Now entering its fifth year, the Coastal Lakes Observing Network (CLONet) has shifted its attention from solely collecting data on the health of Monmouth County waterbodies to tapping that information for restoring them.

Through CLONet, Monmouth University School of Science and Urban Coast Institute (UCI) staff and students partner with municipalities and community groups to sample coastal lakes for temperature, salinity, clarity, dissolved oxygen, and phycocyanin levels – an important indicator of harmful algal blooms – and file their readings to an online database for analysis. To date, CLONet members have collected over 1,300 samples from Deal Lake, Fletcher Lake, Lake Como, Lake Takanassee, Shadow Lake, Silver Lake, Spring Lake, Sunset Lake, Sylvan Lake, Wesley Lake and Wreck Pond. A team was also recently formed to sample Jackson Woods Pond in Long Branch.

The citizen scientists and researchers gathered at Monmouth University’s Great Hall Auditorium on Nov. 8 to share their experiences and learn what the data they collected in 2022 reveals about the lakes. The Fall 2022 Coastal Lakes Summit also focused on local remediation projects that could serve as models for other CLONet lakes.

The first four years of CLONet work has been supported by grants from the Jules L. Plangere, Jr. Family Foundation, but UCI Associate Director Tom Herrington said new funding streams could make it possible for communities to take the next steps toward addressing the lakes’ environmental issues. He said the data gathered through CLONet has positioned them to make a compelling case to funders on the need to improve the waters and strategies that would make a difference. He pledged that Monmouth will remain a partner in helping them navigate the process.

“Through two very important bills that were passed by Congress in the past year and a half, the Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government has set significant funding aside for ecosystem restoration and resilience,” Herrington said. “These funds will be available for the next five years, so we’re talking tens of millions of dollars that the federal government has in place right now to help communities like yours to restore the ecological functioning of the lakes. It’s an opportunity that we’ve set ourselves up to take advantage of.”

Offering a glimpse of what the future could look like for the lakes was Martin McHugh, regional manager for SubCo Eco-Contracting. McHugh delivered a presentation on his firm’s work with Avon-by-the-Sea to employ nature-based solutions for restoring Sylvan Lake, which forms a border between the borough and Bradley Beach. The project initially focused on restoring the waterline along one small portion of the lake to a more natural state, with native shrubs planted at its base to provide habitat, filter stormwater runoff and provide a barrier to geese. 

“It was amazing how fast the plants took and the dramatic change in the shoreline there,” McHugh said. “While we were planting, the turtles, fish and birds were all trying to get in there. If you build it, they will come.”

Residents who were initially wary of having their lake views obstructed were won over upon seeing its success, McHugh said. The community chose to expand the project to other portions of the lake, with additional treatments including the installation of rock beds and shallow marsh areas where the pipes carry in stormwater to help slow it down and naturally treat it. 

Videos of the presentations and related meeting materials can be found at the end of this article. 

Updates: 2022 Data Revelations and Trends

Endowed Associate Professor of Marine Science Jason Adolf and Community Science Coordinator Erin Conlon also provided a rundown of what this year’s sampling data shows and new developments in the initiative. Among the highlights:

• As shown in the chart above, the lakes where harmful algal blooms (HAB) are most frequently detected are Sunset Lake (20 percent of instances measured), Deal Lake (15 percent), Fletcher (10 percent) and Silver Lake (7 percent). Adolf noted that Fletcher had never had a HAB detected, but during this summer’s drought, there was one that was “off the charts – the highest we’ve seen in the four years since we’ve been working.” Wreck Pond, Sylvan Lake and Wesley Lake have not recorded a HAB event so far.
• Adolf observed that “The HABiest areas just happened to be in Asbury Park,” musing “and no, I don’t think rock n’ roll causes HABs.” More likely, it’s a case of the lakes being centered in densely developed areas with few wetland buffers to absorb and treat runoff.  
• Adolf reported that a rigorous comparison between the data collected by citizen scientists and that collected by the trained scientists from Monmouth and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has proven its reliability. For example, he showed a chart illustrating a strong relationship between low Secchi depth (water clarity) readings taken by the volunteers and high phytoplankton/HAB biomass measurements recorded by the scientists, showing the former is an indicator of the latter.
• Conlon announced that spreadsheets containing all of the CLONet data is now available for download on the CLONet Data Explorer. The web app offers easy options for users to compare the conditions of one lake to another, view averages of all lakes, and track trends over time. 
• The app’s CLONet Area Rainfall chart shows after a steep dip this summer, precipitation levels have rebounded to the annual average. Adolf noted that the wet spring and torrential rains carried by the remnants of Hurricane Ida offset the drought.

