2024 CONFERENCE: Awards
Lifetime Achievement AwardPresented to Jed Merrow who has been a major force in terms of habitat and wildlife connectivity in the northeast.
The NETWC Steering Committee proudly presented this award to Jed recognizing that it is his passion and dedication that have driven NETWC's success over the years. To learn more about Jed please see his award nomination form HERE. |
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Regional Award
This year’s Regional Award was given to Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ).
In New Jersey, urbanization and roads have made a patchwork of our natural lands, making it increasingly difficult for wildlife to move across the landscape as needed to survive and thrive. An answer to this challenge, Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ) identifies key areas and actions needed to make the NJ landscape and roadways more permeable for terrestrial wildlife. It was developed in collaboration with a multi-partner, multi-disciplinary working group, convened by the NJDEP Fish and Wildlife, Endangered & Nongame Species Program. To learn more about CHANJ please visit their website and review their nomination form HERE.
In New Jersey, urbanization and roads have made a patchwork of our natural lands, making it increasingly difficult for wildlife to move across the landscape as needed to survive and thrive. An answer to this challenge, Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ) identifies key areas and actions needed to make the NJ landscape and roadways more permeable for terrestrial wildlife. It was developed in collaboration with a multi-partner, multi-disciplinary working group, convened by the NJDEP Fish and Wildlife, Endangered & Nongame Species Program. To learn more about CHANJ please visit their website and review their nomination form HERE.
Local Award
This year’s local award was given to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT) for their fish passage design of a sliplined culvert. This project represented a new level of cooperation between the CTDOT and the CTDEEP Fisheries Division. From the the identification of the need to provide passage both Agencies worked collaboratively on the design of the passage system including the assessment of velocities and flow depths to maximize conditions for passage at critical seasonal periods and for various life stages of the brook trout. The agencies developed an MOA to support the long-term study on the effectiveness of passage. Collaboration included extensive coordination during construction to address unanticipated field conditions. This was a textbook example of two agencies working together towards a common goal. The design details developed during the project have become the CTDOT standard for baffle design in culverts, standards for concrete fishways and has broadened both agencies understanding of what is possible in sliplined culverts when it comes to providing fish passage. The collaboration on this project also brought the relationship between CTDOT and the CTDEEP Fisheries Division to a whole new level of understanding and cooperation which has paid off tremendously in projects moving forward.
To learn more about the CT DOT project please see their nomination form HERE.
To learn more about the CT DOT project please see their nomination form HERE.
