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Archive for the 'ecological restoration project' Category
Tags: new jersey audubon society
Posted in biological diversity, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources
In 2010, CRI awarded the New Jersey Audubon Society $16,000 through its RPWHP grant program. This grant will cover 50% of the costs of this grassland restoration project.
The Six Mile Run Grassland restoration project encompasses 153 acres of State-owned land in Franklin Township, Somerset County and is part of a larger grassland restoration effort that generated over 300 acres of grassland habitat along Six Mile Run. This site has been identified as a priority site for grassland restoration in Central New Jersey.
The first 97 acres were cleared and seeded in 2008, with the remaining 56 acres targeted for planting in 2010. Prior to seeding, 11 acres of Eastern red cedar needs to be removed and 45 acres need to be brush hogged. The entire site will then be treated with herbicide and planted with native grassland species. This project will provide additional critical habitat for grassland-dependent birds as well as help to improve water quality and erosion.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Biological Diversity: Habitat- grassland restoration, grassland bird habitat
Total Project Cost: $32,000
Status: NJAS received a 50% matching NRCS WHIP grant on behalf of the State of New Jersey to assist in the completion of this project. In 2008 NJAS obtained a $2,000 grant from USFWS to assist in the seeding of the original 97 acres. Project partners include the NJ chapter of Pheasants Forever, which is donating $500 towards seeding of the 56 acres, and Advanced Forestry Solutions, which contributed $15,000 of in-kind services toward the clearing of the first 97 acres. The remaining acreage will be cleared during the summer of 2010.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources.
Tags: friends of hopewell valley open space
Posted in biological diversity, climate stabilization and/or air pollution mitigation project, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources
In 2010, CRI awarded the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space $17,500.00 through its RPWHP Grant program. This grant will cover 50% of the costs of the reforestation of 8.3acres of abandoned agricultural fields to restore contiguous forest cover at Baldpate Mountain Park.
Baldpate Mountain and its vicinity have been identified as a priority forest conservation area in the RPWHP Forest Conservation Plan. There are several fields near the summit of the mountain that have been utilized for agricultural or programmatic reasons (e.g., historic Kuser homestead, viewshed of Delaware River). Two of these fields totaling 8.3 acres have been identified for forest restoration to improve connectivity of large forest areas that surround these fields .
This project will convert these fields to forest habitat by planting 1,660 native trees and shrubs (planting density of 200 per acre) and fencing field perimeters to avoid deer browsing on plantings and naturally recruited native trees and shrubs. Periodic control of invasive species and maintenance of exclosure fencing will occur as needed in 2011 and beyond.
Baldpate Mountain is known to harbor nesting Kentucky and Hooded Warblers. The increase in continuity of forest cover will ultimately provide additional habitat and reduce forest edges that are avoided by forest interior birds.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Climate Stabilization and Air Pollution Mitigation: Carbon sequestration- reforestation
Biological Diversity: Habitat- restoration of forest bird habitat; Ecosystem restoration- invasive plant removal, forest restoration
Total Project Cost: $35,000
Status: May–June 2010: Identify fencing contractor and have fences installed; August 2010: Mow project area to prepare for planting; September–October 2010: Install native trees and shrubs; November 2010: Prepare brief report with maps to document project success. Ongoing maintenance: Exclosure maintenance and invasive species control will be conducted as necessary to allow establishment and growth of native plantings.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources.
Posted in biological diversity, climate stabilization and/or air pollution mitigation project, ecological restoration project, recreation & aethestics, water protection, filtration, & control
The proposed project is to design, construct, and plant a scrub/shrub coastal maritime forest with indigenous coastal species on a barren dirt lot located between the Bradley Beach Boardwalk and Ocean Avenue. The lot is composed of hard-packed dirt and is used for summer staff parking, winter storage of beach equipment, gravel pile placement, and access to the beach for heavy equipment and emergency vehicles. The project would provide valuable forage and staging habitat for coastal resident and migratory avian and insect species and other coastal detritivores. As part of the project, an ancillary boardwalk consisting of eco-friendly materials will be incorporated into the design to provide public and handicap access from the existing boardwalk, through the coastal maritime forest, to the adjacent Fletcher Lake Park. In addition, stabilization and re-vegetation of the shorelines directly adjacent to the proposed maritime forest (approximately 100’ feet on each side of an existing flume bordering Lake Fletcher) will be completed.
