Regional Ecological Risk Assessment of Delaware River Estuary
Integral, in partnership with another firm, conducted a watershed-scale risk assessment in the Delaware River Estuary—the first assessment of its kind to be applied to an East Coast ecosystem and the first to be applied to an ecosystem of this size. The study area consisted of an approximately 60-mile stretch of the Delaware River extending from Trenton, New Jersey to the Atlantic Ocean.
The objective of the project was to determine the relative risks and influences of historical and current physical, chemical, and biological stressors on ecological conditions. Key steps in the assessment process included characterizing and mapping habitat types and resources; developing inventories of regional and local physical, biological, and chemical stressors; and ranking the stressor-habitat combinations according to the greatest relative risk. Integral also played a key role in stakeholder outreach and communication.
The assessment found that physical stressors such as habitat loss, water volume changes, suspended solids and sedimentation were the dominant stressor and contributed to the majority of total relative risk, while chemical toxicants and biological stressors contributed less towards total risk. The assessment provided regional insights on perceived risks for the Estuary and potential future information needs. The overall assessment process spurred additional dialogue, and collaboration, among all stakeholders engaged in understanding and improving ecological conditions in the Estuary.
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