Dam Removal, Storm Water Runoff Among Featured Topics At Second Annual Sustainable Raritan River Symposium
Issues surrounding dam removal and storm water runoff will be among topics discussed by a range of experts and concerned citizens at the second annual Sustainable Raritan River Symposium Friday, June 4, at Rutgers.
The symposium, sponsored by the Raritan River Collaborative, is free and open to the public. It will take place at the Cook Campus Center, 59 Biel Road, from 8:30 a.m. (registration) to 4 p.m., with free parking in lots 99A and 99B. A reception at Boyd Park, on the Raritan River Waterfront in New Brunswick, will follow.
The Raritan River Collaborative – more than 50 partners from municipal, county, state and federal government; private business; nonprofit organizations; and interested individuals – is led by faculty and students at Rutgers' Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in cooperation with the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS).
"The Raritan River is a state treasure, with the lower Raritan serving 750,000 regional residents," said Judy Shaw, project director for the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative. "The collaborative was formed in 2008 to address issues regarding the quality and use of the river and its tributaries. As we look to enhance our assets and revitalize the region as a place of special habitat value and scenic beauty, we need to re-examine how we use the river and what it offers."
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin will join Shaw as opening speakers before panelists provide status reports on the Upper and Lower Raritan. Among the featured panelists are Bill Kibler of South Branch; Cindy Ehrenclou of the Upper Raritan; Henry Patterson of the New Jersey Water Supply Authority; Debbie Mans, New York/New Jersey baykeeper; Bill Schultz, Raritan riverkeeper; and Bob Spiegel of the Edison Wetlands.
Following a luncheon program that features a video, Brownfields to Greenfields, and presentations by Caroline Ehrlich, Woodbridge's economic development director, and Rutgers Professor and State Climatologist David Robinson, the symposium continues with the panel "Flood Plains, Stormwater and the Future Raritan River." Associate Extension Specialist Chris Obropta of the New Jersey Water Resources Institute at Rutgers, David Bean of NJDEP Natural Resource Restoration, and Benita Best-Wong of the USEPA Office of Watersheds, Oceans and Wetlands, are among the participants. County Freeholders including Matt Holt (Hunterdon), Carol Barrett (Middlesex), John D'Amico (Monmouth), Jim Murray (Morris), Peter Palmer (Somerset) and B.J. Kowalski (Union) will respond.
Among accomplishments since its formation, the Raritan River Collaborative has developed and released the Sustainable Raritan River Action Agenda Report, presented regional workshops, offered the "Sustainable Raritan River" studio course through the Bloustein School and staged the inaugural Fall Float to celebrate the reopening of Boyd Park.
For more information, visit www.blueraritan.org/events.
SOURCE: The Raritan River Collaborative