Current Projects
Stormwater Implementation Grant Program 2008 Public Participation & Education Minigrants Research & Implementation Grant Program
_____________________________________________ Stormwater Implementation Grant Program In an effort to assist with on-the-ground local projects and working with communities to address stormwater management, the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program (BBNEP) initiated a new grant program for stormwater implementation activities focusing on New Jersey's NJPDES Stormwater/UIC rules (N.J.A.C. 7:14A-25.4 and 25.8(b)). In May 2007, ten project proposals were approved for funding. Projects approved for funding were those that clearly sought to improve water quality in the Barnegat Bay watershed by implementing the Phase II Municipal Stormwater Rules, and were proactive in their efforts to improve stormwater management in their town or borough. Grants were awarded to the following municipalities and projects:
Work on these projects began in June 2007 and will be completed by May 2008. Each award recipient is required to match the amount given by the BBNEP by a minimum of 33%. The BBNEP’s 2008 Public Participation & Education Minigrant Program Recipients * Alliance for a Living Ocean (ALO) of Beach Haven has developed the “Shellfish, Fish, and a Healthy Bay” project which will provide a set of “hands-on” educational experiences to visitors and residents of Long Beach Island throughout the summer months of July and August and will include both weekly programs and special lectures. ALO’s programs will educate children and adults regarding the importance of a healthy bay and how to prevent non-point source pollution. Find out more at www.livingocean.org or call (609) 492-0222 and ask about their summer programs. * The Ocean County Soil Conservation District, located in Forked River, has designed and build well over a dozen rain gardens throughout the Barnegat Bay watershed by partnering with local groups such as public schools. Building on that success, through their 2008 Minigrant, they are providing picnic tables, signage, bird houses and feeders to complete the transformation of the five newest Rain Garden sites into practical and usable Outdoor Classrooms. To learn more about Rain Gardens, visit the Rain Garden page on our website, as well as the Fact Sheets page where you'll find helpful information to get your Rain Garden started. * The Potter Creek Crusaders, a small group of dedicated 6th graders at the Berkeley Township Elementary School in Bayville are enhancing their environmental studies by exploring the Potter Creek sub-watershed and its relationship to the Barnegat Bay estuary. The students plan to share their experiences in the Potter Creek sub-watershed with their fellow schoolmates and the public through a variety of exhibits and multimedia presentations. * The Parkday Organization, based in Toms River is creating an internet-based multi-dimensional map of the Barnegat Bay watershed for the BBNEP’s website (www.bbnep.org). This interactive map will provide information on recreational and environmental facilities, outdoor activities, demonstration projects, and natural resources throughout the watershed. Parkday also maintains a fabulous website of their own with wealth of information about local and state-wide parks. Check it out at www.parkday.org. * The Point Pleasant Borough Environmental Commission is enhancing its annual Earth Day environmental poster contest for local children, by working with partners to develop and provide an educational program for 500 students in Point Pleasant Borough schools. This program gives students practical information on how they can help protect and restore their local environment and emphasizes the importance of protecting the Barnegat Bay estuary's ecosystem. The winning poster has already been made into a t-shirt and sold at the Point Pleasant Borough Earth Day Celebration on April 20, 2008, but the educational program in the school will continue through the funding provided by this minigrant. The winning poster was created by local 4th-grader, Shea Blake. * Representatives from the American Littoral Society are taking to the airwaves on WOBM to introduce the public to the natural ecology of the Barnegat Bay. This radio campaign is making the connection between human behavior and the health of the Bay, inform people on how to be better stewards of their water resources, and promote participation in activities to improve the health of the Barnegat Bay. Through this minigrant project, the American Littoral Society will reach thousands of residents and visitors in the Barnegat Bay watershed with these important messages. For more information about the American Littoral Society, visit their website. * A new magazine-style book, the Long Beach Island Blue Pages, is being developed by the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences of Loveladies to inform summer visitors and residents on a wide variety of topics, from the history of the Barnegat Bay to environmental issues and responsible landscaping and boating. The goal of the Blue Pages is to foster a sense of responsibility and encourage cooperation in conservation. Learn more about the Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts & Science and their summer programs at www.lbifoundation.org. * A new “Master Naturalist” program similar to the volunteer Master Gardeners program is being developed by the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey to create a corps of trained volunteer-interpreters for New Jersey's coastal ecosystems. Those completing the course will be required to provide 40 hours of community service each year to remain certified. Through this minigrant award, the recipients are training volunteers in Barnegat Bay estuarine ecology through a full-day course at the Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center in May 2008. * The South Toms River Municipal Alliance is creating a Rain Garden in an area of the Borough of South Toms River which drains to the Jakes Branch of the Toms River. This Rain Garden will provide an example for residents of how these projects can reduce erosion and protect the waterways from stormwater run-off pollution. The BBNEP Research and Implementation Grant Program The BBNEP provides annual funding to help underwrite the cost of projects which address priority issues and actions established by the Program and its partners. Typically, these projects call into two categories: research and monitoring, and implementation. Current research and monitoring projects *In partnership with Monmouth University, Birdsall Engineering, Inc. is working on a Bacterial Source Tracking Project in Silver Bay. The goal of the project is to utilize GIS technology and Bacterial Source Tracking methodologies to determine specific sources of fecal pollution in the Silver Bay watershed (a sub-watershed of the Barnegat Bay watershed) and to identify applicable best management practices that can be employed to address the identified fecal sources. Current implementation projects * In order to create a “one-stop shopping” location for all information, data, and reports relevant to the Barnegat Bay estuary and its watershed, the BBNEP is working to create an information management system for the current BBNEP website. This project is being coordinated by the BBNEP in partnership with the United States Geological Survey. The new website additions will feature user-friendly graphics which will allow the user to find the information they are looking for by topic area either on the BBNEP site, or linked to one of our partners’ websites where Barnegat Bay-related data and reports are available. *The newly formed BBNEP Sustainable Communities Workgroup is working on developing mechanisms and incentives for builders, developers, planners, and municipal officials in the Barnegat Bay watershed to implement best management practices and low impact design strategies when designing and constructing residential and commercial buildings. The workgroup is using the “Builders for the Bay” program created by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, the Center for Watershed Protection, and the National Association of Home Builders as a model for how municipalities, developers, and environmental organizations can come together in an effort to minimize the damage to the Barnegat Bay from increased runoff and the fragmentation of wooded areas. * Thirty-six percent of the natural shoreline in Barnegat Bay has been bulk-headed, representing a significant loss of natural habitat, particularly Spartina marsh and shoreline beach. Despite the ever-increasing amount of artificial shoreline in Barnegat Bay, very little is known about the ecological impacts of these shorelines on important habitats or species in Barnegat Bay. Previous research in this area, funded by the BBNEP, conducted by Dr. Paul Jivoff of Rider University, is the only work that has examined the influence of bulkheads on estuarine habitats and benthic and nektonic organisms in Barnegat Bay. In an effort to expand this previous work and examine the influence of bulkheads on local and regional scales in Barnegat Bay, Dr. Jivoff is currently working on a study titled, “The Impact of Artificial Shoreline on Species Diversity, Secondary Production and Habitat Quality in Barnegat Bay”. The results of this study will be important for making sound decisions on the amount and type of shoreline development that occurs in this estuary and for assessing how several commercially important species respond to artificial shorelines. *The Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program is a partnership between Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County, the BBNEP, the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the NJDEP Bureau of Shellfisheries, and the Natural Resource Education Foundation of New Jersey. The goals of this program are to involve volunteers from the watershed in the revitalization of the clam and oyster populations in Barnegat Bay and educate the citizens of the watershed about the importance of shellfish to the bay and how they, as citizens, can work to improve the bay’s ecology through improved stewardship. Please visit www.reclamthebay.org for more information. * The Township of Brick is implementing non point source pollution controls and public outreach and educational signage at Trader’s Cove Municipal Waterfront Park in Brick Township. The Trader’s Cove property currently consists of an existing marina and marina support facilities located along Barnegat Bay, immediately adjacent to the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. This property was recently purchased by the Township of Brick for eight million dollars through a conglomerate of public and private entities. Brick Township is responsible for the development of the park, as well as the daily maintenance and operation of the marina. As one of the first steps in this effort, through funding from the BBNEP, the Township will be constructing water quality swales vegetated with native plant species to catch runoff from pervious surfaces throughout the park, as well as educational signage that will be placed throughout the park educating visitors on such topics as non point source pollution, stormwater best management practices, and the history of boating in the area.
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The Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program (BBNEP) supports projects through competitive Requests For Proposals (RFPs), minigrants, and other funding mechanisms. The following list highlights examples of the projects currently being supported by the BBNEP.