Events

The Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute (MRRI) staff recently completed training on their newly acquired research vessel. This training, involving nine staff members, covered essential operations such as down scan and side scan sonar for underwater imaging, shallow water anchoring techniques using the integrated PowePoles®, the use of the bow access door for marsh platform … Read more

MRRI’s GIS staff presented at the New Jersey Geospatial Forum’s General Meeting on June 6th, 2024. The Forum is a statewide organization, founded by the New Jersey Office of Information Technology, and it focuses on New Jersey’s geospatial industry. Membership is open to the public and encourages participations of individuals from various sectors interested in … Read more

As part of MRRI’s spatial data collection campaign, GIS specialists are surveying trails and berms utilizing a GPS Rover Wheel to optimize continuous surface elevation collection over uneven terrain. The rover wheel construction enables us to collect high quality surface elevation data, as this accessory keeps the rover rod on the surface, while allows surveyors … Read more

MRRI has started a district wide tide gate and berm inspection campaign in the Lower Hackensack River Estuary. MRRI GIS specialists are working with engineers from Storm Water Management to assess the current status of flood protection structures that are crucial for the area’s flood hazard mitigation. The Hackensack Meadows are historically prone to flooding … Read more

MRRI scientists worked with Pratt Institute’s Master of Landscape Architecture students to prepare for upcoming field work by building experimental floating wetlands and eel mops. The eel mops will be used this winter and early spring to survey grass eels migrating from the Sargasso Sea up the Hackensack River. The eel mops mimic suitable habitat … Read more

Coastal marsh ecosystems are in danger of disappearing if the sea level rise is greater than the marsh’s surface elevation change. Every year for the past 15 years we measure marsh surface elevation to see how marshlands are keeping up with sea level rise. In 2023, we measured six sites. Sites monitored for less than … Read more

On Sunday, Oct. 1, some 300 bird enthusiasts attended the 14th Annual Meadowlands Birding Festival at DeKorte Park. The event, co-sponsored by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and the Bergen County Audubon Society, featured guided walks, several talks and presentations, information tables with a plethora of avian information, and kid’s activity stations. A … Read more

Each year the Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute mentors up to 4 high school interns from Bergen County Academies. Students work in the NJDEP certified laboratory and  GIS laboratory.  Each student will work next to professional scientists learning lab techniques, conducting chemical analysis, aiding in the field work  and inputting data into different software.  GIS … Read more