April 30, 2020During the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to protect ourselves and others by using masks and gloves when out in public.…
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.
During the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to protect ourselves and others by using masks and gloves when out in public. Unfortunately, not everyone is properly disposing of their personal protective equipment (PPE). Discarded gloves and masks have become common litter in parking lots, on streets, and in other public areas.
Since PPE litter has the potential of spreading COVID-19, it poses a threat to public health, especially to employees tasked with picking up this hazardous waste. Not only is it a health and safety issue, it also poses a threat to the environment. During rain storms, trash in parking lots and on streets — including discarded gloves and masks — is inevitably washed down storm drains and into our streams, rivers, and the Barnegat Bay. PPE litter is adding to the plastic pollution in our environment.
Let’s all do our part to protect both public health and the environment by taking the time to properly dispose of used gloves and masks. When removing gloves, follow the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines for how to safely remove them, then place them in the nearest trash receptacle.
What if a trash can is not available? In an Ocean County press release about the PE litter problem, Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari offers this suggestion – always bring a bag with you that you can use to safely transport your used gloves or mask back home for proper disposal in the trash.