The maritime forest will provide 0.4 acres of valuable coastal and beach/back dune habitat for resident and migratory birds and insects (monarch butterflies, dragonflies), forage base (fruits and berries) for important coastal species, refuge from predators during migration, and staging areas for herons and egrets. The project will also provide enhanced storm and flood protection to local residents, and improved lake water quality and coastal/marine habitat through the elimination of runoff associated with the existing lot and increasing infiltration, as well as the natural treatment of approximately 430,125 gallons of runoff annually. Improvements to water quality and the stabilization/ re-vegetation of the shoreline directly adjacent to the forest will also assist in improving critical resident and migratory fish habitat and will improve the aquatic environment of finfish and shellfish utilization.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Climate Stabilization and Air Pollution Mitigation: Carbon sequestration- afforestation using scrub/shrub coastal maritime species
Water Protection, Filtration & Control: Water quality and flood control-reduction of runoff, improved infiltration
Biological Diversity: Habitat-improved habitat for migratory birds, insects, migratory fish, finfish, and shellfish
Recreation and Aesthetics: Public access- eco-friendly boardwalk provides public and handicap access from existing boardwalk through forest to adjacent park
Total Project Cost: $135,000-150,000
Status: The project is supported by project partners: the Borough of Bradley Beach, the Bradley Beach Environmental Commission and Shade Tree Commission, NOAA, EPA, US Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service, NJDEP, Monmouth County, Pinelands Nursery and Supply, the American Littoral Society, and the US Army Corps.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources.
Tags: carbon sequestration and restoration grant program, new jersey audubon society
Posted in climate stabilization and/or air pollution mitigation project, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources
In 2009 this project was awarded $7500 from CRI and Elizabethtown Gas through CRI’s Carbon Sequestration and Restoration Grant Program.
New Jersey Audubon Society is restoring 40 acres of warm season-grasses at their recently acquired Wattles Preserve. This preserve will serve as the new location of the NJAS Conservation Program. The warm-season grasses will be harvested and pelletized and used to fuel a biomass-pellet furnace that will heat the new NJAS offices. The grant funds will be used to pay for the restoration project as well as proposed monitoring of the biomass harvested at the site – one measure of the amount of carbon sequestered.
Tags: carbon sequestration and restoration grant program, woodbridge township
Posted in climate stabilization and/or air pollution mitigation project, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources, water protection, filtration, & control
In 2009 this project was awarded $5000 from CRI and Elizabethtown Gas through CRI’s Carbon Sequestration and Restoration Grant Program.
This is a unique carbon sequestration project designed to trap carbon dioxide and reduce greenhouse gases in the forest and surrounding region.
CRI is working with the Township of Woodbridge, and in consultation with the NJDEP Office of Climate and Energy, to document the baseline condition of the property to be restored, including soil type, management history, baseline carbon levels, and species inventory.
In April of 2010, project volunteers planted 2,400 Sweet gum, Black gum and Red maple trees. The Pin Oak Forest, a former polluted area which is home to the headwaters of the Woodbridge River, is now a reclaimed and nearly pristine open space resource. The two-acre planting area will be monitored over the next two years to determine how much greenhouse gas is being sequestered by the growing trees.
Click on picture for slideshow.
Tags: carbon sequestration and restoration grant program, d&r greenway land trust
Posted in climate stabilization and/or air pollution mitigation project, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources
In 2009 this project was awarded $5000 from CRI and Elizabethtown Gas through CRI’s Carbon Sequestration and Restoration Grant Program.
