(upbeat music)
- The wetlands of the Maurice River house 53% of the species
on New Jersey's endangered and threatened list,
and so we really need to know
what the health of that habitat is
and what the different threats are.
(upbeat music)
I am Karla Rossini.
I'm the executive director of CU Maurice River,
and we are a partnership organization
to the National Parks' Wild and Scenic Program,
so we're the sole organization charged
with implementation of the river management plan.
When I first started this position,
just a couple months in,
we got an email asking if we might be interested
in participating in the dragonfly survey,
and I said, "Absolutely, we're interested.
We must do this.
You mean we get to get dirty and wet,
and we get to get people in the water and engaged?"
And we also get to get a lot of data
on the health of our system and the habitat.
What I really like about it
is that takes a very complex issue and it deconstructs it.
We live in an economically depressed area.
We're actually one of the poorest counties of New Jersey.
Any Friday or Saturday,
you can go down to the river
and you see people fishing for sustenance.
To understand that these fish,
and being able to educate
that fish could be being affected by mercury
helps us to protect habitats, but also human health.
You have the moment of the engagement,
and you also have the moment of learning and reflection.
I believe that that is quite important
in environmental justice, really.