CRSSA Investigators: Richard G. Lathrop, Aaron Love
ALS Investigator: Tim Dillingham
2007
This project represents a collaboration between the Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis and the American Littoral Society Tim Dillingham of the American Littoral Society, Highlands, New Jersey, was instrumental in providing the initial impetus as well the funding for this project. Additional support was received from the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of John Bognar and Jim Trimble in all aspects of the project.
Overview
The Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis at Rutgers University in cooperation with the American Littoral Society has developed a geographically-based assessment of New Jersey’s coastal zone to identify, characterize and map critical coastal resources. This assessment is the first phase of a longer term effort to:
- Identify intact, high quality coastal habitat areas.
- Identify upland watershed areas that have an important functional role in maintaining estuarine water quality and larger ecosystem health.
- Identify areas where restoration strategies should be focused.
The project entailed compiling and synthesizing relevant geographic information system (GIS) digital mapped data about location of species and elements of environmental systems important to protecting estuarine ecological values. Data was collected from various state and federal agencies for the upland, shoreline, and benthic zones documenting existing land cover and physical characteristics, valuable wildlife and plant habitats, sea-floor characteristics, and areas of human disturbance. The study area includes all or part of eight New Jersey coastal watershed management areas extending from Raritan Bay southward along the Atlantic coastline and westward along Delaware Bay to the Salem River. This analysis included portions of Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties.
A series of maps created for public presentation summarizes the various resource themes as stand–alone graphics and in combination for the selected watersheds of interest.
Contact
Rick Lathrop
Director, Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA)
lathrop@crssa.rutgers.edu
Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA)
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
14 College Farm Road, Cook Campus
New Brunswick, NJ USA 08901-8551
Tel: 732/932-1582
Fax: 732/932-2587
Web: crssa.rutgers.edu
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Web site composed by the Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA), © 2007. Page contents last updated 01/24/2007.