We’re committed to improving our ecosystems, quality of life, and communities for the better.
Our passion and commitment to the integration of innovative science and engineering drive us to exceed on behalf of every client.
Welcome to the newest edition of our Client Spotlight Blog Series! Each spotlight provides an inside look at our collaboration, teamwork, and accomplishments with a specific client. We value our client relationships and pride ourselves on forming strong ties with organizations that share our values of creating a better future for people and our planet.
The Nature Conservancy began as a collaborative effort between leading scientists, committed citizens, and dedicated leaders who shared a vision to care for the world around them. Their priorities include finding innovative solutions to some of the planet’s biggest challenges: tackling climate change, protecting land and water, providing food and water sustainability, and building healthy cities. Princeton Hydro has worked with TNCNJ on about a dozen projects since 2009.
To develop this Client Spotlight, we spoke with TNCNJ’s Director of River Restoration Beth Styler Barry. Beth has over 18 years of experience in river restoration, water quality monitoring, community outreach, and project management. In addition to leading major stream restoration projects for TNCNJ, Beth also co-leads the statewide New Jersey Dam Removal Partnership. Beth has worked with Princeton Hydro on a number of projects, including the removal of the Columbia Dam, the largest dam removal in New Jersey’s history.
The Nature Conservancy is a global organization and the largest environmental nonprofit in the United States, so we can make conservation happen at a continental scale. At the same time, we are structured into smaller business units that keep us nimble and relevant for handling ecological challenges that affect and resonate with people, wildlife, and habitats locally. Everyone who works here is very passionate about protecting nature.
Our conservation work is always guided by science. In fact, we have more than 400 scientists on staff around the world. We also have a knack for working with a wide range of partners and bringing about positive outcomes where they otherwise may not have been easily achieved.
I joined TNC in 2016, so about 4.5 years.
I have worked with Princeton Hydro on water and soil studies, engineering and design for dam removals, and oversight for the construction phase of river restoration.
Princeton Hydro was an important partner in our effort to remove the Columbia Dam from the Paulins Kill in 2019. A study ranked the 300-foot-long, 18-foot-high structure in the top 5% of East Coast dams for removal. The impoundment of water behind the dam was unhealthy and the dam itself impeded the migration of threatened American shad for more than 100 years. With Princeton Hydro’s help, and working with a team of partners including the State of New Jersey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we succeeded in the largest dam removal in state history. Less than two weeks after the dam was completely removed, the shad were recorded ten miles upstream!
There are so many exciting projects! We are working on two more dam removals on the Paulins Kill, as part of a watershed-wide restoration. As a part of that restoration work, we’re working on completing design and permitting on a 1,000-acre wetland and stream restoration project in the headwaters of the Paulins Kill. We are also still working in New Jersey to protect and connect land for state-endangered Bobcat and other wildlife; to increase the use of nature as a way of building resiliency in communities dealing with flooding from storms and sea level rise; and to support a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 2006 levels by 2025.
I feel a deep connection to rivers, especially the rivers of New Jersey. I’ve seen so many good restoration projects that it inspires me to keep pushing forward. We owe that to our rivers.
One thing that I enjoy about working with Princeton Hydro is that staff are always ready to really walk me through a new design idea, method, or step in the regulatory process. I like the opportunity to ask a lot of questions and fully understand the work at hand.
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To learn more about The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey, visit their website. And, click below to read the previous edition of our Client Spotlight blog series, which features the Musconetcong Watershed Association.
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