New Jersey recruits HAB Expert Team

January 15, 2021| Environment, People

By: Marty Kane

The State of New Jersey has recruited a team of lakes management and harmful algal bloom (HAB) experts to address a condition that has plagued numerous lakes in New Jersey and throughout the US.  A HAB, like the one that struck Lake Hopatcong in 2019, is a rapid growth of algae or cyanobacteria that potentially can cause harm to people, animals, and the local ecology. As witnessed at Lake George this past fall, it is a very serious threat facing all recreational lakes.   

The HAB Expert Team’s primary objective will be to provide guidance to New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection on ways to prevent HABs as well as how to mitigate their impacts.  The team will develop guidance documents and a training program for lake managers and stakeholders in New Jersey, specifically the best management practices for the prevention and management of HABs.

The team will review a wide range of proposed mitigation technologies as well as the progress of DEP-funded HAB mitigation efforts such as the numerous demonstration projects currently ongoing at Lake Hopatcong.  Of the ten team members it is great to see three that are very familiar at Lake Hopatcong – long-time Lake Hopatcong expert and Director of Aquatics Programs at Princeton Hydro, Dr. Fred Lubnow; nationally recognized lake expert, founder of Princeton Hydro, and now lake consultant Dr. Steve Souza; and Dr. Meiyin Wu, professor at Montclair State who worked with the Lake Hopatcong Foundation on a project a few years back.  This is another positive move in the many-faceted approach to HABs and we look forward to the fruits of their labor. 

HAB Expert Team Members:
Jason Adolf, Monmouth University
Chris Doyle, Naiad Consultants
Nicole Fahrenfeld, Rutgers University
Jennifer Graham, USGS
Bob Kortman, Ecosystem Consulting Service
Fred Lubnow, Princeton Hydro
Ling Ren, George Mason University
Nathan Ruhl, Rowan University
Steve Souza, Clean Waters Consulting
Meiyin Wu, Montclair State University