CLONet welcomes community members who would like to assist in monitoring their lakes to join the project. Monmouth staff and students can provide trainings and equipment to all interested. For more information, email Erin Conlon at econlon@monmouth.edu.  

Summit Videos & Materials

Part I: CLONet Overview and Data Update

Part II: Strategies for Coastal Lake Restoration

Related Meeting Materials

• Jason Adolf presentation (PPT, 15 MB)
• Report: The Future of Coastal Lakes in Monmouth County (Tiedemann, et. al. 2009) (PDF, 2 MB)
• NFWF regional funding opportunities presentation (PDF, 4 MB)

Abstracts are now being accepted for the June 2-3 Sustainability in Teaching and Research (STAR) Symposium exploring the core themes of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the member countries of the United Nations in 2015. The SDGs call for a global partnership to work toward securing a more just and sustainable future for all peoples and the planet.

Through this multidisciplinary symposium, as a higher education institution, Monmouth seeks to create a collaborative knowledge platform through exploring pedagogical and scholarly innovations and projects addressing and seeking solutions toward ending poverty and inequality, protecting the environment, and ensuring education, health, justice, peace, and prosperity for all. The event will be held in-person at Monmouth University, with virtual options available.

Abstracts are due Jan. 15 and should be limited to 250 words. Please feel free to share the call for abstracts with colleagues in your respective network and professional groups and associations. Details and further information about the event, call for abstracts, and submission process may be found on the symposium website. Further inquiries may be directed to starsymposium@monmouth.edu.

The Oct. 28 “Documenting and Interpreting Superstorm Sandy” virtual panel explored some of the ways the disaster is being documented for the historical record and interpreted for the public — adding to our understanding not just of Sandy as a historic event, but contributing to conversations on themes including coastal resilience, climate change, environmental justice, public/private partnerships, and emergency preparedness.

Panelists

Professor Karen Bright, MFA: Department of Art and Design, Monmouth University. In 2019, Professor Bright created an art exhibition titled Just Beachy/After Sandy. The exhibit, installed in the DiMattio Gallery in Monmouth University’s Rechnitz Hall, was a public participatory art installment that highlighted the effects of Sandy and shared the stories of residents who were impacted. 

Molly Graham: Oral Historian, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Molly is the oral historian for NOAA’s Voices Oral History Archives, where she collects, preserves and curates oral histories documenting historical environmental change and its impacts on fisheries, oceans and coasts. 

Abigail Perkiss, Ph.D.: Associate Professor of History, Kean University. Perkiss’s new book, Hurricane Sandy on New Jersey’s Forgotten Shore (Cornell University Press, 2022) documents the uneven recovery of Hurricane Sandy along New Jersey’s coastline. This book is an outgrowth of a longitudinal oral history project, developed with Kean undergraduates, to tell the story of the relief and recovery efforts after the storm along the Sandy Hook and Raritan bays. 

Moderator: Melissa Ziobro, Specialist Professor of Public History, Monmouth University. Professor Ziobro is the project lead for Tracking Sandy: Monmouth County Remembers, a multi-year effort to document the impacts of Superstorm Sandy in Monmouth County, New Jersey, via oral history collection and exhibits.  

The panel was one of four free events offered by Monmouth University to examine the disaster from a wide range of historic, economic and environmental perspectives. The others were:

• The panel event “To Build or Not to Build: That is the Question – Lessons We Haven’t Learned 10 Years After Superstorm Sandy,” on Oct. 27.
• A screening for the documentary film “The Jersey Storm: Sandy in Monmouth County” on Oct. 28 at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre.
• The student poster exhibition, “Tracking Sandy: Monmouth County Remembers,” held at the Guggenheim Memorial Library on Oct. 28.

The Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute (UCI) and Department of History and Anthropology hosted the premier of the documentary film “The Jersey Storm: Sandy in Monmouth County” on Oct. 28 at the University’s Pollak Theatre. Directed by Adam Worth and produced by Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon, “The Jersey Storm” features never-before-seen footage taken in the aftermath of Sandy and interviews with the Monmouth County officials, first responders, and residents who lived through it. The film chronicles Sandy and the fortitude of the local heroes who sprang into action in its wake.

Monmouth Specialist Professor of Public History Melissa Ziobro provided guidance on the project and UCI Associate Director Thomas Herrington appears in interviews.

The screening was one of four free events being offered by Monmouth University to examine the disaster from a wide range of historic, economic and environmental perspectives. The others were:

• The hybrid in-person/livestream panel event “To Build or Not to Build: That is the Question – Lessons We Haven’t Learned 10 Years After Superstorm Sandy” on Oct. 27.
• The “Documenting and Interpreting Superstorm Sandy” virtual panel on Oct. 28.
• The student poster exhibition, “Tracking Sandy: Monmouth County Remembers,” held at the Guggenheim Memorial Library on Oct. 28.

The Urban Coast Institute (UCI) hosted a special conversation Oct. 27 on lessons New Jersey has apparently learned and not learned since Hurricane Sandy struck a decade go. “To Build or Not to Build: That is the Question – Lessons We Haven’t Learned 10 Years After Superstorm” was moderated by UCI Director Tony MacDonald and featured an expert panel consisting of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, Climate Central Senior Advisor Don Bain, and Federal Emergency Management Administration Region II Mitigation Division Director Michael Moriarty.

The speakers addressed how the state and communities should proceed given the new normal climate change, sea level rise, continued development and increased vulnerability in coastal areas, and the threat of more frequent and violent coastal storms. The panel talk was one of four events offered by Monmouth University examining the disaster from a range of historic, economic and environmental perspectives. The others were:

• The “Documenting and Interpreting Superstorm Sandy” virtual panel on Oct. 28.
• A screening for the documentary film “The Jersey Storm: Sandy in Monmouth County” on Oct. 28 at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre.
• The student poster exhibition, “Tracking Sandy: Monmouth County Remembers,” held at the Guggenheim Memorial Library on Oct. 28.

Speaker Bios

Shawn M. LaTourette

Shawn M. LaTourette was appointed by Gov. Philip Murphy the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2021. LaTourette is responsible for formulating statewide environmental policy while directing programs that protect public health and ensure the quality of New Jersey’s air, land, water, and natural and historic resources. A lawyer and policymaker with more than 20 years of experience in environmental protection, LaTourette began his career defending victims of toxic exposure, including organizing and advocating for the needs of vulnerable New Jersey communities whose drinking water was contaminated by petrochemicals. He first joined the DEP as the chief legal and regulatory policy adviser to then-commissioner Catherine McCabe in 2018 and was elevated to DEP chief of staff in 2019 and to deputy commissioner in 2020. Since 2019, he has been responsible for running DEP’s operations while formulating policy and regulatory reforms to advance Gov. Murphy’s environmental, climate change and clean energy priorities. His diverse background — in protecting vulnerable communities, facilitating the development of infrastructure and public works, managing business risk, promoting conservationist policies and advocating for equity — has made him a leading force in policy, program and project development, especially those at the complex juncture of economic development, energy and environmental protection.

Don Bain

Don Bain, P.E., is a climate engineer and expert on climate change, adaptation and sea level rise. Dedicated to building a bright future in a dramatically changing climate, he is a highly accomplished business executive and management consultant. He has managed hundreds of projects and has experience working in 21 countries. As a consulting partner at Ernst & Young, he advised Fortune 500 clients. He has international executive experience, has led several technology and professional services companies in the U.S. and Europe, and was a board member at Robin Hood Ventures. Don is an expert on the implications of sea level rise and has advised municipalities on adaptation, risk management, economics and finance. He is an expert in rigorous greenhouse gas accounting and management methods. Don is a licensed professional engineer.

