Public Forum Will Focus On Local Community Response To Changing Climate, Worsening Weather

Multidisciplinary panel of experts from Montclair State University will share climate change perspectives at Somerset County Environmental Education Center, May 13.

A spate of unusual weather events, including hurricanes, flooding, drought, and unseasonable snowfalls, have focused New Jersey’s attention on the current and future consequences of global climate change.

While national debate in the U.S. lingers over abstract arguments about the existence or non-existence of global warming and other climate issues, local communities and individuals struggle to deal with new climate realities, such as the destruction wrought by Superstorm Sandy, frequent flooding along the Passaic River, and a wealth of predictions forecasting more and more-severe weather events.

Clearer information and a more complete message about the broad impact of ongoing climate change phenomena is needed if we expect ourselves to bounce back from intensifying natural disasters.  The need is critical if we expect our communities and our social institutions to effectively adapt to protect us as the natural world we live in continues to change.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association, Somerset County Park Commission, and Montclair State University’s Passaic River Institute, will work together this spring to help local communities build a base of knowledge aimed at responding to local climate change issues and locating resources for estimating future effects on our region.

On May 13, the groups will convene a public panel discussion at the Somerset County Environmental Education Center titled, “The Challenges of Climate Change and Building Resilient Communities.”

The panel of presenters will include climate change experts drawn from several different academic departments at Montclair State University, including the Department of Anthropology, the Department of Biology and Molecular Biology, the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, and the School of Business.

Click here for a complete list of panelists.

Short, topical presentations from each expert will address a wide range of local concerns, including the documented rise in average temperatures in New Jersey, the unprecedented increase in public awareness of weather phenomena, the connection between land development and flooding in New Jersey, the public health implications of post-traumatic stress in the wake of natural disasters, climate-change best practices for the business community, and the important, but often overlooked, role of human relationships in preparing for and recovering from severe climatic events.

Panel moderator Dr. Meyin Wu, director of the Passaic River Institute and professor of Biology and Molecular Biology at MSU, will open the forum for public discussion and questions from the audience following the completion of presentations.

This event will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will conclude at or after 8:30 p.m.  The Somerset County Environmental Education Center is located at 190 Lord Stirling Road in Basking Ridge, NJ. Advanced registration is strongly recommended. Please register online at GreatSwamp.org, or call 973-538-3500 x22 to register by telephone.

Registration is free of charge, but voluntary donations are gratefully accepted.

Environmental Curiosities: Getting Acquainted With Climate Change in NJ

Climate change is on our minds. Is it on yours?

GSWA has hosted three informational events about the topic of climate change over the past year. And instead of focusing on melting of polar ice caps or the vagaries of flood or drought conditions in other far-flung parts of the world, we have tried to keep our discussions local.

In the spring of 2012 we invited Professor Anthony Brocolli from Rutgers University to talk about climate change and its effects on weather patterns here in New Jersey.  We learned much more about the upward trend in average temperature in our state, as well as which weather events could and could not be reliably linked to this trend.

Later in the fall, we brought Professor Joseph J. Seneca, also from Rutgers, in to discuss the economic impact of climate change and changing weather patterns in our region. For better or worse, this discussion took place just a few short weeks after Superstorm Sandy—a hurricane that delivered devastation to our own back yards and sounded climate change alarm bells all over the world. That talk helped us better understand the economic rationale for addressing global climate change issues, and how New Jersey's own options for climate intervention might evolve.

Last month, a third Rutgers professor, Dr. Ken Miller, stopped by to help us understand how climate change and progressive sea level rise along New Jersey's coast not only exacerbated the effects of Hurricane Sandy, but also threatens future changes to New Jersey's weather experience and the state's natural geography.

We want to keep this discussion moving forward. That is why this month's Environmental Curiosities is about giving you more climate change information to consider. While the articles listed below may not specifically mention conditions in New Jersey, the ideas and situations they relate could easily apply to us.

Read these articles from Science Daily and tell us what you think. 'Like' our Facebook page—facebook.com/GreatSwamp—and leave a comment on our timeline. Or, send an email message to GSWA Communications Director Steve Reynolds at sreynolds@greatswamp.org.

Articles

• “Climate Change Beliefs of Independent Voters Shift With the Weather” (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124122934.htm
• “Cities Affect Temperatures for Thousands of Miles” (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130127134210.htm
• “Climate Change Projected to Alter Indiana Bat Maternity Range” (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130128191233.htm. Note: The Indiana bat is native to parts of the Great Swamp and is a federally endangered species.
• “Climate Change Impacts to U.S. Coasts Threaten Public Health, Safety and Economy, Report Finds“ (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130128143010.htm
• “Groundwater Depletion Linked to Climate Change“ (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130128104747.htm
• “Spring May Come Earlier to North American Forests, Increasing Uptake of Carbon Dioxide“ (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130129171427.htm
• “New Study Highlights Impact of Environmental Change On Older People“ (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130131084424.htm

Did You Know? ...About Spruce Trees

by Jim Northrop

For many American homes, the centerpiece of Christmas decoration is the Christmas tree, often a spruce tree, cut locally. Year-round, spruces are trees ornamentally popular with landscapers. They are admired for their all-seasons green color, and their tidy symmetrical growth profile. They have dense branches, but they are easy to decorate.

We should know that the spruce tree has more talents than just looking pretty. Spruce is very useful as a construction wood. It has many uses as lumber, ranging from general construction work, to crates, to highly specialized uses in wooden aircraft and as a "tonewood" in many musical instruments (including guitars, mandolins, cellos, violins and the soundboard at the heart of a piano, and the harp. The Wright Brothers' first aircraft was built of spruce.

