Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve

The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, at Mullica River and Great Bay, is the only reserve in the national system to be named after an individual. It's also the only one in the reserve system to expand its boundaries seaward to the Atlantic Ocean. The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve encompasses approximately 115,000 acres in southeastern New Jersey, including a great variety of terrestrial, wetland and aquatic habitats within the Mullica River-Great Bay ecosystem. The Reserve is a concentrated patchwork of federal and state lands managed in partnership through a variety of agencies. With little more than 1% of the Reserve subjected to human development, this area is regarded as one of the least disturbed estuaries in the densely populated urban corridor of the Northeastern United States. Occurring within the unique New Jersey Pinelands forest ecosystem, on the coastal plain and the barrier islands of the coastal margin, the Mullica River-Great Bay estuary is of special ecological value. The high environmental quality of the habitats within the Cousteau Reserve are consistent with the objective of the Reserve system to preserve areas which retain a healthy ecosystem and provide the opportunity to serve the needs of long-term research and monitoring programs. Public programs and training workshops are offered at the Coastal Education Center visit for mor information on programs.