PARTNERSHIP FOR THE DELAWARE ESTUARY INC

LIVING SHORELINES - PDE CONTINUED TO CONDUCT STUDIES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE FRESHWATER MUSSEL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS THAT IMPROVE LIVING SHORELINE DESIGNS, AND CONTINUED TO WORK ON LIVING SHORELINE PLANNING, INSTALLATION, AND MONITORING. THIS INCLUDED LIVING SHORELINE MONITORING AT LEWES, DE; MISPILLION, DE; AND MAURICE RIVER, NJ; AS WELL AS ON THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER IN PHILADELPHIA. BIVALVE RESEARCH AND FRESHWATER MUSSEL PROPAGATION - PDE CONDUCTED FRESHWATER MUSSEL GENETIC RESEARCH AND FRESHWATER MUSSEL GROWTH RESEARCH AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS ACROSS PA, DE, AND NJ. PDE IS ALSO CONTINUING TO WORK TOWARD THE START OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE FRESHWATER MUSSEL HATCHERY, WHICH WILL BE LOCATED AT BARTRAM'S GARDEN IN PHILADELPHIA. CONSTRUCTION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN MID-2025. WETLANDS MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT - PDE CONDUCTED WETLANDS MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT AS PART OF THE MID-ATLANTIC COASTAL WETLANDS MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT (MACWA) PROGRAM. MACWA ACTIVITIES INCLUDED SITE SPECIFIC INTENSIVE MONITORING (SSIM), AS WELL AS GROUNDWATER MONITORING AT SITES IN NJ AND DE TO ASSESS THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE. THE USE OF NEWLY ACQUIRED ACOUSTIC MONITORING EQUIPMENT IS ALSO BEING INCORPORATED INTO MONITORING AT RESTORATION SITES TO ASSESS THE CHANGE IN WILDLIFE USAGE PRE- AND POST-RESTORATION. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT - PDE STAFF ENGAGED IN COMMUNITY OUTREACH RELATED TO CLEAN WATER, HEALTHY HABITATS, AND STRONG COMMUNITIES. PDE PARTICIPATED IN AN INCREASED NUMBER OF PUBLIC EVENTS AND FESTIVALS IN 2023, PROVIDING PDE WITH MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE FACE-TO-FACE. IN ADDITION TO IN-PERSON EVENTS, PDE REACHED COMMUNITIES THROUGH VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND PDE'S ESTUARY NEWS NEWSLETTER. URBAN WATERS FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP COORDINATION - PDE SERVED AS THE COORDINATOR OF THE URBAN WATERS FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP (UWFP) FOR THE DELAWARE RIVER LOCATION, WHICH INCLUDES THE CITIES OF PHILADELPHIA (PA), CHESTER (PA), CAMDEN (NJ), AND WILMINGTON (DE). PDE STENGTHENED CONNECTIONS WITHIN EACH OF THESE COMMUNITIES AND WORKED WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS TO PLAN COMMUNITY PROJECTS THAT WILL HELP IMPROVE WATER QUALITY, HABITAT, AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE.