The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, located in southeastern New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, encompasses over 110,000 acres (450 km²) of terrestrial, wetland and aquatic habitats within the Mullica River-Great Bay Ecosystem.

A wide range of habitats includes the pinelands, lowland swamps, freshwater marshes, salt and freshwater tidal marshes, barrier islands (sandy beaches and dune habitats), shallow bays and the coastal ocean. Little more than one percent of this reserve has been subject to human development. The area is one of the least disturbed estuaries in the densely populated urban corridor of the northeastern United States.

On October 20, 1997 the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JC NERR) was dedicated in honor of Jacques Cousteau. The JC NERR is one of 26 National Estuarine Research Reserve

National Estuarine Research Reserve

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a program of the United States government. The program establishes federal-state partnerships under the Coastal Zone Management Act to create a system of estuarine research reserves representative of the various regions and estuarine types in the...

 (NERR) created to promote responsible use and management of our nation's estuaries. Estuaries, where the rivers meet the sea, are the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides. This mix of fresh and salt water creates a unique and very productive ecosystem vital to life both on land and in the sea.

The mission of the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve is to improve management of important estuarine resources in the Mullica River-Great Bay watershed through a program combining scientific research, education, and stewardship. JC NERR conducts research on the physical, chemical and biological components of the site estuaries and neighboring watersheds. The JC NERR offers a variety of professional development programs for teachers highlighting the unique coastal resources of New Jersey for the K-12 classroom. It also offers training programs, resources and outreach materials for New Jersey’s Coastal Management Community. The "Life on the Edge" exhibit housed at the Tuckerton Seaport

Tuckerton Seaport

The Tuckerton Seaport is a working maritime village and museum located in Tuckerton, New Jersey, United States. The site, which opened in May 2000, features 17 historic and recreated buildings connected by a boardwalk, a maritime forest and wetlands nature trail...

 is a virtual walk from the headwaters of the Mullica River

Mullica River

The Mullica River is a river in southern New Jersey in the United States. The Mullica was once known as the Little Egg Harbor River.The river provides one of the principal drainages into the Atlantic Ocean of the extensive Pinelands...

, through the Pinelands

Pinelands

Pinelands can refer to the following things:* Pine Barrens * New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve* Pinelands Regional School District, a school district in Tuckerton, New Jersey, USA...

, into the marsh ecosystem in Great Bay

Great Bay (New Jersey)

Great Bay is located in southern New Jersey's Atlantic Coastal Plain in Ocean and Atlantic Counties, about ten miles north of Atlantic City and 87 mi south of New York City. The Mullica River flows into the bay, and together they form the Mullica River - Great Bay estuary habitat. The bay is...

 and then finally out into the open ocean. Visitors learn about the biology, ecology, and importance of estuarine habitats.

Properties within the Reserve are public owned by various state and Federal entities. The Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences

Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences

The Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences focuses on marine science-related education and research. IMCS was founded in 1993 on the Cook Campus at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. IMCS is the home of LEO-15, more formally known as the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory...

 at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is the managing partner of JC NERR. Other agency partners include the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution...

, The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in southern New Jersey along the Atlantic coast north of Atlantic City, in Atlantic and Ocean counties. The refuge was created in 1984 out of two existing refuge parcels created to protect tidal...

, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, located in Galloway Township, New Jersey, an hour from Philadelphia and 20 minutes from Atlantic City, is an undergraduate and graduate college of the arts, sciences and professional studies of the New Jersey system of higher education. The College was...

, The Pinelands Commission, The Tuckerton Seaport and The Cooperative Institute of Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology.

External links

• http://www.jcnerr.org
• http://marine.rutgers.edu
• http://www.crssa.rutgers.edu/