New Jersey

American Littoral Society
Improving Habitat Quality for Horseshoe Crab and Red Knot in Cape May County (NJ)
Restore, stabilize, and expand important habitat for horseshoe crabs and shorebirds using proven restoration strategies to reduce erosion, combat sea level rise, and increase resilience to storms. Project will create intertidal oyster reefs at the mouth of Dias Creek to preserve and expand important horseshoe crab spawning habitat and add sand to Pierce’s Point beach to further sustain previous restoration efforts.
$486,658

American Littoral Society
Improving the Resiliency of Horseshoe Crab and Shorebird Habitat (NJ)
Improve the resiliency of 0.34 linear miles (5.8 acres) of important horseshoe crab spawning and red knot foraging beach habitat at Fortescue beach located in Downe Township, New Jersey by creating up to 1,200 linear feet of hybrid living reef breakwaters that will minimize sand loss during winter storms. Project will engage eight local partners, 250 volunteers and reach 2,500 people through our existing outreach programs to include horseshoe crab tagging and re-sighting.
$500,000

American Littoral Society
Managing Anthropogenic Disturbances to Migratory Shorebirds in Delaware Bay (NJ)
Conserve and protect beach habitat in the Delaware Bay for horseshoe crabs and shorebirds, including the federally listed red knot. Project will use strategies to reduce disturbance to shorebirds allowing for improved foraging conditions and promote long-term community understanding of the importance of beach restrictions to protect shorebirds and horseshoe crabs.
$86,700

American Littoral Society
Pocket Park Green Stormwater Infrastructure in the Cohansey Watershed (NJ)
Improve stormwater retention potential of a stormwater “pocket park” by installing tree trenches and increase the permeability of the park’s compacted soils with the use of deep rooted, native grasses. Project will reduce paved impervious surfaces and improve management of 30 pounds per year of total suspended solids in runoff that flows directly into Indian Field Branch.
$95,632

Borough of Barnegat Light
Collection of Fishing Gear and Public Outreach in the Borough of Barnegat Light (NJ)
Collect fishing nets and materials and provide outreach to the fishing community in the Borough of Barnegat Light in New Jersey, home to a large commercial fishing industry. Project will recycle or convert to energy approximately three tons of fishing gear.
$10,000

Cornell Cooperative Extension
Implementing a Bycatch Avoidance Communication Network (MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI)
Expand the Bycatch Avoidance Communication Network to identify and report real-time bycatch of nine species. Project will enhance the network by improving daily reporting rates, recruiting additional vessels to the network, and conducting five at-sea observer days to facilitate proper reporting.
$57,621

Delaware River Basin Commission
Improving Water Resources Management in the Delaware River Basin via Data Access (DE, NJ, NY, PA)
Support the Delaware River Basin Commission’s comprehensive Water Resources Program to improve water quality management, monitoring and ultimately improve aquatic habitat. Project will manage, protect, and improve water resources by developing a basin-focused Water Quality Data Portal to facilitate data access for the public.
$200,000

Delaware State University
Developing Risk Assessment Framework for Atlantic Sturgeon (DE, NJ, PA)
Provide estimates of adult spawning run size which will serve as a key parameter for a broader effort to develop a species-specific risk assessment model for Atlantic sturgeon in the Delaware River. Project will serve to help quantify specific threats and their impacts ultimately facilitating effective decision-making as stakeholders work to recover this once iconic species.
$312,129

Delaware State University
Identifying Environmental Drivers of American Eel Emigration in the Delaware River (DE, NJ, NY, PA)
Model the outmigration of adult, silver-phase American eel in the Delaware River, utilizing a large-scale passive acoustic telemetry network annotated with environmental and astronomical parameters. Project will increase understanding of the underlying drivers and timing of movement in the Delaware River Basin, informing conservation and management of American eel in impounded systems where passage and increased mortality are key concerns.
$225,177

Friends of the Heinz Refuge at Tinicum
Developing a Marketing Plan for Delaware Valley Friends Organizations (DE, NJ, PA)
Develop a marketing plan to build membership for John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, and Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Project will raise awareness of the participating Friends organizations and their conservation value to acquire and maintain active members and volunteers.
$13,200

Groundwork Hudson Valley
Wallkill-Saw Mill Riparian Restoration Partnership (NJ, NY)
Improve riparian conditions along two tributaries to the Hudson River by restoring 7 acres of habitat. Project will engage 50 youths and 300 volunteers and create 15 jobs for students recruited from Yonkers public schools to revegetate the riparian corridor with 1,000 willow species, sycamores, silver maples, dogwood shrubs and button bushes and to remove invasive vines on 2 acres.
$49,574

