New Jersey Coastal Conservation & Restoration Targets : Coastal Data Summary

This assessment is the first phase of a longer term effort to identify intact, high quality coastal habitat areas, identify upland watershed areas that have an important functional role in maintaining estuarine water quality and larger ecosystem health and identify areas where restoration strategies should be focused. Data was collected from various state and federal agencies for the upland, shoreline, and benthic zones documenting existing land cover and physical characteristics, valuable wildlife and plant habitats, sea-floor characteristics, and areas of human disturbance. A series of maps created for public presentation summarizes the various resource themes as stand-alone graphics and in combination for the selected watersheds of interest.Purpose: To identify, characterize and map critical coastal resources