Barnegat Bay Beat - the Barnegat Bay Partnership

Barnegat Bay Beat
The
A Quarterly Publication of the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program
Winter/Spring 2007 • Volume 6, Issue 1
Barnegat Bay Minigrant Winners Announced
The Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program (BBNEP) is happy to announce the recipients of the 2007 Minigrant
awards for public education and participation. The Minigrant program was designed to motivate people to participate in protecting and restoring the Barnegat Bay watershed. This year, the Review Committee awarded a total
of $43,608 to eleven proposals. This Minigrant Program is open to individuals, organizations, businesses, and
government agencies.
The Barnegat Bay Minigrant Program gives us an opportunity to fund organizations to enable them to complete
projects they might otherwise not have the resources to see through. The grant recipients are wonderful partners
for the Estuary Program, reaching thousands of residents and visitors in the Barnegat Bay watershed.
The recipients include: All Saints Regional Catholic School, Borough of Point Pleasant Beach, Ecological Research and Development Group, Georgian Court University, Jersey Shore Council of the Boy Scouts of America,
Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Master Gardener Association of Ocean County Inc., New
Jersey Audubon Society, Ocean County Vocational Technical School, Save Barnegat Bay, and Toms River Regional
Schools.
Listed below are the 11 proposals to receive funding:
• All Saints Regional Catholic School: Enable students to engage in a restoration effort to grow and transplant
seagrasses back into the Barnegat Bay.
• Borough of Point Pleasant Beach: Improve the quality of lakes by encouraging the use of pet waste disposal
units.
• Ecological Research and Development Group: Increase awareness of issues in the Barnegat Bay Estuary by providing an environmental education and art camp, providing a science and art professional development workshop, and writing a comprehensive environmental art curriculum related to the camp and workshop.
• Georgian Court University: Build awareness of the needs for water conservation in this area by mentoring
school-age students to create an outreach activity to bring this awareness to their communities.
• Jersey Shore Council, Boy Scouts of America: Build a nature activity trail ¾ mile in length with 15 education
stations to highlight natural resources and local history. The trail will be open to the public and will include 10
activity backpacks with educational materials for use on this trail and other hikes.
• Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences: Teach young people about the natural history and ecology of Barnegat Bay and the marine life in and around Long Beach Island. The program also strives to educate
young people about the environment and the impact of man on this environment.
• Master Gardener Association of Ocean County Inc.: Publish and distribute a 2008 calendar that will inform the
public of various aspects of horticulture including, but not limited to, the establishment, maintenance, recommended treatment and proper care of gardens, trees, and shrubs in the Barnegat Bay Watershed.
• New Jersey Audubon Society: Motivate middle school and high school teachers from districts within the
(continued on page )
Getting to Know Our Neighbors –
The Mantis Shrimp
Jeanine Cava, Program Associate, Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program
One of the least known and most “shy” creatures
can replicate a strike so hard that it is the equivalent
to a 22 caliber bullet, allowing it to be able to break
double layered safety glass.
of the Barnegat Bay estuary, the mantis shrimp,
dwells in the middle-to-high salinity waters of
the estuary. Oddly enough, the mantis shrimp, or
Squilla empusa, is neither a mantis nor a shrimp,
although it bears characteristics of both creatures. It
belongs to the subphylum
Crustacea and the class Malacostraca, which is the largest
class of crustaceans.
The mantis shrimp’s somewhat flattened shrimp-like
body can grow to 8-10 inches in length and have different color morphs depending on where they are
located. Their compound
eyes have one of the most
evolved forms of vision in
the animal kingdom, and
have more photoreceptors
devoted to color than the
human eye.
