Looking for strong support from the trout angling community for the public meeting regarding the environmental assessment we (Musconetcong River Restoration Partnership of which TU is a primary partner) completed. Details attached. I know several of you attended our first meeting at this same location last December.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barbara L. Phillips, Public Affairs Specialist
(732) 537-6044 or barbara.phillips@nj.usda.gov
Musconetcong River Restoration Public Meeting Set
Final Draft Environmental Assessment for the Restoration of the Lower Musconetcong River at
the Finesville Dam to be presented.
November 19, 2009 - The Final Draft Environmental Assessment for the
Restoration of the Lower Musconetcong River at the Finesville Dam, prepared by
USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, will be presented at a public meeting
on Tuesday, December 1st at the Bloomsbury Fire Company RiverView Banquet
Facility, 91 Brunswick Ave., Bloomsbury, NJ, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. The assessment
was developed in cooperation with several Federal and State agencies and non-profit
groups working together as the Musconetcong River Restoration Partnership.
The Environmental Assessment considers the impacts of river restoration alternatives
relative to air quality, noise, water resources, sediment, vegetation, aquatic resources,
wetland resources, threatened and endangered species, cultural resources,
environmental justice, hazardous waste and materials. Comments received following a
public meeting held last year and the subsequent comment period were used to identify
local concerns regarding river restoration in the Finesville vicinity.
Comments received at the December 1st meeting and written comments submitted by
December 29, 2009, will be incorporated into the final version of the Environmental
Assessment. A copy of the Final Draft Environmental Assessment, the agenda for the
December 1st public meeting, and information about the Musconetcong at Finesville are
available online at Restoring the Musconetcong | New Jersey NRCS.
Participants in the Musconetcong River Restoration Partnership include the
Musconetcong Watershed Association, the Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National
Marine Fisheries Service, the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), American Rivers (AR),
North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development (RCD) Council, New Jersey
Trout Unlimited (TU), the NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife (DFW), National Park
Service (NPS), Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), private landowners and
others.
Contact Barbara Phillips, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA, Natural Resources
Conservation Service at (732) 537-6044 or barbara.phillips@nj.usda.gov for more information.

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Take care of the fish and the fishing will take care of itself. - TU's Founding Fathers