Manomet
Coordinating American Oystercatcher Recovery on the Atlantic Coast (multiple states)
Provide coordination of the American oystercatcher recovery initiative and actionable change based on lessons learned from 2009-2019 and reduce the impact of predators and human disturbance on populations of breeding shorebirds along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Project will contribute substantially to the goals of the Atlantic Flyway Business Plan.
$79,999

Mercer County Park Commission
Installation of a Living Shoreline and Enhancing Public Access in Roebling Park (NJ)
Implement a restoration effort at Roebling Park in Hamilton, New Jersey to secure eroded shoreline, preserve Native American artifacts, and reintroduce freshwater mussels. Project will construct a 500 linear-foot living shoreline along Watson’s Creek, conduct a feasibility study for the re-introduction of freshwater mussels, and install a user-friendly and ecologically sensitive public boat launch.
$150,000

Musconetcong Watershed Association
Habitat Management and Restoration in the Musconetcong Watershed (NJ)
Improve riparian buffers along the Musconetcong Education Trail and control existing invasive species infestations. Project will restore 0.75 acres of riparian buffer through native tree and shrub planting and enhance New Zealand mud snail monitoring through development of a management plan.
$224,999

Musconetcong Watershed Association
Push Back the Lawn — Incentivizing Landowners to Protect their Streams (NJ)
Simplify and incentivize riparian buffers by conducting a community-based initiative within the Lower-Middle Musconetcong Watershed. Project will establish new or improved riparian buffers along 2 miles of the Musconetcong River through targeted outreach and planning with public and private river and tributary front landowners in the Watershed.
$175,000

NY/NJ Baykeeper
Determining Design Alternatives for A Nature-based Approach to Coastal Community Protection at Naval Weapons Station Earle (NJ)
Stabilize the shoreline around U.S. Naval Weapons Station Earle to protect the surrounding community and enhance the coastal habitat. Project will conduct a preliminary design and site assessment focused on performing a coastal engineering evaluation to determine the most suitable design alternatives for a nature-based approach to the protection of coastal communities.
$154,744

National Wildlife Federation
Delaware River Basin Urban Wildlife Community Engagement Program (DE, NJ, NY, PA)
Engage a broader demographic by identifying and addressing specific community barriers to conservation engagement. Project will develop tools for cultivating programs that provide high-quality recreational and conservation opportunities that benefit the communities and the environment, increasing public access to the Delaware river and its lands, and inspiring participants to engage in outdoor activities and protect and improve their local watershed.
$499,999

New Jersey Audubon Society
Implementing Agricultural Best Management Practices in the Kirkwood Cohansey Aquifer — IV (NJ)
Minimize agricultural impacts to water resources in the Kirkwood Cohansey Cluster geography of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative by targeting preserved farms and those with a diversity of crop types through the Healthy Land and Waters Grant program. Project will address key stressors to the Kirkwood Cohansey aquifer from agricultural and forested landscapes by implementing 250 acres of best management practices and 5 acres of wetland restoration.
$159,108

New Jersey Audubon Society
Restoring Atlantic White-Cedar in the Maurice River and Rancocas Creek Watersheds (NJ)
Sustain and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, improve and maintain water quality, and enhance water resource management to benefit declining Atlantic white-cedar habitat. Project will restore 70 acres of Atlantic white-cedar wetland habitat and 30 acres of associated upland habitat on at least two properties in southern New Jersey who have existing Forest Stewardship Plans.
$94,823

New Jersey Audubon Society
Wildlife Habitat Restoration and Agricultural Community Engagement in Cape May County (NJ)
Work closely with the agricultural community in Cape May County to recruit at least 10 public and private landowners to increase participation in habitat management programs. Project will restore 100 acres of wildlife habitat and provide vital resources to local and migrating wildlife species, many of which are considered at-risk or imperiled.
$114,740

New Jersey Conservation Foundation
Ecological Restoration of a Former Cranberry Farm in Burlington County (NJ)
Conduct baseline monitoring data, perform engineering studies, design spillways and recreational access trails along the Burrs Mill Branch of the Rancocas River. Project will design a plan to protect 438 acres of land on a former cranberry farm, resulting in water quality improvements and creation of exemplary passive recreational opportunities.
$146,996