The mantis shrimp makes its
“home” in the muddy bottom
of the lower estuary, forming elaborate borrows, with
multiple vertical openings
which are usually about 2
or 3 feet apart. It is in these
vertical holes that it positions
itself, with only its eyes showing, waiting to strike. They are nocturnal hunters,
and have swift and powerful claws, which can slice
a shrimp or fish in two. Mantis shrimp are very aggressive creatures and curious to strike anything in
their territory. The mantis shrimp hunts with voracity for prey, including crabs, fish, shrimp, and even
other mantis shrimp. It has also been said that the
calcified clubs or appendages of the mantis shrimp
Although mantis shrimp
are considered terrible pets
(they are a threat to the
aquarium because they will
Photo by: Rich King
eat their neighbors), they do
have some importance for
the fishing industry, especially in the Mediterranean
area where they are eaten and said to be very tasty.
They are also important as a pollution indicator for
estuarine sediment.
(Information from the Chesapeake Bay Program and
the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology websites was used for this piece, with contributions from
Anthony Capriotti of the MATES program.)
Minigrant Recipients (continued from page )
Barnegat Bay Watershed to use experiential learning in natural settings as part of their existing curriculum.
• Ocean County Vocational Technical School: Provide a stewardship activity for citizens and educators to conduct
water quality monitoring and develop lessons on Barnegat Bay’s water resources as related to the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.
• Save Barnegat Bay: Develop and implement a student scholarship program to assist deserving and qualified
Ocean County students who need financial aid in order to seek education in natural resource management.
• Toms River Regional Schools: Incorporate a service learning aspect to cover and enhance concepts in the
Environmental Science and Marine Science curricula by engaging students in each of the three high schools in
service learning projects.
Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program
Ocean County Natural
Lands Trust Fund Wins
State Award
Kayakers Help Osprey
Dr. Jim Merritt, Program Director, Sedge
Island Natural Resource Education Center
This winter some members of the Jersey Shore Sea
Freeholder John C. Bartlett, Jr. and the Ocean
Kayak Association began a project to help restore
osprey habitat in the Barnegat Bay. We started by
surveying and mapping some of the existing nest
platforms in the Sedge Island Marine Conservation
Zone, a 1,900-acre salt marsh near the southern end
of Island Beach State Park. Our eight-mile paddle
through narrow channels as well as open bay enabled
us to examine thirty existing nest sites. Our initial
field survey has given us ideas for repair projects from
simply repainting the nest number signs to completely
rebuilding nest platforms.
County Natural Lands Trust Fund recently
received the New Jersey Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for Land Conservation. This distinction is awarded to the project
or program demonstrating the greatest commitment and experience in the preservation of
open space resulting in the protection of land
from future development.
Since its inception in 1997, the Ocean County
Natural Lands Trust has preserved over 5,525
areas of land. The initial motivation behind the
program was the publication of “The Century
Plan” in 1995, by the Trust for Public Land.
The report documented significant remaining
natural parcels in the Barnegat Bay watershed
of Ocean County, describing important flora
and fauna species present at each of them.
This initiative by the Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association is a continuation of what has been a long-term,
but highly successful effort by the New Jersey Division
of Fish and Wildlife to rebuild the osprey population
in our state. In 1972, the Endangered and Nongame
Species Program was created. Pete McLain, who was
at that time Deputy Director of the Division of Fish
and Wildlife, used this program to help the osprey.
Pete worked with biologists to replace infertile New
Jersey eggs with ones he had brought up from Maryland. At the same time he began work to improve the
habitat by building tall nesting platforms on the salt
marsh. Pete, who has one of the few remaining houses
in the Marine Conservation Zone, continues to be a
strong advocate for the osprey and all other non-game
and endangered species.
The Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program
applauds the efforts and success of this extraordinary partner. Land conservation is a major
goal of our Program’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Bayfront properties are especially important in protecting
habitat, water quality, and providing public access. To date, the Ocean County Natural Lands
Trust Fund Program has preserved 10 bayfront
properties, preserving 1,030 acres.
Over the years many of the original osprey platforms
have been replaced and more have been erected. The NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife continues to oversee the
project. Biologists closely monitor the osprey population by banding young birds every summer and surveying the
state every three years. But as the number of nests has increased, more help is needed. Volunteers are filling in
the gap. During the last five years scout groups have built and erected several towers. Members of Friends of the
Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center and Friends of Island Beach State Park have also contributed to
the effort. Last year several members of the Jersey Sea Kayak Association had to break through the ice to get their
boats close enough to the islands to repair seven nest platforms.
