Victory at Primrose Farm Estate!

Harding Township Committee Votes In Favor Of Open Space

Thanks to the dedication a few local citizens, Harding Land Trust will now be the proud owner of 45 acres of prime open space.  About 100 residents turned out Wednesday evening, July 13, for a Township Committee meeting where committee members determined the fate of environmentally sensitive land at Harding’s Primrose Farm Estate.  Thanks to the concerted efforts of groups like the Great Swamp Watershed Association, Harding Land Trust and The Trust for Public Land, most of those in attendance spoke out in favor of sparing the Estate from the developers’ bulldozers.

Although Committee members voted unanimously to keep 45 acres of Primrose Farm undeveloped and open for public recreation, final decision-making on the issue appeared to be close.  Weeks of uncertainty and speculation about the Township’s ultimate intentions for the property lead a number of stakeholders to rally supporters on behalf of the open space plan.  Harding Land Trust generated a petition in support of the project that garnered the names of more than 180 local residents.  GSWA distributed information outlining the property’s intrinsic value as a location for undisturbed wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation and encouraged attendance at the meeting to show support for the preservation.

Our profound thanks go out to all those who stood up for open space and the environment on July 13.  Without your unwavering commitment to the Primrose plan, 13 new ”McMansions” would be ready for construction and the single largest and most-naturally-diverse piece of outdoor space left inside Harding Township would be no more.  What a fantastic victory for those who would protect Great Swamp from the hazards of overdevelopment!

Unfortunately, the fight is not over.  The 45 acres of land Harding Township has agreed to keep undeveloped covers less than half of the entire 122-acre Primrose Farm Estate.  Another 77 acres still needs protection and still needs our help.  Protection for that acreage has yet to be ratified under Phase II of the Primrose Open Space Plan, and completion of that plan remains contingent on receipt of additional open space funding from Morris County and Harding Township.  GSWA will be participating in this phase of the preservation through a Green Acres application for $200,000.   We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed as work on Primrose Phase II progresses.

 

Sincerely,

Sally S. Rubin
Executive Director
Great Swamp Watershed Association

 

 

Help Your Neighbors AND Have Some Lakeside Fun On August 20!

Hey Great Swamp Enthusiasts!

Our friends and neighbors at the Musconetcong Watershed Association (MWA) need our help on Saturday, August 20.

100 volunteers are needed to help MWA and others hand-pull non-native, invasive water chestnut (Trapa natans) plants from Lake Musconetcong.

Lake Musconetcong is home to the largest infestation of Water Chestnuts in the state of New Jersey.  These highly invasive, nonnative aquatic plants were introduced into U.S. waters in the late 1800s. Since then they've been crowding out native water plants and choking the life out of waterways throughout the northeastern U.S.  Check out this map of the water chestnut invasion created by the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States.

Here are a few more facts about invasive water chestnuts and Lake Musconetcong:

• 1/3 of 2,600-acre Lake Musconetcong provides suitable habitat for growing water chestnut plants.
• Each new water chestnut plant can divide itself into 10-15 floating rosettes every summer (Water Chestnut: A Guide to Identify And Report).
• One water chestnet rosette can produce 15 nuts every season (Water Chestnut: A Guide to Identify And Report).
• Each nut can remain viable for 12 years (Water Chestnut: A Guide to Identify And Report).
• One acre of water chestnut produces enough seed each year to cover 100 acres the following year (Water Chestnut: A Guide to Identify And Report).
• Boats and birds could easily spread the infestation upstream into Lake Hopatcong, NJ's largest lake.

Here are some event details:

What: Water Chsestnut Removal at Lake Musconetcong

When: Saturday, August 20, 2011; Starting at 9AM

Where: Parking lot next to Arbolino Park (Center Street in Netcong)

• Row boats, canoes and possibly kayaks will be provided to those who want them.
• Volunteers are needed for pulling out plants, running event registration, cooking, parking and post-event clean-up. (There's lots to do!)
• Download the event flyer here.

