SAV-vy Collaboration: Using Regional Academic Experts to Streamline Mitigation Planning for Essential Fish Habitat

Presentation Description: Orsted’s Ocean Wind 1 Offshore Windfarm Project’s export cable route (ECR) was planned to cross Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, which supports over 12,000 acres of SAV, including dense beds of eelgrass (Zostera marina) and Widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima).The Ocean Wind 1 team recognized the benefit of restoring SAV to fisheries in Barnegat Bay, which compelled the Project Team to think of creative ways of mitigation planning to optimize success. A technical advisory committee (TAC) composed of the mid-Atlantic region’s leading SAV experts, was assembled to inform the process. The TAC shared collective experience, including coordination with regulatory agencies, sharing resources, restoration challenges, and lessons learned. The TAC provided direction on the site selection process for mitigation sites and donor beds, restoration methodology including seeding and transplanting, pre- and post-construction monitoring plans, and an adaptive management approach, that maximized ecosystem benefits. This format allowed ample space for free form discussions over a period of several months, which brought to light key considerations that improved the quality of the detailed mitigation plan. Thanks to this collaborative environment, the Project Team and TAC developed a well-informed mitigation and restoration plan in just a few weeks for future use in conducting successful SAV restoration in Barnegat Bay. Use of a TAC in this manner and at this stage of the mitigation planning process provides a model for SAV restoration and other resource mitigation planning, including EFH, to help preserve highly valuable natural resources.