Members of the Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association will continue to work on the osprey habitat project throughout the winter. Paddling in cold temperatures (both water and air) is a challenge for even the most experienced
kayakers. Carrying building materials, tools, and ladders adds to the difficulty. This is difficult work but on our
last trip we were pleased to learn that several of the nests we rebuilt last winter produced as many as three chicks.
We are proud that we are playing a part in the successful rebuilding of the New Jersey osprey population.
For the Latest and Greatest Listing of Current Upcoming Events, Please Check Our Website at:
www.bbep.org
Visit us on the web at: www.bbep.org
Christine Raabe Receives
2006 Outstanding Environmental Educator of the Year Award
David Friedman, District Director, Ocean County Soil Conservation District Academy
The 2006 ANJEE (Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education) Award for
Outstanding Educator of the Year was presented to Christine R. Raabe of Brick, New
Jersey, at the 22nd ANJEE Conference in Princeton, New Jersey on February 2, 2007.
The award is presented annually to a skillful and talented environmental educator for
their outstanding contribution in developing and implementing programs that enhance
the understanding of environmental education throughout New Jersey. Ms. Raabe was
instrumental in developing a compendium of resources for educators on the Barnegat
Bay, as well as the comprehensive activity guide “Discovering Barnegat Bay”. She is
employed by the Ocean County Soil Conservation District as an Education Consultant
and Outreach Specialist where she facilitates numerous workshops throughout Ocean
County, as well as promoting and coordinating workshops on Wild School Sites and Rain
Gardens. In addition, Christine has organized the annual Barnegat Bay Watershed Environmental Educators
Roundtable event that attracts over 100 educators from across the region, and serves on the steering committee.
Ms. Raabe also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Natural Resource Education Foundation of
New Jersey. She works to procure grant funds, develops programs on site, and coordinates site management,
maintenance, volunteers, and strategic planning for the 190-acre Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education in Waretown, New Jersey. She was instrumental in having this significant ecological and educational facility preserved for education and public use. Furthermore, the award-winning “Down Jersey” curriculum activity
guide was also developed by Ms. Raabe. Designed to accompany the New Jersey Network film by the same name,
“Down Jersey” was sponsored by Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and its Tributaries, Inc. The Down
Jersey activities were all correlated to the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards, while incorporating the natural and cultural resources, history, and traditions of the Southern Delaware Bay Shore. The project was awarded
the 2000 EPA Regional Education Award, and the 2001 NJDEP Statewide Watershed Award for Education.
Christine is a graduate of Cook College, Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Science: Environmental Science
degree, plus 30 graduate credits from Glassboro State College in Environmental Science. She holds a New Jersey
Teacher Certification in Comprehensive Science (K-12).
BUZZ WORDS TO KNOW
A Big “Thank You” to our Recent
Donors:
Eutrophication: The enrichment of natural
waters with inorganic material, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, such that they support
excessive growth of plants/algae.
Concepcion Flores Cole and Richard D. Cole
You can protect Barnegat Bay from this excessive algae growth and the problems it causes
by limiting your use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides this spring. Check out this fun web
site for some tips on Bay-friendly lawn care:
http://richsoil.com/lawn/index.jsp
Leigh Murphy
Captain Craig Proctor
Pearl Schwartz
Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program
Local Flavors
In the Classroom • In the Classroom • In the Classroom
NJDEP Water Photo Contest
TAKE A BREAK FROM COOKING
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is sponsoring the
Clean Water NJ Photo Contest, open to all
New Jersey students grades 9 through 12. The
winning photographs may appear on an educational poster to be distributed throughout New
Jersey. The winners of each topic will receive a
$200 Savings Bond. The second place winners
will each receive a $100 Savings Bond. In addition, all four photographs will appear on the
Clean Water NJ website.
