SAGE Systems Approach to Geomorphic Engineering Barnegat Bay Pilot Heather Jensen Philadelphia District US Army Corps of Engineers
SAGE Nationwide program with a Regional Approach Innovative approach to coastal landscape resilience for present day challenges and future opportunities. Merging green and gray solutions with wisdom gained from good science, coupled with foresight and good judgment.
SAGE Subgroups Technical- science and research, engineering Policy- identify regional and national policy challenges Communications- outreach, website Finance- public, private financing *Pilots- Barnegat Bay
SAGE Pilot Goals Building a Community of Practice (CoP) Bringing together knowledge and expertise across all sectors Establishing a regional plan Applying knowledge from CoP to determine a regional resilient landscape Identifying priority areas Implementing plans Identify funding sources (private and public)
75 mi 2 environmentally sensitive and nationally significant estuary in Ocean County, NJ Part of the National Estuary Program since 1995, NJ Governor s priority Situated between the mainland and barrier islands Open shallow water environment supports ecologically valuable eelgrass beds and is surrounded by freshwater and saltwater wetlands Barnegat Bay
Issues: Shallow and poorly flushed, high nutrient load, Wetland loss and shoreline erosion, Point and non-point source pollution, Loss of quality habitat for various important species in the bay (finfish, shellfish, migratory shorebirds and waterfowl) Impacted by Superstorm Sandy Barnegat Bay
Barnegat Bay Pilot Coordinated with various stakeholders to identify needs in Barnegat Bay that coincide with SAGE principles Assembled a Community of Practice of interested stakeholders working in the bay USACE, Barnegat Bay Partnership (NEP), USGS, NOAA, NJDEP, various universities, representatives from county and Governor s office, TNC, and other non-profits
Barnegat Bay Pilot Identified a potential for a bay-wide shoreline analysis to help identify the areas of greatest shoreline loss and prioritize future restoration (would be incorporated into a future regional plan ) Worked with stakeholders to identify this need and ensure leveraging with ongoing efforts Assembled existing geospatial data
Barnegat Bay Pilot CoP consensus on steps forward/future work Current discussions: USACE do geospatial analysis to identify areas at most risk for shoreline loss with partners input and data (building off of work being done by USGS and others)
Barnegat Bay Pilot Future work (may be discussed in workshop format with CoP): Discuss agency roles and goals for the CoP to develop a regional plan Incorporate geospatial analysis into regional plan Ground truth geospatial analysis with future data from a citizen monitoring program being organized by BBP Link to other work- such as Restoration Explorer DST (NOAA and TNC) After the regional plan is developed, identify areas for implementation of SAGE principles/projects
Geospatial data compilation Shoreline Classification Mean High Water Line (MHWL) derived from surface topography Aerial Orthophotographs (1995, 2002, 2007, pre-sandy 2012) Raster Elevation surfaces (numerous sources)
Compilation of Raster Data Sources
Raster Overlap for Potential Comparison Bathymetry EAARL B Pre-Sandy 2012 EAARL B Post-Sandy 2012 SWATH 2011-2013 NOS Soundings (dates vary) Topography USACE CHARTS Summer 2013 USACE CHARTS Fall 2013 National Elevation Dataset (NED, date?) LiDAR Coastal 2011 (FEMA? NJGIN)
Overlap of Raster Data Sources
Raster Analysis Cut/Fill Analysis Elevation Change
Shoreline Change - 2002
Shoreline Change - 2007
Shoreline Change - 2012
2002, 2007 & 2012 lines with 2012 photo
Steps Forward Continue CoP calls and meetings and schedule workshop Discuss agency roles and goals for the CoP and regional plan Contact Heather Jensen, USACE Philadelphia, if you are interested in being part of the Barnegat Bay SAGE CoP: Heather.N.Jensen@USACE.ARMY.MIL