March 9, 2020

Wanted: A great communicator with a passion for Barnegat Bay!

by S-FX.com

kayak-fishing

BBP Accepting Nominations for Alternate Citizen Representative

Are you committed to protecting the Barnegat Bay?  Are you a good listener who’s willing to volunteer to work with the community on bay issues? Then send us your nomination to become the next Alternate Citizen Representative for the Barnegat Bay Partnership.

Like the Citizen Representative, the Alternate will help represent the public’s interests in efforts to protect and restore the bay. During the Alternate’s three-year term, he or she will work closely with the Citizen Representative in representing the public on Barnegat Bay issues. 

George Murnyak is the current Citizen Representative. George is a retired U.S. Army environmental science officer and an avid fisherman who resides in Ortley Beach.  He says, “I’ve really enjoyed talking to people about the bay. One way I connected with people was as a volunteer water trails educator at Island Beach State Park. I’m looking forward to working with an Alternate to expand our ability to listen to citizens’ concerns.”

The Citizen Representative is a voting member of the BBP’s Policy Committee, which generally meets twice a year. In the event of the Citizen Representative’s absence, the Alternate will take his or her place as a voting member of the Policy Committee. The Alternate will also actively support the BBP Communication and Education Committee’s efforts to reach out to the public about the Barnegat Bay watershed. 

Click here for a complete description of the Alternate Citizen Representative duties and more information about submitting a nomination.  Interested individuals may nominate themselves or others.  Each letter of interest should contain a brief personal biography and include a list of activities pertinent to the Alternate Citizen Representative position.

Letters of interest should be sent by April 15, 2020 to the Barnegat Bay Partnership, Ocean County College, P.O. Box 2001, Toms River, NJ 08754 (Attention: Karen Walzer, Public Outreach Coordinator), or via e-mail to kwalzer@ocean.edu.  Email or call Ms. Walzer (732-255-0472 x 2) if you have any questions about the position or nominating process. 

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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.

 

Wanted: A great communicator with a passion for Barnegat Bay!

BBP Accepting Nominations for Alternate Citizen Representative

Are you committed to protecting the Barnegat Bay?  Are you a good listener who’s willing to volunteer to work with the community on bay issues? Then send us your nomination to become the next Alternate Citizen Representative for the Barnegat Bay Partnership.

Like the Citizen Representative, the Alternate will help represent the public’s interests in efforts to protect and restore the bay. During the Alternate’s three-year term, he or she will work closely with the Citizen Representative in representing the public on Barnegat Bay issues. 

George Murnyak is the current Citizen Representative. George is a retired U.S. Army environmental science officer and an avid fisherman who resides in Ortley Beach.  He says, “I’ve really enjoyed talking to people about the bay. One way I connected with people was as a volunteer water trails educator at Island Beach State Park. I’m looking forward to working with an Alternate to expand our ability to listen to citizens’ concerns.”

The Citizen Representative is a voting member of the BBP’s Policy Committee, which generally meets twice a year. In the event of the Citizen Representative’s absence, the Alternate will take his or her place as a voting member of the Policy Committee. The Alternate will also actively support the BBP Communication and Education Committee’s efforts to reach out to the public about the Barnegat Bay watershed. 

Click here for a complete description of the Alternate Citizen Representative duties and more information about submitting a nomination.  Interested individuals may nominate themselves or others.  Each letter of interest should contain a brief personal biography and include a list of activities pertinent to the Alternate Citizen Representative position.

Letters of interest should be sent by April 15, 2020 to the Barnegat Bay Partnership, Ocean County College, P.O. Box 2001, Toms River, NJ 08754 (Attention: Karen Walzer, Public Outreach Coordinator), or via e-mail to kwalzer@ocean.edu.  Email or call Ms. Walzer (732-255-0472 x 2) if you have any questions about the position or nominating process. 

Contact Wanted: A great communicator with a passion for Barnegat Bay!Contact Wanted: A great communicator with a passion for Barnegat Bay!
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