Raritan River Initiatives
The Raritan River has a rich history, which includes strong ties to Rutgers University. A number of entities from across the university are collaborating to transform the Raritan Basin into an interactive field laboratory that enhances the student experience, encourages and supports transdisciplinary research, and addresses real-world concerns of regional stakeholders.
Sustainable Raritan River Initiative (SRRI)
Rutgers University launched the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative (“SRRI”) in 2009 to bring together concerned scientists, environmentalists, engineers, businesses, community leaders and governmental entities to craft an agenda that meets the goals of the U.S. Clean Water Act to restore and preserve New Jersey’s Raritan River, its tributaries and its bay.
The Initiative, a joint program of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy (EJB) and the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), partners with other Rutgers schools, centers and programs to ensure the best contributions from the sciences, planning and policy. The Initiative conducts conferences and topical workshops, provides technical assistance, and develops anchor projects that raise the profile of the Raritan River. Jeanne Herb and Richard G. Lathrop, Jr., serve as co-leaders of the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative.
Rutgers Raritan River Consortium (R3C)
R3C is a collaborative effort at Rutgers University’s New Brunswick-Piscataway campus that recognizes the critical value of the Raritan and its environs to the social, economic and ecological integrity of the region that Rutgers calls home. Our mission is to utilize Rutgers’ proximity to the Raritan to inform university-based education, research and scholarship and to apply our efforts, in collaboration with Raritan partners, to advance improvements in regional planning, policy and decision-making that positively affect the ecology and economy of the Raritan region. Read more in the 2016 Public Announcement.
Johnson Family Chair in Water Resources and Watershed Ecology (JFC)
On December 15, 2015, the Rutgers Board of Governors appointed Richard G. Lathrop Jr., professor of environmental monitoring at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, as the inaugural holder of the Johnson Family Chair in Water Resources and Watershed Ecology.
Besides his teaching responsibilities, Lathrop, a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, is the faculty director of the Rutgers Ecological Preserve. over 350 acres, the preserve features several streams that feed into the Raritan River and numerous public hiking and biking trails. He also directs the Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, whose mission is to promote the development and application of geospatial information science and technology to address issues in the environment, natural resources and agriculture.
For more information, contact Rick Lathrop at lathrop@crssa.rutgers.edu or (848) 932-1580.
Resources & Updates
Video Series Explores Restoration of the Manalapan Brook Watershed
An “Restoring the Manalapan Brook Watershed”, a series of videos produced by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County, examines restoration efforts within the Manalapan Brook watershed. The Manalapan Brook is part of the Lower Raritan watershed management...
Rutgers Partners with Raritan Headwaters Association to Study Microplastics in the Raritan River
The study of microplastics and their negative effects as water pollutants has led to multiple opportunities for research and partnership. Through the Rutgers Raritan River Consortium minigrant program, Dr. Nicole Fahrenfeld led a study with the Raritan Headwaters...
Rutgers 2030 Master Plan Public Access Planning Studio
Seven graduate students participated in this Fall 2017 studio through the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy to analyze two key elements for public access to the Raritan River as proposed in the Rutgers University Physical Master Plan - the RU...
Mini-grant enhances weather and climate data collection in the Raritan
Be it drought, flood, excessive heat or cold, climate variability and change, or simply the more “normal” day-to-day conditions in the basin, it is exceedingly beneficial to have adequate and accurate environmental data at hand to assist the research community,...
Discards and Fishery Dynamics Data to Inform Raritan Bay Recreational Summer Flounder Fishery Management Policy
Summer flounder (Paralichtys dentatus) is a key species for New Jersey’s fisheries, including being the most commonly captured species by recreational anglers and the most valuable finfish species for the commercial fishing industry (NMFS, 2017). Increasingly strict...
Temporal Heavy Metal Distribution and Bioaccumulation in the Lower Raritan River
With the surge of urbanization and industrialization, the Raritan River, and particularly its 15-mile long lower portion, has experienced profound contamination over the last 100 years. More than 15 EPA designated Superfund Sites are present in the Raritan watershed,...
Shore protection strategies for estuarine beaches: a case study of Cliffwood Beach, NJ
The shoreline of Raritan Bay is developed with homes and recreation sites that are vulnerable to erosion and flooding exacerbated by increased rates of sea level rise. The US Army Corps of Engineers has implemented coastal storm-risk management projects or feasibility...
Study of ecoenzymes and bioavailability of methylmercury in the Lower Raritan
The Reinfelder lab and high school students from Malcolm X Shabazz High School (MXSHS) in Newark, NJ were awarded a Rutgers Raritan River Consortium Mini-grant to conduct field studies of ecoenzymes along the Raritan River Bay. Uptake experiments of the neurotoxic...
Creating a rich digital environment to support resilience on the Lower Raritan
The Raritan River region is the home of many businesses, residential communities, critical facilities, and wildlife species. Flooding is a persistent problem in the Raritan River region when excessive rain from storms affect the river basin. During hurricane events,...