COASST is a citizen science project of the University of Washington in partnership with state, tribal and federal agencies, environmental organizations, and community groups. COASST believes citizens of coastal communities are essential scientific partners in monitoring marine ecosystem health. By collaborating with citizens, natural resource management agencies and environmental organizations, COASST works to translate long-term monitoring into effective marine conservation solutions.
GSWA's stream team monitors the 5 streams in the watershed through chemical and visual assessments. Training is required for all new volunteers. The primary goal of the chemical monitoring program is to measure the volume of water, nutrients and sediments flowing into the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The main purpose of the visual assessment program is to help gather data for the Watershed Association and the State on waterbodies that are not currently being assessed by the NJDEP. All of this data helps to generate a picture of the overall health of our streams and help to identify areas where where water quality improvements could be made.
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Great Swamp Watershed AssociationKelley Curran