Eat at Surf Taco and raise
money for the Barnegat Bay
National Estuary Program
April 17, 2007
11 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Submissions are due by April 30, 2007. For information and educational materials go to www.
cleanwaternj.org, or contact the contest coordinator, Toni Heater, by phone at 609-633-7021
or by e-mail at [email protected]
20% of your check will go directly to the
Barnegat Bay National Estuary
Program
You must present a flier when ordering. The flier can be downloaded on
our website at www.bbep.org
Envirothon 2007 - May 12
The Ocean County Soil Conservation District
will host the 2007 New Jersey Envirothon at a
fabulous facility located in Waretown (Ocean
Township), New Jersey. The Envirothon is a
dynamic hands-on environmental education
event that seeks to empower its participants
through training, direct experience, team work
and competition with the motivation, knowledge and skills to actively take part in natural
resource management decisions and problemsolving. The 2007 issue is “Alternative/Renewable Energy”. Teams of high school students
from throughout New Jersey compete at the
event.
MAILING LIST:
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For more information about the Envirothon,
to register a team, or to find out about sponsorship opportunities, contact Rich Belcher,
State Coordinator at 609- 633-2549 or richard.
[email protected] or visit the website at:
http://nj.nacdnet.org/envirothon.
Mail this coupon to:
Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program
Ocean County College
PO Box 2001
Toms River, NJ 08754-2001
or email us at: [email protected]
Visit us on the web at: www.bbep.org
Ocean County Soil Conservation District is
excited to be this year’s host and looks forward
to great success. OCSCD is also offering reimbursement of the $100 registration fee to the
first five Ocean County schools to register and
compete.
New Jersey Audubon Completes Barnegat Bay Watershed
Community Stewardship Initiative
Brian Vernachio, NJAS Education Associate
They climbed aboard the yellow school bus anticipating the day ahead. It was destined to be a day of learning,
a day of experience, and a day of sharing. But these were not what you would think of as typical students. And
though they were riding a school bus, the places they would visit were far from typical schools. This bus tour
was a culmination of a several-month-long Barnegat Bay Watershed Community Stewardship Initiative.
The project focused on educating and engaging Ocean County’s growing senior citizen population. The theme
was simple: Learn about the areas in which we live and then become involved in stewardship of the valuable
natural resources which surround us.
Funded by generous grants from the Trust for Public Lands Barnegat Bay Environmental Education Grant
Program, Community Wildfire Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service,
and the Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement, the program consisted of several presentations, focus group meetings, a bus tour of local models of good stewardship, and opportunities for participants
to become involved with local organizations or stewardship projects in their own communities or even in their
own backyard.
Highlighted in the presentations were the importance of the watershed area, human impacts, Pine Barrens ecology and wildfire mitigation. These presentations were held at Holiday City South, Berkeley Heights, and Silver
Ridge Park West, all of which are retirement communities that abut or are near to preserved open space such as
the NJAS Hovnanian Sanctuary or the Natural Lands Trust Crossley Preserve. These preserved areas are part
of the Berkeley Triangle, an ecologically sensitive area that is home to several threatened or endangered species.
On a seasonably warm day in November, the bus tour visited the Hovnanian Sanctuary to look at the potential
opportunities to volunteer, but as we walked the newly marked sandy trails, it became evident that the ecosystem relied heavily on fire. The area which had burned nearly eight years ago was becoming overgrown again
and in need of further fire. Speaking of trail systems, the tour’s next stop was a prime example of good trail
stewardship. Ocean County Parks and Recreation’s Cattus Island County Park, provided participants with a
view of the end result of the watershed, as they toured the bay aboard the county’s pontoon boat, as well as one
of the finest trail systems in central New Jersey. Our final stop, Double Trouble State Park, was another immersion in Pine Barrens ecology, with a tinge of history. Historical and ecological stewardship were evident as
we passed through the turn of the century village and stood over Cedar Creek, watching the tea-colored waters
flowing towards Barnegat Bay.
