Protect the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary

The Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary is under threat. Suburban sprawl and over-development prompted the Governor of New Jersey in 2010 to direct the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to research and develop a protection plan for the Ocean County bay. Citizens from the region, recreational users, commercial fisherman, activists, scientists, and land developers all shared their experiences with the NJDEP to develop a research strategy towards formulating new regulatory policies and a management plan for protecting the bay. This session explores how the research impacted the protection and stewardship planning. Issues of concern to the environmental regulatory agencies and the public include: nuisance jellyfish blooms, excess nutrients, the imminent closure of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant on the bay, the benefits of marine conservation zones, and the status of the fish, crab and shellfish populations. Noteworthy is the collection of these data before and after Superstorm Sandy came ashore at BB-LEH, and its impact on the shallow bay. This program is part of the NJ Council for the Humanities Public Scholars Project. Event is free with a museum admission.