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Musconetcong Watershed Association

The Musconetcong Watershed Association (MWA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and improving the quality of the Musconetcong River Watershed, including its natural and cultural resources, through....

• Public education and awareness programs
• Scientific research
• Promotion of sustainable land management practices
• Community involvement
• Current Projects

Bowers Brook on the M&M property

The MWA teamed up with Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service, Hackettstown High School students and M&M Mars Inc. to complete one of the more remarkable stream restoration projects ever undertaken in New Jersey.

Under the direction of Anthony Pasquini, a Rutgers Forestry Specialist, dozens of students planted a natural buffer along Bowers Brook, a small trout stream tributary to the Musconetcong River that flows through the M&M Mars Inc. facility in Hackettstown. Over 800 plants including 55 different species were used to restore a long stretch of the stream back to nature. The project site is visible to thousands of motorists who travel busy Route 517 every day giving the project enormous educational value.

Converting a well-manicured lawn into a natural buffer sets an excellent model for other businesses and property owners who might be in a position to plant native vegetation along the stream or wetland. Students from Hackettstown High School and Rutgers University as well as members of the Musconetcong Watershed Association, and M&M Mars employees pitched in with the massive planting project, which took place over a period of several weeks. The project was funded through a federal non-point pollution control grant administered by North Jersey Resource and Conservation Development.

Proposed Gruendyke Mill Dam site

The Musconetcong Watershed Association is seeking funding to remove the Gruendyke Mill dam, an obsolete structure blocking the Musconetcong River in Hackettstown just above the Rt. 46 Bridge. The project will also include a major riparian reforestation and restoration of areas immediately upstream and downstream of the dam and create a public access and trail that connects with Hackettstown¹s Alumni Field Park.

The dam removal will lead to improve water quality, reduce a potential flood hazard and restore the river to its natural course. The shallow dam pool degrades water quality by causing elevated water temperatures and acting as a pollution sink by trapping sediments and nutrients. The NJDEP has identified thermal pollution and nutrient enrichment as serious water quality problems for the Musconetcong River where it flows through Hackettstown and adjacent communities.

Project partners include the Musconetcong Watershed Association, the Town of Hackettstown, American Rivers, Central Jersey Chapter - Trout Unlimited, Princeton Hydro, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

More Information

Visit the MWA's website for information on the Wild and Scenic River study, the River Management Plan, many interesting links, a calendar of events and information on becoming a member.

Contact: John P. Brunner Executive Director (908) 537-7060