The following is a Natural Resource Conservation Service announcement of a public meeting on the restoration of the Lower Musconetcong River. The NJDEP's Division of Fish & Wildlife is one of a number of agencies and conservation organizations participating in the Musconetcong River Restoration Partnership.
Contact: Natural Resource Conservation Service
Barbara L. Phillips, Public Affairs Specialist
(732) 537-6044 or barbara.phillips@nj.usda.gov
Restoration of Lower Musconetcong River
Comment Invited at Public Meeting
November 14, 2008 - A public meeting regarding the issues, alternatives and impacts of restoring fish passage on the Musconetcong River with focus on the Finesville area will be held at the Bloomsbury Fire Company RiverView Banquet Facility, 91 Brunswick Ave., Bloomsbury, NJ, on Tuesday, December 2nd from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service is working with several conservation partners, including other Federal and State agencies and non-profit groups, to develop an environmental assessment of the river. Public input will help identify local concerns regarding the restoration. Community leaders and local residents are encouraged to attend.
Most common river restoration efforts focus on stream bank stabilization, enhancing riparian buffers by adding trees and natural grasses, enabling fish passage, the removal/modification of dams and other man-made structures, adding meanders, and stocking the river with fish or other living organisms. Initially restoration alternatives in the Lower Musconetcong watershed will be considered. This area can be roughly defined as the area below Route 78 to the confluence of the Delaware River. In this area the river runs through Bloomsbury Borough, Greenwich Township, Holland Township and Pohatcong Township.
Musconetcong River Restoration Partnership includes the Musconetcong Watershed Association, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), American Rivers (AR), North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development (RCD), New Jersey Trout Unlimited (TU), the NJDEP-Division of Fish & Wildlife (DFW), National Park Service (NPS), private landowners and others.
Contact Barbara Phillips, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service by phone (732) 537-6044 or by email barbara.phillips@nj.usda.gov for more information. A map of the lower Musconetcong River area can be viewed online and meeting information downloaded at
http://www.nj.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/watersheds/Musconetcong2008.html .
