{"id":24073,"date":"2022-11-16T15:05:24","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T20:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/?p=24073"},"modified":"2022-11-16T15:16:22","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T20:16:22","slug":"clonet-summit-focuses-on-next-steps-for-restoring-countys-coastal-lakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/2022\/11\/16\/clonet-summit-focuses-on-next-steps-for-restoring-countys-coastal-lakes\/","title":{"rendered":"CLONet Summit Focuses on Next Steps for Restoring County\u2019s Coastal Lakes<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

\"Water
Endowed Professor of Marine Science Jason Adolf measures Lake Takanassee’s clarity with a Secchi disc.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2013 an important indicator of harmful algal blooms \u2013 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<\/a> in Long Branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The citizen scientists and researchers gathered at Monmouth University\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough 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,\u201d Herrington said. \u201cThese funds will be available for the next five years, so we\u2019re 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\u2019s an opportunity that we\u2019ve set ourselves up to take advantage of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sylvan
A 1930s postcard showing Sylvan Lake.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was amazing how fast the plants took and the dramatic change in the shoreline there,\u201d McHugh said. \u201cWhile we were planting, the turtles, fish and birds were all trying to get in there. If you build it, they will come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Videos of the presentations and related meeting materials can be found at the end of this article. <\/p>\n\n\n

Updates: 2022 Data Revelations and Trends<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Endowed Associate Professor of Marine Science Jason Adolf and Community Science Coordinator Erin Conlon also provided a rundown of what this year\u2019s sampling data shows and new developments in the initiative. Among the highlights:<\/p>\n\n\n\n