Public information eve. meeting for Hudson-Raritan Estuary: Comprehensive Restoration Plan

Website:
http://www.harborestuary.org/pdf/HRE-RestorationPlanMtgs10.pdf

The New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New York / New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program (HEP), has developed a Comprehensive Restoration Plan (Plan) to restore the Hudson-Raritan ecosystem.

Current dates of meetings:

May 20, 2010
Jamaica Bay Planning Region
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Cross Bay Boulevard
Queens, NY Tel: 718-318-4340
Day Session: 3:00-5:00 PM Eve Session: 6:00-8:00PM

June 3, 2010
Newark Bay, Hackensack River and Lower Passaic River Planning Region
Meadowlands Environment Center Auditorium
1 DeKorte Park Plaza
Lyndhurst, NJ Tel: 201-460-1700
Day Session: 3:30-5:30 PM Eve Session: 6:30-8:30 PM

June 17, 2010
Upper Bay Planning Region
Liberty State Park Terminal Auditorium
Morris Pesin Drive
Jersey City, NJ Tel: 201-915-3440

Day Session: 2:00-4:00 PM Eve Session: 6:00-8:00 PM

(All facilities are fully accessible to persons with disabilities)

A draft Plan has been prepared in collaboration with the region’s state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations as a part of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study. The Plan also has been adopted by the HEP Partners as the ―path forward for future restoration in the Estuary.

Your review and assistance is being sought to tailor the plan to meet local needs and opportunities.

The Hudson-Raritan Estuary is a complex ecological system in the midst of a thriving metropolitan center. The estuary includes rivers, wetlands, coastline, and open waters spanning more than 1,600 square miles across New York and New Jersey. The Estuary ecosystem has been degraded from centuries of industrialization and urbanization throughout the watershed.

This Plan provides the framework for an estuary-wide restoration program by identifying eleven specific habitat and ecological targets to focus restoration efforts on. The Plan calls for the establishment of tidal wetlands, oyster reefs, eelgrass beds, islands for waterbirds and coastal and maritime forests, as well as the re establishment of connectivity between habitats, such as tributaries and shorelines and shallows, and habitat complexes for fish and crustaceans. The reversal of human-induced degradation (contaminated sediments and enclosed and confined waters) and increasing and improving public access throughout the estuary are also priority goals of the Plan. Restoring the Estuary will create a mosaic habitats—where nature and people coexist and where the environment and economy receive balanced consideration—providing us with all the benefits the estuary can offer striving to be a World Class Estuary.

The purpose of these meetings is to introduce the Comprehensive Restoration Plan to the public and be an opportunity for stakeholders of each Planning Region to identify potential restoration actions that could implement the goals of the overall plan in their community. This information will aid in the revision and further development of the Plan.

The project partners will present an overview of the project on the dates listed below, with a special emphasis on restoration projects and opportunities specific to the local planning region and mechanisms for current and future input.

Following the presentations, partners will be available to meet with participants to discuss existing conditions and restoration goals for the estuary as a whole, and how they can reflect local concerns/needs and be advanced within the region.

Each meeting will consist of posters, an oral presentation, and will provide the opportunity for the public to comment on the Plan.

Meeting updates and the schedule for future meetings within the other Planning Regions (Hudson River; Harlem River, East River & Western Long Island Sound; Lower Bay; Arthur Kill & Kill Van Kull; and Lower Raritan River) will be posted on-line at http://www.watersweshare.org or http://www.nan.usace.army.mil/harbor/crp/.

In preparation for the meeting, you are invited to review the draft Plan, which is available on the above websites.

To provide comments or request a hard copy of the Plan, please email HRE-PLAN-Comments@usace.army.mil.

If you have questions about the Plan or the HRE Restoration Study, please contact:
Peter Weppler, Chief – Coastal Ecosystem Section (peter.m.weppler@usace.army.mil, 917-790 8634)
or Lisa Baron, Project Manager (lisa.a.baron@usace.army.mil, 917-790- 8306).