Spruce is one of the most important woods for paper making, as it has long wooden fibers which bind together to make strong paper. Spruces are commonly used in mechanical pulping as they are easily bleached. Spruces are cultivated over large areas as pulpwood.

Interestingly, the fresh shoots of many spruces are a natural source of vitamin C. Captain Cook made alcoholic sugar-based spruce beer during his sea voyages in order to prevent scurvy in his crew. The leaves and branches, or the essential oils, can be used to brew spruce beer.

Native Americans in New England took the sap to make a gum which was used for various purposes, and which was the basis of the first commercial production of chewing gum. Also, the resin of spruce trees was used in the manufacture of pitch, at least until petrochemicals were found to be better for this purpose.

We have many varieties of spruce trees in the Great Swamp Watershed. Sadly, many of them were damaged or destroyed recently by Hurricane Sandy. The root systems of spruce trees are often quite shallow, making them quite susceptible to high winds. Their graceful presences will be missed for a long time, as it will take decades for new growth to fully replace them.

Editor's note: Some spruce trees, like the Norway spruce (Picea abies), were introduced to North America from Europe, and are now considered invasive species. As they invade an area, the Norway creates a new habitat that few native plants can tolerate. The soil surrounding stand of Norway spruce often becomes acidic and devoid of many important nutrients. Shade canopy also becomes very dense, preventing light from reaching native plants close to the forest floor.

Thankfully, homeowners and landscapers can avoid perpetuating the spread of invasive spruces by choosing to plant native spruce species instead. The red spruce (Picea rubens) is one of these native species. Its natural range stretches from the Canadian Maritimes through the Appalachian Mountains to western North Carolina. The red spruce thrives on moist, sandy loam, and also on dry rocky slopes. These trees can reach heights of 60 to 80 ft.

Volunteer Use Thanksgiving Weekend to Give Back to GSWA

by Hazel England, Land Steward and Director of Education and Outreach, GSWA

Some came to connect with family and give back to the watershed by working together.  Some came to catch a break from family after the long Thanksgiving holiday; others because they are longtime members and volunteers, or because they were offered extra credit by savvy Environmental Science high school teachers.  Some even came for the coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts!  Whatever reason, a lot of volunteers  turned out on Sunday, November 25 for an outdoor workday at the Great Swamp Watershed Association’s Conservation Management Area.

Check out photos from our workday event on Flickr!

Once again our volunteers re-created a one-mile trail first laid out in early 2011.  It’s been repaired three times now; once after Hurricane Irene flooding devastated it, again after the losses from the 2011 Halloween snowstorm blocked it, and now following Superstorm Sandy.

More than 30 adults, teenagers, and kids spent a cold Sunday working in crews.  Each crew was headed by a chainsaw expert, and included some strong muscles for moving large chain-sawed logs.  The rest of each team was composed of support workers who raked trails free of downed sticks, branches, and fallen leaves.    Many of the logs the crew cut up were used to edge and delineate our CMA trails, or piled to make giant brush piles which other volunteers will clear away at future workdays.

A few volunteer groups worked to remove felled trees from multiple points along the 7,500-foot deer fence that encloses 28 acres of the CMA.  Blow-downs from Sandy breached the seven-year-old fence in several places, and both temporary and permanent fence repairs were required after much of the wood was removed.  Some truly giant trees subsumed stretches of fence more than thirty feet long.  In these spots, where volunteers could not venutre and the fence remains pinned to the ground, hungry deer now have free reign to decimate all of the protected native vegetation GSWA has been trying to restore.  Scores of fresh hoof prints inside our fence perimeter testify to this particular problem.

There were a few other places where our ruined fence could only be pulled up off the ground and onto temporary supports.  GSWA will need an emergency infusion of cash to purchase new permanent support posts, and entirely new fencing that is not riddled with large, deer-sized holes.

Many of our most faithful volunteers showed up to work.  There were also many new faces joining us thanks to a last-minute appeal for volunteers distributed by local media outlets.  Regulars and first-timers worked side by side, and it was truly humbling for me as GSWA’s land manager to see so many people giving back to an open-space property that serves so many local communities.

Now that much of the damage wrought by Superstorm Sandy has been repaired, we hope that you and many others will visit and take a walk along our newly restored and opened trail system.  As you stroll along, check out all the fresh sawdust—a clear sign of all the busy beavers who worked so hard Thanksgiving weekend to the benefit of all.  Words cannot express how grateful I am for all our committed volunteers!

Rest and Be Thankful?

Okay, but consider volunteering at our Conservation Management Area (CMA) on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) will be more thankful!

GSWA will hold a post-hurricane clean up and workday at its Conservation Management Area (CMA) on Sunday, November 25, 2012.

The workday will run 9:30 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

The CMA is located at 1 Tiger Lily Lane in Harding, although many GPS systems place the location in Morristown.

There are tasks for all—from brush cleanup to moving chainsawed logs off the trail, to boardwalk repairs and fencing renovations—in the wake of Sandy's unwelcome redesign of the property.

We will have work gloves, simple tools, and snacks but if there are any chainsaw experts out there we could use their EXPERT help.

All those intersted in helping out are asked to email GSWA's Director of Outreach and Education Hazel England (hazele[at]greatswamp.org) with their availability.  Please provide some indication of the type of tasks you prefer—light-duty or heavy-duty. It's also helpful to let Hazel know how many other volunteers you plan to bring with you.

Anyone who has NOT volunteered for us in the past will need to read and sign a volunteer release form, so please RSVP if you are thinking about attending.

Coffee and donuts will be available starting at 9:00 a.m.

This is your chance to get away from family after the long Thanksgiving holiday, or an opportunity to bring all those relatives together to work as a team to help recover and restore the public trails at the CMA.