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EPA Provides Funding to Protect Wetlands in New Jersey; Nearly $430,000 Awarded for Wetlands Assessments and to Address New Jersey’s Changing Climate

Release Date: 12/10/2013
Contact Information: John Martin, (212) 637-3662, martin.johnj@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded nearly $430,000 to the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and Ocean County College to better protect wetlands throughout New Jersey and identify strategies to address the changing climate.

“Wetlands provide enormous economic environmental and public health benefits, but they are threatened by development and the impacts of New Jersey’s changing climate, “said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Wetlands reduce the effects of climate change and protect against flooding by absorbing stormwater, reduce and filter runoff that pollutes local waterways, and serve as essential habitats for fish and wildlife. EPA funding will enhance the ability to assess and protect New Jersey’s wetlands.”

The Meadowlands Commission will use a $235,000 EPA grant to examine several wetland areas within the Meadowlands identified for restoration. The Commission and its research arm, the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute, will examine wetland heights, tidal flows and plant communities in these areas. It will use this information to develop criteria needed for successful long- term wetland restoration and to prioritize its current and future restoration efforts in the Meadowlands. The Meadowlands Commission will contribute $100,500 toward the total cost of this project.

Ocean County College and the Barnegat Bay Partnership will use a $193,264 EPA grant to examine shoreline erosion in marshes in New Jersey’s estuaries. Ocean County College and the Barnegat Partnership, along with the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, are currently evaluating tidal wetland health and conditions. This grant will allow Ocean County College and the Barnegat Bay Partnership to examine the relationship between shoreline and marsh conditions. With this additional information, these organizations will identify wetland protection and restoration efforts to adapt to rising sea levels and the potential influences of climate change. Ocean County College and its partners will contribute $64,450 toward the total cost of this project.

For more information on the EPA’s Wetland Program Development Grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/grantguidelines/

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