CHARACTERIZATION OF THE JACQUES COUSTEAU NATIONAL ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) is one of
the 27 national estuarine reserves created to promote the responsible use and management
of the nation's estuaries through a program combining scientific research, education, and
stewardship (Figure 1). The JCNERR, which lies on the gently sloping Atlantic Coastal
Plain of New Jersey, is the 22 nd program site of the National Estuarine Research Reserve
System (NERRS), having been officially dedicated on October 20, 1997. It consists of
more than 45,000 ha of aesthetic upland, wetland, and open water habitats. The Mullica
River watershed is a concentrated patchwork of federal and state lands managed in
partnership through a variety of agencies. These land areas are remarkably pristine
largely because of the federally protected New Jersey Pinelands, state and federal
managed lands surrounding the coastal bays, and only 553 ha of developed landscape (<
2% of the total area). Most of the land of the JCNERR is in public ownership.
Upland vegetation in the JCNERR consists of pine-oak forests which are replaced
seaward by freshwater-, brackish-, and salt (Spartina) marshes. Marsh habitat covers
more than 13,000 ha (> 28%) of the reserve. JCNERR habitats generally exhibit
excellent environmental quality, although Little Egg Harbor and Barnegat Bay waters
have been identified as highly eutrophic. The JCNERR’s mission is consistent with that
of the NERRS, that is, to preserve areas that retain a healthy ecosystem and provide the
opportunity to serve the needs of long-term research and monitoring programs.
Rich and diverse plant and animal communities inhabit watershed areas of the
JCNERR. For example, 275 species of macroinvertebrates, 91 species of fish, and 350
species of algae have been documented in inland habitats of the Mullica River and its
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