Michael Moriarty

Michael Moriarty serves as mitigation director leading a team creating more resilient communities by reducing future losses to homes, businesses, public buildings and critical facilities from floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. His Mitigation Team focuses on breaking the cycle of recurrent disaster damage with responsibilities for New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The team helps reduce loss of life and property while building capability with state, local and tribal partners through a variety of programs, including the identification, analysis and mapping of risks, support to state and local floodplain management, coordination of the National Flood Insurance Program, environmental planning and historic preservation compliance and management of a robust pre-disaster mitigation grants program and a hazard mitigation grants program of more than $3.5B for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for Hurricane Maria and more than $2 billion to New York and New Jersey for Hurricane Sandy. 

Members of the Marine and Environmental Biology and Policy (MEBP) Club and Urban Coast Institute staff sailed to New York City aboard the R/V Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Oct. 14 and 15 to take part in the SUBMERGE Marine Science Festival at Hudson River Park’s Pier 84. The group welcomed visitors aboard the vessel for tours, provided demos of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal, and shared what it’s like to be an MEBP student conducting research at Monmouth University.

UCI Associate Director Tom Herrington was the featured speaker on Sept. 26 in a webinar series offered through the Rutgers Cooperative Extension entitled “Weathering the Storm: Increased Resiliency a Decade After Superstorm Sandy.” Herrington delivered the presentation “Beyond Recovery from Sandy: Setting the Stage for Future Community Resilience” (see video above).

In recognition of the 10th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, the series is reflecting on how New Jersey has become more resilient to environmental impacts, with an emphasis on storms and extreme weather. The six-evening webinar series is free and open to all interested. Click here to register for one or more of the sessions or to learn more about the series.

The Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute (UCI) has received $1 million in state funding to establish the New Jersey Coastal Consortium for Resilient Communities (NJCCRC). The NJCCRC team of universities and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium will work to identify research needs and fill knowledge gaps that enable the state and communities to make more informed decisions on coastal resilience actions and respond to climate threats.  

New Jersey’s fiscal year 2022 and 2023 budgets each included $500,000 to support the NJCCRC and its work. The initial phase of the work, which commenced in September, is being conducted by experts from the Montclair State University Earth and Environmental Studies Department; the New Jersey Institute of Technology Center for Natural Resources; Rutgers University’s Institute of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve; the Stevens Institute of Technology Coastal Engineering Research Lab; the Stockton University Coastal Research Center; the UCI and New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium. Examples of the research to be carried out by the NJCCRC partners include:

• The development of a framework for a real-time observing system that would monitor water conditions throughout the Barnegat Bay with a focus on measuring how the system is changing over time. A hydrographic model will also be developed that could draw on this data to predict how the bay’s circulation will change in the future.
• Modeling how sea level rise is accelerating saltwater intrusion in the groundwater beneath marsh islands and whether steps such as sediment replenishment can protect the freshwater-dependent maritime forests that live in these environments.
• Studies of how climate change is impacting the movements of sediments in coastal bays and along the shore and the effectiveness of beach dunes for improving coastal resilience in densely developed areas.

The funding was sponsored and supported by New Jersey State Sen. Vin Gopal, included as part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget, and approved by the New Jersey Legislature.

“A decade ago, Superstorm Sandy exposed our coastline’s vulnerability on so many fronts,” Sen. Gopal said. “One of the keys to ensuring we’re in better position to withstand and rebound from future Sandys is to develop the fullest possible picture of the risks we face and what steps we can to take to address them. This funding will help marshal the expertise of six of New Jersey’s top universities for that purpose.”

In identifying the next phase and future work, the NJCCRC collaborators will work with state agencies and coastal stakeholders to determine research needs that should be addressed to inform an update of the 2020 New Jersey Scientific Report on Climate Change and to implement actions detailed in the 2021 New Jersey Climate Change Resilience Strategy and Coastal Resilience Plan. Additional universities and collaborators could join work on future projects as priorities and opportunities continue to be identified. 