New Jersey Department of Transportation
Using Dredged Material to Enhance Marsh at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (NJ)
Restore and improve 30 acres of previously storm damaged Good Luck Point Marsh using the technique of Sediment Enrichment. Project will use dredged material to enhance the saltmarsh environment and habitat allowing for the natural sediment to remain in the estuarine system, feeding the marsh and replenishing loss from erosion and sea-level rise.
$2,000,000

North Jersey RC&D Area
Implementing Data-Driven Agriculture Conservation Practices (NJ)
Increase implementation of agricultural best management practices in the Lower-Middle Musconetcong watershed in the New Jersey Highlands Cluster geography of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative. Project will utilize environmental data to target technical and financial assistance toward conservation practice implementation on over 1,000 acres, achieving the greatest positive impact on water quality.
$249,810

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
Developing the Mussels for Clean Water Initiative to Enhance Habitat and Water Quality (DE, NJ, PA)
Overcome key research and planning bottlenecks that impede implementation of the new Mussels for Clean Water Initiative that aims to restore beds of freshwater mussels. Project will develop a Mussels for Clean Water Initiative Restoration Plan, Genetics Management Plan, and Disease Management Plan, as well as conduct laboratory research to enhance juvenile mussel survival and growth in a hatchery setting.
$178,028

Pinelands Preservation Alliance
Addressing Flooding and Stormwater in Burlington County (NJ)
Provide homeowners and municipalities with expert advice and financial assistance to create rain gardens and other nature-based infrastructure projects that capture polluted stormwater and prevent it from entering lakes and rivers. Project will reach 1,000 community members and 500 volunteers and offer a technical assistance workshop where Rutgers University engineers will design rain gardens for homeowners and municipalities will get one-on-one assistance and designs for large-scale projects.
$204,000

Princeton Hydro
South River Ecosystem Restoration and Flood Resiliency Enhancement Project (NJ)
Conduct an ecosystem restoration site assessment and design for 165 acres of tidal marshes and transitional forest in New Jersey’s Raritan River Watershed, which will provide high quality habitat for fish, resident birds, and migratory species. Project will result in an engineering plan sheet with a permit-ready design to reduce coastal inundation and erosion along 2.5 miles of shoreline for neighboring flood-prone communities and enhance breeding and/or foraging habitat for 10 state-listed threatened and endangered avian species.
$249,635

Stockton University
Derelict Blue Crab Trap Recycling Event for New Jersey Bays
Provide recycling and energy production services for the disposal of derelict blue crab traps from New Jersey coastal bays at a one-week event at the Stockton University Maine Field Station. Project will recycle or produce energy from up to 500 blue crab traps, providing both direct and indirect economic benefits to commercial industry partners in New Jersey.
$1,650

Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority-Wallkill River Watershed Management Group
Community-Driven Wetland Restoration in the Upper Paulins Kill Watershed (NJ)
Restore and enhance 10 acres of wetlands along a first and second-order tributary in the Upper Paulins Kill watershed through riparian reforestation, invasive species management, beaver dam analog creation, and dormant hardwood cutting installation. Project will not only improve habitat conditions for threatened and endangered species documented on the restoration site, but will also help turn it into a demonstration site for comprehensive, community-driven conservation practices.
$70,116

The Nature Conservancy
County Line Dam Removal: Increasing Aquatic Connectivity in the Paulins Kill Watershed (NJ)
Increase aquatic connectivity and improve water quality needed to sustain diadromous fish and sensitive mussel species. Project will remove a 220-foot-wide, run-of-the-river dam located on the main stem Paulins Kill benefiting resident and migratory fish species, reconnecting 15.8 miles of stream and improving the overall ecological function of the Paulins Kill watershed.
$498,797

U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Tidal Marsh Restoration at Reeds Beach (NJ)
Restore tidal marsh at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, New Jersey through shallow tidal ditch enhancement, clearing of blocked tidal ditches, and re-orientation of straight tidal ditches. Project will restore 52 acres of tidal marsh, improving tidal hydrology, vegetation health, and enhancing habitat for wildlife including American black duck, saltmarsh sparrow, diamondback terrapin, fish and shellfish.
$50,000

Wildlife Management Institute
Enhancing Forest Habitat in the Northern Delaware River Watershed — III (PA, NJ)
Implement forest management plan activities on public and private lands in the northern Delaware River Watershed. Project will aid in the creation of young forest habitat, the enhancement of middle-aged and mature forest habitat, the control of native and exotic invasives, as well as expand partnerships and build upon previous success to enhance work in northwest New Jersey.
$199,982