 732-255-0472 x 2.

Become a Clean-up Captain: Interested in leading a clean-up? Contact Karen and let her know.

Volunteers still needed in the following towns. Please email the Blitz contact below for details, including date and time.

Barnegat Township contact:  Lauren Keltos at Lauren.Keltos@dep.nj.gov
Bass River contact:  Naomi Jainarine at watershed@marine.rutgers.edu
Beach Haven contact:  James Sferra at jsferra@beachhaven-nj.gov
Brick contact:  Ray LeChien at ambassadorwma13@gmail.com
Long Beach Township contact:  Joe Stefanoni at Joe.Stefanoni@dep.nj.gov
Ortley Beach contact:  Christine Page at Christina.Page@dep.nj.gov
Seaside Heights contact:  Lynette Lurig at Lynette.Lurig@dep.nj.gov
Toms River contact: Crystal Pirozek at Crystal.Pirozek@dep.nj.gov

.

Blitz Logo 2019 E1555597884561

 

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