Attendees:

Wilma Morrissey
Steve Taylor
Faith Hahn
Mary Burne
Cathie Oliver
Michael Craghan
Katrie Hillman
Stanley Marciniak
Michael Hammer
John Winterstella
Robert Fiorile
Joan Koos
Ken Allen
John Brennen
Kathy Hall

Mr. Taylor began the meeting with announcements. He attended the Girl Scouts Extravaganza on April 27th in Howell Township at Camp Sacajawea. Approximately 100 people saw the Manasquan display featuring the Groundwater Demonstration Model. Manasquan materials such as the brochure and fact sheets were on hand and available for those interested.

On May 10th, the Monmouth County Park System hosted the Annual Manasquan Canoe Race and invited the Manasquan River Watershed Association to partner with them and to be on hand to provide educational materials to participants. Approximately 100 people participated in the race and another 50 were spectators. The Manasquan display received great exposure and many people were genuinely interested in the health and protection of the river.

The Howell Township Middle School Water Festival is planned for May 29th. About 400 Middle School children will see the Groundwater Demonstration Model and take home a packet of materials focusing on river protection and pollution prevention. This is the 2nd Annual Howell Middle School Water Festival and is great exposure for our organization. Teachers learn at the event that presentations can be requested for their classrooms throughout the year.

Next, Mr. Taylor introduced John Brennan, a Spring Lake Heights Councilman & Environmental Commission member. He has come to the MRWA meeting for suggestions regarding a problem they're having in their town. In an effort to "improve" Wreck Pond, the Public Works Department cut down a number of trees in the riparian zone and used fill to grade some low areas around the newly established observation area. They also placed riprap near a storm drain outlet to help control erosion that was occurring in the area. At the time, they did not realize that they were doing anything wrong. A number of residents complained about the work that was done and the NJDEP was noticed about illegal activity. NJDEP will be inspecting the area and will provide corrective actions to the township. Mr. Brennan would like advice from the MRWA as to what to do about this situation. Are there particular plant materials that should be put back to help repair the impacted area? Is there an expert that can provide assistance to the town?
Members advised Mr. Brennan about various resources available to assist the town in planting the proper material and offered to visit the site for additional analysis. Mr. Brennan was advised to go to the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Fish and Wildlife Service Web Pages to find information about appropriate native plants that can be used on the site as well as restoration methodologies for riparian restoration.

Members also suggested developing an instruction manual for the Public Works Department. The manual could be a tremendous habitat protection tool. As we all know, it doesn't take very long to do a lot of damage to the environment with a chainsaw. Trees that are 50 to 60 years old can be cut down in a matter of minutes. A lot of damage can occur very quickly and it will take many years to recover what was there before.

Next, Mr. Taylor presented preliminary findings from the Manasquan stream assessment and riparian restoration project. Mr. Taylor provided a video presentation showing photographs taken during the field assessment.

Ten sites were selected for analysis adjacent to County Park System property. The field assessment team started about 2 miles west of Rt. 9 in Freehold and ended at Interstate 195 in Howell Township. Field Assessments occurred over a 2-month period and included scientists and volunteers from Brookdale Community College accompanied by experts from the County Park System.

Each site includes pictures upstream, downstream, and riparian areas on each side of the river. Riparian areas throughout the study area contain extensive native vegetation extending at least 250 feet outward from the stream banks. Streams feeding into the river mainstem are providing significant flow during rain events. Consequently, stream banks are raw and depositing heavy loads of sediment into the river. Tree falls are abundant, which causes other debris to become trapped in the branches. Consequently, logjams or debris piles in the river are frequent. Three "significant" logjams were found and removal of these may be a potential project in the future. The "significant logjams" block the entire streambed and are causing the river to change course and erode tons of stream bank material into the river. The logjams contained miscellaneous debris such as construction lumber, kiddie pools, sand box lids, plastic trashcans, plastic lawn furniture, car tires, and various branches and tree limbs.

At each of the 10 sites, Rosgen classification measurements were taken. Data are still being evaluated, but generally, stream widths are approximately 35 feet and average bankfull depths are 2 feet. Evidence suggests that the river is extremely "flashy" (very high water levels during rain events with quick recession to normal flows), which is the likely cause of abundant tree falls and extensive logjams. Sinuosity seems normal except for areas in Turkey Swamp Park. The river is very straight in this area supported by a streambed with a microlayer of iron deposits. Glauconitic soils appeared under tested areas of the iron microlayer suggesting that the river could become very unstable if the streambed is disturbed.

Members found the video very enlightening and were surprised about the household debris found in the river. Members suggested clean-ups for the logjam areas and suggested contacting either the State Prison System or County Detention Center for clean-up assistance.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.