Restoring Riparian Habitat and Fostering Community River Access in Hackettstown, NJ
Project Purpose: Project purpose is to improve water quality, habitat and community access along the
Musconetcong River in a Hackettstown, NJ public park. The project will remove an old concrete platform from the
river channel, improve bank stability, remove invasive species, restore the riparian buffer and add rain and
pollinator gardens with native vegetation to increase infiltration and reduce erosion. The final part of the project
will improve recreational river access, including ADA-compliant access and bilingual interpretive signage.
Brief Description: PEACE NJ is assisting Hackettstown’s town government and Board of Education with removing a
river hazard: a derelict concrete platform that collects debris, increases erosion and sedimentation, and degrades
habitat in the Musconetcong River. Nearly 1,000 feet of adjacent riparian buffer has poor riparian habitat with
invasive species, bank ruts and holes. Additionally, this river section supports state-endangered Brook Floater
mussels, which must be relocated downstream prior to platform removal. The state stocks this river section with
trout, but fishing access is limited. To address both conservation and public access needs, PEACE NJ has engaged
the community, municipal stakeholders, and technical experts to create a permittable design for platform
removal, riparian restoration, pollinator gardens and rain garden to improve habitat and infiltration, ADA-
accessible paths, bilingual signage, recreational access points, and continued community outreach.
Resource Values/Project Outputs: Project includes 305 linear ft of banks stabilization, adds 3340 sf of native
vegetation and a 315 sf rain garden to reduce erosion, increase infiltration and habitat, removal of invasive
species and the obstruction to return the river channel to a more natural state. Total area of disturbance
estimated at 0.75 acres. Adding paths and 50 sf ADA-compliant river access will increase recreational value for the
public.
Cost/Budget: $400,000 (includes community outreach, education, signage as well as construction costs)
Schedule: Final permits expected August 2025. Freshwater mussel relocation, platform removal, bank
stabilization, and riparian zone ecological restoration by fall 2025. Recreational improvements planned by fall
2026.
Permit Status: Permits are in pre-approval application status. Permitting and design was completed with a $53000
planning grant from New Jersey Audubon’s Watershed Restoration and Community Empowerment Program
List of Partners: Hackettstown provided $2,650 for land survey plus professional review and support;
Hackettstown Board of Education provided district engineer and attorney for project and permit review. The
National Park Service (NPS) RTCA program is providing technical assistance through 2025, and NPS provided
$1,200 for initial ecological/mussel surveys and $7,227 for a Phase 1A Cultural Resource Survey. USFWS Partners
for Fish and Wildlife Program provided $5,000 to the Board of Education towards design work; project liaison
indicates implementation funding will be available. PEACE NJ has applied to the NRCS EQIP program for
restoration funds and is applying to NJ Green Acres and NFWF for additional project funding.
What is requested from the CWRP/Contribution: $25,000 total. $20,000 for bank stabilization and riparian buffer
expansion, $5000 for platform removal and $1200 for relocation of State-endangered Brook Floater mussels
Point of Contact: Nancy Roberts-Lawler, PEACE NJ chair, 908-246-9431, nancy@peacenj.org