Application of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Water Budget Manual to Finderne Farms Wetland Mitigation and Assessment of Project Performance

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NY District’s wetland mitigation proposal for Finderne Farms in Bridgewater, NJ, was approved in August 2005 by the state regulatory agency. The design goal was to provide mitigation for wetlands impacted by the Green Brook Flood Control project at a ratio of 2？:？1. As part of the design process in 2001, the available historical hydrologic data was evaluated. At that time, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Water Budget Manual was not available as a tool for accessing an acceptable design hydroperiod. Construction of the Finderne mitigation site was completed in July 2006. A six-year postconstruction monitoring program has determined that certain areas at the site have not achieved the established wetland success criteria. In 2012, there was a 28% survival of planted woody vegetation and a 74% cover of invasive species within Creation Area 1, a palustrine forested wetland. With the advent of the Water Budget Manual, a reevaluation of the historical hydrologic data was performed. Based on this analysis, the hydroperiod and soil moisture conditions are not representative of sustainable wetlands. Adaptive management measures are currently being developed and evaluated to improve the hydrology, hydric soil conditions, and survival of target vegetation at the Finderne site. 1. Introduction 1.1. Wetland Mitigation Throughout most of the last two centuries, the federal government has encouraged or subsidized conversion of wetlands to other land uses, especially agricultural use. Since the 1970s this policy has been reversed but not before significant amounts of wetlands have been lost. The net loss of wetlands from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s was 184,100？hectares/year [1]. Wetlands are continually being threatened by competing land use interests. Wetland mitigation is the creation, restoration, and enhancement for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of authorized impacts to similar resources. Within the past two decades mitigation has evolved from an infrequently used term to a heavily applied wetland management practice for those who are responsible for the dual function of protecting wetlands and permitting future development [2]. In 1990 a memorandum of agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was signed, reestablishing guidelines to achieve a national goal of no overall net loss of wetland functions and values. Successful mitigation efforts are crucial when wetland functions and values are lost after a wetland