Left to right: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ruch, Army Corps of Engineers - Philadelphia District Commander; Bradley Campbell, NJ Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner; Cliff Day, NJFO Supervisor; J.P. Woodley, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works; Eric Schrading, NJFO Private Lands Coordinator; and, D.J. Monette, R5 Native American Liaison. Photo by: Gene Nieminen/USFWS

D.J. Monette (External Affairs, formerly New Jersey Field Office), Eric Schrading (New Jersey Field Office) and Curt Orvis (Engineering Division) of Region 5 received a Coastal America award on Oct. 18 for their work on the Batsto River fishway restoration, a Partners for Fish and Wildlife/Coastal Program project in Burlington County, New Jersey.  The $600,000 fishway, completed in August, restores access to 8 miles of historic spawning and foraging habitat for anadromous fish such as alewife and blueback herring.

The project, located in historic Batsto Village in a state forest, required considerable coordination to ensure a historically compatible design.  Environmental education at the fishway site will focus on the importance of anadromous fish.

The Partners program provided technical assistance for the fishway, while the Coastal Program provided funding.  Other project sponsors included New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Army Corps of Engineers, and the New Jersey Chapter of the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership.