Picking Up Where the TMDL Leaves Off: Using the Partnership Wild and Scenic River Framework for Collaborative River Restoration

Abstract

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act protects less than ¼ of a percent of the United States’ river miles, focusing on free-flowing rivers of good water quality with outstandingly remarkable values for recreation, scenery, and other unique river attributes. It predates the enactment of the Clean Water Act, yet includes a clear anti-degradation principle, that pollution should be reduced and eliminated on designated rivers, in cooperation with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state pollution control agencies. However, the federal Clean Water Act lacks a clear management framework for implementing restoration activities to reduce non-point source pollution, of which bacterial contamination impacts nearly 40% of the Wild and Scenic Rivers. A case study of the Musconetcong River, in rural mountainous New Jersey, indicates that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act can be utilized to mobilize and align non-governmental, governmental, philanthropic, and private land-owner resources for restoring river water quality. For example, coordinated restoration efforts on one tributary reduced bacterial contamination by 95%, surpassing the TMDL goal of a 93% reduction. Stakeholder interviews and focus groups indicated widespread knowledge and motivation to improve water quality, but resource constraints limited the scale and scope of restoration efforts. The authors postulate that the Partnership framework, enabled in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, facilitated neo-endogenous rural development through improving water quality for recreational usage, whereby bottom-up restoration activities were catalyzed via federal designation and resource provision. However, further efforts to address water quality via voluntary participatory frameworks were ultimately limited by the public sector’s inadequate funding and inaction with regard to water and wildlife resources in the public trust.

Fisheries Volume 48 Number 8 August 2023

“…Stakeholder involvement in discreet portions of TMDL development and implementation has been discussed relatively frequently at professional meetings (e.g., Mumley and Speare 2002 ;Gaddis et al 2010 ) and in the peer-reviewed literature (e.g., Voinov and Gaddis 2008 ;Von Stackelberg and Neilson 2014 ;Hunt et al 2021 ). In contrast, there is a dearth of peer-reviewed literature describing stakeholder involvement throughout the process of impairment identifi cation and remediation, especially related to temperature impairment.…”

Predicting Fecal Indicator Bacteria Using Spatial Stream Network Models in A Mixed-Land-Use Suburban Watershed in New Jersey, USA

“…The Musconetcong River, from which we took water samples for the current study, is located in northwestern New Jersey and forms part of the National Wild and Scenic River System in recognition of its remarkable recreational resources [ 33 , 34 ]. Urban and suburban water recreation provides opportunities to promote physical and mental health among residents, foster environmental stewardship and community engagement, and support tourism and the local economy [ 2 , 34 ].…”

“…Urban and suburban water recreation provides opportunities to promote physical and mental health among residents, foster environmental stewardship and community engagement, and support tourism and the local economy [ 2 , 34 ]. However, the water quality of the Musconetcong River has been historically impaired due to intensive urbanization and roadway development [ 33 ]. In fact, it has been listed in the New Jersey Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (303 (d) List) due to the high abundance of fecal coliforms in northwestern New Jersey.…”

“…In 2003, a TMDL plan was established to address microbial water quality deterioration here, requiring a 93% reduction in fecal coliforms [ 35 ]. Since then, various water quality restoration projects have been undertaken, including riparian buffers, prescribed grazing, herd reduction, sinkhole closure, and green infrastructure [ 33 ]. In 2018, a water quality monitoring study concluded that there had been a significant improvement in microbial water quality over the past decade; however, further reductions in E. coli loads were still required to meet the TMDL goal [ 33 ].…”

“…Since then, various water quality restoration projects have been undertaken, including riparian buffers, prescribed grazing, herd reduction, sinkhole closure, and green infrastructure [ 33 ]. In 2018, a water quality monitoring study concluded that there had been a significant improvement in microbial water quality over the past decade; however, further reductions in E. coli loads were still required to meet the TMDL goal [ 33 ]. Local water quality stakeholders have been developing additional monitoring strategies and water quality restoration plans, with delisting of the Musconetcong River from the 303 (d) List as the goal.…”