The BBP’s Annual Report 2020-2021 gives a great overview of Barnegat Bay Partnership’s efforts to protect and restore the bay and its watershed in 2020. With careful planning, social distancing, and modified procedures, we were able to adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue our important work.
Science and Research
In this section of the report, learn how our three continuous monitoring stations track water quality in the bay in near real-time and how we monitor for coastal acidification. Get updates on our fisheries research projects: juvenile eel monitoring, juvenile fish and nekton sampling, and a Stockton University oyster restoration project. Our Mid-Atlantic Coastal Wetlands Assessment (MACWA) team was busy in 2020 with regular wetlands monitoring and some new projects, including data collection at three living shoreline projects.
Citizen Science and Stewardship
Learn how Paddle for the Edge citizen science volunteers paddled 23 miles of bay shoreline and collected data about shoreline conditions at 1,200 points in 2020. Despite the pandemic, the Barnegat Bay Master Naturalists continued to volunteer as stewards of the watershed, removing invasive species at a county park and planting American beachgrass on the dunes at Island Beach State Park.
Education and Outreach
The pandemic was especially challenging for watershed educators. The Barnegat Bay Partnership met the challenge by offering two series of webinars in 2020. In the Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist webinars, local scientists talked about their research in the estuary and answered questions. The Wild About Jersey-Friendly Yards webinars offered practical information to property owners about how to landscape for a healthy environment and a healthy bay.
You can view or download the full Annual Report 2020-2021. If you would like a print copy mailed to you, email kwalzer@ocean.edu with your name and address.