All of the participants are invited to continue their role as stewards of the environment in three ways :
1. Raise your awareness of the world around you.
2. Create and/or enhance your backyard habitat.
3. Volunteer with organizations to preserve and enhance open spaces.
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming more involved with stewardship in the Barnegat Bay watershed, download “Barnegat Bay Watershed Community Stewardship Initiative Volunteer Opportunities” or
visit the links of the following organizations. If you’d like to find places to visit the various habitats then download our Barnegat Bay Watershed Habitat Site Guide.
Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program
Trust for Public Land Preserves Potter Creek Property
Kathy Haake, Project Manager,Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) recently conserved the 115-acre Potter Creek site in Berkeley Township. The
parcel was identified as a priority in TPL’s 1995 publication The Century Plan – A Study of One Hundred Conservation Sites in the Barnegat Bay.
The Potter Creek parcel includes forested uplands, wetlands, and salt marsh and is adjacent to a significant
amount of existing protected land. These preserved sites provide habitat for a wide variety of avian fauna, including the threatened red-shouldered hawk and the endangered northern harrier and peregrine falcon, and provide
feeding and resting sites for migratory birds along the Atlantic Flyway.
This tract borders the north side of Potter Creek for approximately one mile before it reaches Barnegat Bay.
Preservation of the adjacent uplands and freshwater wetlands along this water course will prevent runoff, provide
a route for aquifer recharge, and prevent impervious cover in an area important for flood-water retention and
storm surge protection to reduce inland flooding.
Toll Brothers initially proposed to build 130 houses on the site. Had the property been developed, fertilizers, oil,
and gas from these homes and associated vehicles would almost certainly have flowed into Potter Creek and adjoining tidal creeks, threatening the productive marine habitat. This same pollution would then have ended up in
the bay, straining this treasured natural resource. Fortunately, strong resistance from the township, and likely a
slowing real estate market, convinced Toll Brothers to back off from their development plans. This provided TPL
the opportunity to negotiate a conservation purchase with the landowner.
TPL preserved Potter Creek in partnership with a variety of funders, including Berkeley Township, Ocean County,
the state of New Jersey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and private foundations. The property will be maintained in its natural state by Ocean County and will be open to the public for passive recreation.
SAVE THE
DATE
The 10th Anniversary
Barnegat Bay Festival is just
around the corner! Mark
your calendars for
Sunday, June 3, 2007
10 AM until 4 PM
Wanamaker Complex
Island Heights, New Jersey
Enjoy an entire day of
Free Family Fun!
Join us for music, pontoon
boat tours, kids’ activities,
and hands-on
demonstrations.
Visit us on the web at: www.bbep.org
Barney keeps exploring the Barnegat Bay watershed. Think you have the
answer to this month’s location? Be the first to email the correct answer
to [email protected] to receive your Barnegat Bay tote bag.
Ocean County College
Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program
College Drive
PO Box 2001
Toms River, NJ 08754-2001
Permit No. 27
Toms River, NJ 08754
PAID
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
Barnegat Bay Beat
The
The Barnegat Bay
Estuary Program Staff
Fishin’ for Ideas
We welcome all contributions and story ideas for
inclusion into The Barnegat Bay Beat. Please contact
Shannon Shinault via email at [email protected]
for more information.
The Barnegat Bay Beat is a quarterly newsletter produced by the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program.
The Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program is a partnership of federal, state and local interests. Our office
is located on campus at Ocean County College, College
Drive, Toms River, New Jersey.
Shannon Shinault
Interim Program Director
[email protected]
Jeanine Cava
Program Associate
[email protected]
Mary Judge
Program Assistant
[email protected]
Bob Dieterich
EPA Program Coordinator,
USEPA
[email protected].
gov
Ocean County College
Dr. Jon Larson, President
The Ocean County Board
of Chosen Freeholders
Freeholder Liaison
Joseph H. Vicari
Prepared by
The Barnegat Bay National
Estuary Program Staff
Shannon Shinault, Editor