Event Title

Session B5- Forging new initiatives and reinvigorating State and Federal agency roles for fish passage in the Raritan River Watershed, NJ

Presenter Information

Carl Alderson, NOAA RC

Location

UMass Amherst

Start Date

28-6-2011 1:55 PM

End Date

28-6-2011 2:15 PM

Description

The Raritan River Watershed Fish Passage Initiative of 2008 gives State and Federal agencies and their partners an opportunity to revive an effort dating to the 1970’s that would allow for the restoration of migratory fish runs within New Jersey’s largest watershed and longest interior river system. The over arching goal of the initiative is to increase habitat access and create better quality habitat for migratory species and support NOAA's over arching ecosystems approach to fisheries management and sustainable habitat enhancement and restoration. The Initiative was formed around evidence of downwardly trending numbers of migratory alosid stock across the mid-Atlantic and within NJ’s historicmigratory routes including the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. Of these routes the Raritan is the largest order river in the intermediate 150 miles of coastline that separates the two major rivers and represents a considerable opportunity to recapture lost and declining spawning habitat that is degraded and inaccessible. Historic runs along NJ’s coastal rivers are typically blocked by numerous dams and weirs. Sources identify over 200 blockages to fish passage alone within the Raritan watershed, but only 32 blockages were identified by our study that block access to the spawning habitat along the major tributaries and main stem river. In various public forums, members of the Initiative have gained broad support and have demonstrated the importance of the Raritan Watershed in the larger regional context of migratory fish, elaborating on their value as forage, commercial and sport species. In these forums the Raritan River was framed in its regional significance, set in its vital national context, and eventually gained generous local support from numerous stakeholders comprised of agencies, NGO’s, utility and water authorities, fishing advocates, and even dam owners. The achievements of the Fish Passage Initiative since its inception in August 2008 are numerous, beginning with the creation of a dam database and mapping product; a white paper that describes and justifies the effort; the formation of a broader umbrella organization in partnership with Rutgers University (Sustainable Raritan Initiative); and the solidification of funding sources for feasibility, design and deconstruction of several dams. Funding pitfalls were overcome that could have derailed the process as it had in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Those pitfalls were overcome via grants from the American Rivers/NOAA Partnership; a major State NRD Settlement; and close relationships with stakeholders that have led to other grant applications still pending. Potential other sources remain untapped from Federal and State NRD cases still under investigation. Entering its third year of existence the Initiative continues to seek and develop a larger umbrella of stakeholders, more useful tools in the advance planning stages and alternative sources of funding.

Comments

CarI Alderson is a Marine Resource Specialist with the NOAA Restoration Center, located at the JJ Howard Marine Science Lab in Highlands, NJ. Carl provides oversight of fish habitat restoration projects through NOAA’s Damage Assessment Remedial and Restoration Program (DARRP) and Community-based Restoration Grants Program (CRP) in the mid-Atlantic region. He is a graduate of Rutgers University, and is a Licensed Landscape Architect. Before joining NOAA, Carl worked for the City of New York and led a decade long effort to restore tidal wetlands, marine bird and fish habitat as compensation for natural resources damages resulting from oil spills in NY Harbor.

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Jun 28th, 1:55 PM Jun 28th, 2:15 PM

Session B5- Forging new initiatives and reinvigorating State and Federal agency roles for fish passage in the Raritan River Watershed, NJ

UMass Amherst

The Raritan River Watershed Fish Passage Initiative of 2008 gives State and Federal agencies and their partners an opportunity to revive an effort dating to the 1970’s that would allow for the restoration of migratory fish runs within New Jersey’s largest watershed and longest interior river system. The over arching goal of the initiative is to increase habitat access and create better quality habitat for migratory species and support NOAA's over arching ecosystems approach to fisheries management and sustainable habitat enhancement and restoration. The Initiative was formed around evidence of downwardly trending numbers of migratory alosid stock across the mid-Atlantic and within NJ’s historicmigratory routes including the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. Of these routes the Raritan is the largest order river in the intermediate 150 miles of coastline that separates the two major rivers and represents a considerable opportunity to recapture lost and declining spawning habitat that is degraded and inaccessible. Historic runs along NJ’s coastal rivers are typically blocked by numerous dams and weirs. Sources identify over 200 blockages to fish passage alone within the Raritan watershed, but only 32 blockages were identified by our study that block access to the spawning habitat along the major tributaries and main stem river. In various public forums, members of the Initiative have gained broad support and have demonstrated the importance of the Raritan Watershed in the larger regional context of migratory fish, elaborating on their value as forage, commercial and sport species. In these forums the Raritan River was framed in its regional significance, set in its vital national context, and eventually gained generous local support from numerous stakeholders comprised of agencies, NGO’s, utility and water authorities, fishing advocates, and even dam owners. The achievements of the Fish Passage Initiative since its inception in August 2008 are numerous, beginning with the creation of a dam database and mapping product; a white paper that describes and justifies the effort; the formation of a broader umbrella organization in partnership with Rutgers University (Sustainable Raritan Initiative); and the solidification of funding sources for feasibility, design and deconstruction of several dams. Funding pitfalls were overcome that could have derailed the process as it had in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Those pitfalls were overcome via grants from the American Rivers/NOAA Partnership; a major State NRD Settlement; and close relationships with stakeholders that have led to other grant applications still pending. Potential other sources remain untapped from Federal and State NRD cases still under investigation. Entering its third year of existence the Initiative continues to seek and develop a larger umbrella of stakeholders, more useful tools in the advance planning stages and alternative sources of funding.