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Monmouth
University
Urban Coast Institute Coastal Watershed Seminar Series
Sponsored by: US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2
In Collaboration with: Ocean County College Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies; Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program; New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium; New Jersey Sea Grant College Program; and, Municipal Land Use Center at the College of New Jersey
The report An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century recently released by U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy identified the need to develop a stronger capacity to plan for and guide growth to more effectively manage our coasts. The Commission acknowledged that increased development that puts people and property at risk from coastal hazards and poorly planned growth that reduces and fragments fish and wildlife habitats, modifies sedimentation rates and stream flows, and contributes to water pollution in the form of polluted stormwater and runoff are among the pressures of continuing growth in coastal areas.
To reach a goal of economically and environmentally sustainable coastal development the Commission recommended that future coastal planning and management efforts incorporate a watershed approach to governing coastal and ocean resources. This is imperative, as activities throughout a watershed, including land-based activities, can have direct and indirect impacts on the health of ocean and coastal waters.
The federal interagency U.S. Ocean Action Plan developed in response to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy report acknowledges that approaching the management of ocean and coastal resources from a watershed perspective is essential. A watershed management approach allows for impacts from both coastal and upland activities to be taken into account, providing a more comprehensive basis from which to protect, restore, and conserve ocean and coastal waters.
One of the initiatives identified in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan to improve the integration of coastal and watershed management is to conduct community workshops addressing priority nonpoint source pollution and land use issues in watersheds that have significant impacts on coastal resources.
Consistent with the goals and objectives of the An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century and the U.S. Ocean Action Plan, the goal of the seminar is designed to provide local communities in
Ocean
County
with tools and techniques to begin managing downstream impacts of land use and development of coastal and estuarine resources.
Grant funding covers all training costs for this seminar at no cost to you. There is a $20 charge strictly for food costs – providing you with a continental breakfast and lunch. If you have any questions about the seminar or this fee, please email Dalynn Knigge, Program Coordinator - knigge@njaes.rutgers.edu
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