The NJCCRC will assemble an advisory panel with representatives from research organizations, nonprofits, local governments, private sector entities and other stakeholders who can provide input on its research priorities and work.

According to UCI Associate Director Thomas Herrington, the NJCCRC’s principal investigator, the collaboration has the added advantage of building closer working relationships among the state’s leading researchers on coastal resilience.

“In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, all of the core NJCCRC partners were called upon by state and federal agencies to work together in support of New Jersey’s response and recovery efforts. That effort has already improved the resilience of our coastal communities and environments,” Herrington said. “Each of the NJCCRC partners has its own strengths that when combined can be amplified to reduce the risk of coastal hazards turning into natural disasters.”

Join Specialist Professor in Public History Melissa Ziobro’s Museums and Archives Management Basics students on Oct. 28 as they unveil a poster exhibit that pairs excerpts from oral history interviews with archival photos in order to document and interpret Superstorm Sandy’s impact on Monmouth County. The 16-panel exhibit will remain on display at Monmouth University’s Murry & Leonie Guggenheim Memorial Library through Dec. 9.

Over the summer, Ziobro completed 21 oral history interviews with homeowners, first responders, government officials, non-profit leaders, social workers, and others impacted by the storm, which made landfall in New Jersey on Oct. 29, 2012. The interviews, conducted in advance of the 10th anniversary of the storm, join 17 others she conducted for the fifth anniversary. Together, the recordings and transcripts create an invaluable record for generations to come, adding to our understanding not just of Sandy as a historic event, but contributing to conversations on themes including coastal resilience, climate change, environmental justice, public/private partnerships, and emergency preparedness.

The event, “Tracking Sandy: Monmouth County Remembers,” will begin at 3 p.m. at the library. Following brief remarks by Urban Coast Institute (UCI) Associate Director Tom Herrington, light refreshments will be served.

The recent oral history work was supported with a faculty enrichment grant through the UCI’s Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Scholars Program.

The panel is one of four free events being offered by Monmouth University to examine the disaster from a wide range of historic, economic and environmental perspectives. The others are:

• The hybrid in-person/livestream panel event “To Build or Not to Build: That is the Question – Lessons We Haven’t Learned 10 Years After Superstorm Sandy,” on Oct. 27 at 1:30 p.m.
• The “Documenting and Interpreting Superstorm Sandy” virtual panel on Oct. 28 at noon.
• A screening for the documentary film “The Jersey Storm: Sandy in Monmouth County” on Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre.

For questions or more information about these events, email uci@monmouth.edu.

ROI-NJ highlighted two UCI-supported programs at Monmouth University in its 2022 list of influencers in higher education. The publication annually profiles leading figures from New Jersey’s 74 higher ed institutions who’ve had the greatest influence and impact at their schools as well as within the business community.

For the first time this year, ROI-NJ included the category “They teach that in college?” which featured unique classes, programs and majors offered around the state. It included the Coastal Lakes Observing Network, led by Endowed Professor in Marine Science Jason Adolf and UCI Community Science Coordinator Erin Conlon, and Monmouth’s maritime archaeology course, taught by Professor of Anthropology Richard Veit and UCI Marine Scientist Jim Nickels.

Through CLONet, Monmouth faculty and students train and equip community volunteers to conduct water sampling at their local lakes and file their results to an online database for analysis. The story notes that CLONet has provided “students hands-on field experience while shedding new light on the causes of harmful algal blooms afflicting New Jersey lakes.”

Maritime archaeology students explore the underwater history of New Jersey through readings, lectures and fieldwork, including the use of side-scan sonar and camera-equipped remote operated vehicle technologies in area waters. “It is one of many offerings that bolster Monmouth University’s highly regarded marine and environmental biology and policy program and the Urban Coast Institute,” the article said. Watch our video below for a glimpse at the course.

ROI-NJ also recognized the following people and programs at Monmouth:

• Top 25 Most Influential Presidents: President Patrick Leahy
• Top 25 Most Influential Deans and Directors: School of Social Work Dean Robin Mama
• Top 25 Most Influential Deans and Directors: Monmouth Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray
• New and Cool: 10 New Buildings: Parton Broadcasting Center