More information is available at by contacting Chris Trainor and MWA at 908-537-7060, or by emailing Chris at americorps@northjerseyrdc.org.

MusconetcongWaterChestnutPullFlyer.pdf Download this file

What Do You Think About Local Deer Overpopulation?

See the full gallery on Posterous

Public Hearings On Deer Control At Jockey Hollow

The National Park Service (NPS) seeks comments from the public as it develops a new plan for controlling the exploding deer population at Morristown National Historical Park (NHP – Jockey Hollow).

According to a recent press release, the Vegetation and White-tailed Deer Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (plan/EIS) will be designed with the goal of promoting the natural regeneration of hardwood forest that reflect the natural and historic diversity of the park.

NPS will hold two public hearings about the White-tailed Deer EIS that we encourage you to attend:

White-tailed Deer EIS Public Comment Hearing #1
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

White-tailed Deer EIS Public Comment Hearing #2
Thursday, July 28, 2011
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Both hearings will take place at Morristown NHP, Washington’s Headquarters Museum, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, NJ  07960.

Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) wants to remind you that local deer populations run as high as 70 to 100 deer per square mile. That’s 7 to 10 times the number of deer most of the land in our region is equipped to support.  Left unchecked our deer could strip away certain native plants and subsequently crowd out other wildlife sharing the same food and habitat.  Such a loss of biodiversity has profoundly negative implications for local soil and water quality.  Soil erosion increases and the composition of nutrients and minerals entering the water supply change dramatically.

Controlling deer overpopulation is possible.  GSWA’s Conservation Management Area (CMA) in Harding Township provides examples of successful deer-control techniques, including the construction of an effective deer exclosure fence that prevents herds from doing major damage. After installing the fence, GSWA scientists and volunteers noticed a marked increase in native plant growth at the CMA.  This has brought us one step closer to providing New Jersey with another 53 acres of biodiverse open space to serves as healthy habitat for migratory birds, endangered amphibians and important insects.

Written comments on NPS’s proposed White-tailed Deer EIS may be submitted through August 14 via the Internet at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=41815 or by mailing them to Mr. Robert Masson, Biologist Morristown National Historical Park, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, NJ 07960.

We hope you choose to make your voice heard on this important community issue.

Nature Walk in the Great Swamp Watershed, Friday, July 22

Don't forget! GSWA Education & Outreach Director Hazel England will be guiding a tour of GSWA's 53-acre Conservation Management Area in Harding, NJ this Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) owns 53 acres of land in Harding Township that is maintained as a Conservation Management Area. This forested wetland contains vernal pools, streams, and woods with wildflowers and wildlife aplenty.

 We will take an early evening stroll along the boardwalk trails, listening for birds and searching for native plants. This is an easy-paced hike at an important restoration area. Children are welcome.

Location: GSWA Conservation Management Area, 1 Tiger Lilly Lane, Harding, NJ. Please register to attend at http://tinyurl.com/6khfr57 or visit www.greatswamp.org.

Cost: Free for GSWA members, $10 for non-members, $5 for non-member children under 5, $30 for non-member families.

Phone: 

973-538-3500

News from @GSWA for July 2011

Check out what's up in The Great Swamp! Read @GSWA's e-Newsletter for July at http://p0.vresp.com/dxRhT7.

Sign up to receive our monthly e-Newsletter and other communications from the Great Swamp Watershed Association via email. Just complete the sign-up form on our home page located at www.greatswamp.org.

BioBlitz 2011 A Success!

Over a 24-hour period between 5 p.m. on Friday June 17 and 5 p.m on June Saturday, June 18,  Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)) and the Friends of the Great Swamp (FGS) led more than 150 scientists, volunteers and participants in a concerted effort to find and identify as many different plant and animal species as they could within the confines of the northern New Jersey’s 7,768- acre Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.  As data continues to roll in from the event, BioBlitz 2011—the third of its kind to be held in the Great Swamp watershed since 2007—seems poised to exceed all the scientific and educational benchmarks established by past BioBlitz gatherings.

 Although a final tally of all the different plants and animals seen at BioBlitz 2011 is still a few days away, we can give you an update on some of the weekend’s highlights and show you some amazing photos from the event.


Event Highlights:

• More than 100 members of the public (non-scientists) participated in the event.
• More than 60 scientists volunteered their time to study the wide variety of plants and wildlife found in the Great Swamp.
• Some unusual wildlife species were seen or heard, including the following:
• Federally-endangered Blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale)
• Hooded mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus)—water fowl that are usually only present during winter months
• More than 25 species of Crane fly – the long legged weak flying insects that look like giant mosquitoes and throng the porch lights
• A couple of much-talked-about, but, as yet, unidentified woodland orchids, amongst 200 species wildflowers seen.
• More than 15 species of freshwater fish netted in Passaic River tributaries.

We’ll have more details about the plants and animals spotted this year once the scientists (and GSWA staff!) rest up a bit from their 24-hour biological marathon.  (Yes! There were many people there for the entire 24-hour period. Just ask the Chiropterologists—bat scientists—and their assistants who were out past 2 a.m. Saturday morning collecting their specimens.)  In the meantime, check out some of the amazing event photos we’ve posted on our Flickr account. (Note: you do not need a Flickr account to view the photos.)

What’s a BioBlitz?

If you’ve never heard of a BioBlitz before, here’s a crash course.
A BioBlitz is an intensive snapshot survey—part contest, part scientific research & part educational opportunity—bringing together biological experts from local scientific institutions, nature clubs, & government wildlife agencies. Every major group of animals & plants will have a team assigned to look for as many species as possible in 24-hours.


Why do a BioBlitz?

A BioBlitz serves 4 main goals. It—

• Raises Public Awareness: A BioBlitz is held in order to  increase your awareness of the variety of life in your immediate neighborhood, as well as teach about how   plants & animals  improve your quality of life;
• Excites Kids About Science: A BioBlitz gives local schools & school students an opportunity to gather scientific information the same way real scientists do;
• Generates Data: A BioBlitz generates an important list of plant & animal species found in a particular area; and it
• Celebrates Biological Diversity: A BioBlitz celebrates the diversity of life in an area like the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Visit GSWA on the web at www.greatswamp.org.
Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/GreatSwamp or on Twitter at twitter.com/GSWA.

Don't Miss GSWA's May Events

May Day Hike
Sunday, May 1, 5-6:30 p.m.
GSWA's Conservation Management Area, Tiger Lily Ln, Harding Township
Long ago young maidens would arise and wash their faces in the dew on May Day to stay young forever. We can’t promise eternal youth, but we do promise you’ll feel rejuvenated after a spring hike around the 50 acres of GSWA’s Conservation Management Area. Listen for returning neo-tropical migrant birds, watch for wildflower blooms peeking out and enjoy the frog chorus in a gentle family-friendly hike along the trails of GSWA’s flagship restoration area.

A Passaic River Journey...in Words and Pictures
Thursday, May 5, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
GSWA Offices, 568 Tempe Wick Road, Morristown
Local area resident and West Morris Mendham High School teacher Bruce Taterka, and his paddling companion Juergen Englerth, paddled the entire length of the Passaic River from source to sea. They completed their journey in stages whenever free time allowed over the last several years. Bruce and Juergan will share their incredible stories and pictures about this fascinating trip along one of the most interesting rivers in New Jersey. Through changing river widths, seasons, economic conditions and habitats see the Passaic through a kayak paddlers perspective and camera! Enjoy wine, snacks and a Passaic river cocktail created especially for the evening!

These programs are free for members. The fee for non-members is $10 per adult, $5 for each child five or over and $30 per family. Register at http://www.greatswamp.org/.