This St. Michael’s site was used historically as a farm dump, dating back to the latter part of the nineteenth century. It was largely unmanaged during the last part of the 20th century. In order to facilitate cleanup in 2009, all vegetation was removed from the site, the dump was cleaned up, new soil was brought in, and the site was seeded.
When D&R Greenway received a grant from CRI’s Carbon Sequestration program in 2009, the site was fenced and planted with tree and shrub seedlings. It is now being used as a demonstration site for restoring landscapes and sequestering carbon.
Native shrubs and trees planted include:
- Shagbark hickory
- Ironwood
- Flowering dogwood
- Persimmon
- Beech
- Red cedar
- Tulip
- Virginia pine
- Chestnut oak, Red oak, White oak, Black oak, Pin oak, Swamp white oak
- Green ash
- Black gum
- Sycamore
- Shadbush
- Winterberry
- Spicebush
- Bayberry
- Arrowwood
- Elderberry
- Swamp rose
- Staghorn sumac
Tags: delaware riverkeeper network, franklin parker small grants program, wma 16 (cape may), wma 17 (maurice salem and cohansey), wma 18 (lower delaware)
Posted in NRD settlement candidate project, biological diversity, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources, recreation & aethestics, water protection, filtration, & control
Clean and healthy water in our rivers and streams is critical for the ecosystems, the wildlife, and the communities of the Delaware River region. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) works to protect the Delaware from pollution discharges, whether they be small spills or major catastrophic events.
When there is a pollution discharge, every moment counts. It is critical that agencies are alerted immediately; that clean-up efforts are identified and undertaken and when they are failing that the problem is identified and corrected; and that every injured animal and habitat is assisted and documented to ensure their greatest survival and to ensure that the polluters are held fully accountable for the harm.
The Delaware River Safe Water Action Team (DR SWAT) is a proactive initiative that includes the creation of a structured, permanent, and ongoing catastrophic response program, including a DRN Emergency Response Command Center that can kick into high gear at a moment’s notice.
DR SWAT will:
- supply agency approved protocols and trained volunteers at the ready in the wake of a catastrophic pollution event;
- coordinate and interact with agency emergency responders in order to inform and expand the success of their effort;
- inform press, public, and decision-makers of ongoing pollution incidents;
- inform the government natural resource damage assessment process;
- effectively engage the public which is energized and concerned in the wake of a catastrophe; and
- document the added resources that a volunteer network can bring in the event of a catastrophic pollution incident, in order to encourage the use of this model in other watersheds and communities.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration & Control: Water quality- protection of headwaters, wetlands protection
Biological Diversity: Habitat- federal threatened species habitat protection, protection of aquatic habitat; Ecosystem restoration- cleanup of catastrophic pollution event
Outreach, Recreation & Aesthetics: Environmental education- volunteer training, providing public with information
Total Project Cost: $88,000
In 2008, CRI awarded $3000 to this project through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program.
Status:
Learning from their experience with the Athos I oil spill and other smaller spills and emergencies that have happened since, the DRN has updated its pollution hotline contacts, increased outreach, and begun staffing the hotline so weekend and evening emergencies are quickly addressed. The Delaware Riverkeeper also serves and is a voting member on the Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory Committee (DRBOSAC) to “provide advice, recommendations, and a ranking of priorities for measures to improve the prevention and response to future oil spills in the Delaware River and Delaware Bay.”
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources Inc.
Tags: bergen save the watershed action network
Posted in ecological restoration project, water protection, filtration, & control
This project is focused on restoring a 2,500 foot section of the bank of the Musquapsink Brook in Westwood. This area has been deeply disturbed through a combination of illegal dumping of residential and landscaping trash and the improper dumping of dredging spoils by the County Mosquito Commission. As a result of these activities, the area along this section of the brook has lost the majority of is natural vegetative cover, and in many places the soil has been degraded by the introduction of construction debris and gravel deposits.
Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network (SWAN) has held an initial in-the-field planning meeting with the property owner – Westwood Regional School District – and they are very excited about moving forward with the project. Students and teachers in biology and environmental science classes will participate in the planning and installation of this restoration project and will utilize the site for ongoing environmental studies programs.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration, and Control: Water quality- buffers to streams, restoration of native vegetation
Total Project Cost: $31,000
Status: Bergen SWAN is hoping to develop detailed plans for the project during the summer of 2010, conduct some work in the fall of 2010, and complete the planting in the spring of 2011.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources Inc.
Tags: franklin parker small grants program, pinelands preservation alliance
Posted in biological diversity, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources
The New Jersey Pinelands contains numerous populations of rare plants that are characteristic of this distinctive region. Some of these populations represent the global stronghold for the species. For several notable species, the Pinelands is the only place in the world where they can be found.
In 2008, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) initiated a partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to create an informal statewide committee of experts to focus on plant conservation, called the Partnerships for Plant Conservation. Using a list of priority sites developed by the DEP, PPA is organizing and implementing in situ management of several high priority rare plant populations. All of the sites require field visits and consultation with ONLM staff, state forest superintendents, and local experts. PPA will organize and supervise volunteers involved with monitoring, data collection and woody plant removal.
Several sites are in Wharton State Forest. Near Atsion, PPA will enhance the habitat for Croton willdenowii, Fimbristylis puberula, Gentiana autumnalis, Ludwigia hirtella, Muhlenbergia torreyana, and possibly Oldenlandia uniflora. Near the abandoned settlement of Friendship, the plan is to restore a dwindling population of Stylisma pickeringii. In both cases, the plan is to organize volunteers to thin the trees and shrubs that are encroaching on the habitat. In Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, in the Cedar Swamp Natural Area, PPA will enlarge the existing habitat for Aristida virgata, Gentiana autumnalis, Scleria minor, and Calamovilfa brevipilis. This will also require tree and shrub removal. In the Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area (East Plains Natural Area) PPA will help with an existing DEP project on behalf of Corema conradii. Fire suppression over the last few decades has allowed trees and shrubs to outcompete the Crowberry population, so, again, removal of woody material is the primary goal.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Biological Diversity: Habitat-federal threatened/endangered species protection; Ecosystem restoration- invasive plant removal
Total Project Cost: $9,900
In 2009, CRI awarded the PPA a $3,500 grant for this project through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program.
Status: This project is in the initial stages of development. PPA is coordinating plans with experts in the field of rare plant conservation.
If you would like further information about this project, contact Conservation Resources Inc.
Tags: franklin parker small grants program, rahway river association, wma 07 (arthur kill)
Posted in NRD settlement candidate project, biological diversity, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources, recreation & aethestics
Brightwood Park is a natural oasis in highly developed Westfield, Union County, New Jersey. It consists of mature forest (upland and wetland), wildflower meadow, lakes and lakeshore shrubland communities. All of these habitats are under immediate threat from an overabundance of white-tailed deer, and infestations of invasive plant species.
White-tailed deer are a very significant problem at Brightwood Park and their removal of much of the native forest understory facilitates invasive species infestations. Numerous native trees, shrubs and herbs show severe deer browse damage (deer preferentially eat native species relative to invasive species). Sun gaps in the tree canopy typically support the growth of young trees that regenerate the forest. However, deer browsing is eliminating growth of new trees — if left unchecked, forest cover will ultimately be eliminated at the Park. The extent of invasive species infestation at Brightwood Park is significant.
The Rahway River Association hopes to accomplish the following goals with this restoration: 
- Eliminate deer browse impacts on habitat with creation of deer exclosure
- Eradicate emerging populations of invasive species
- Reduce private landowner use of invasive species through outreach to Westfield residents
- Encourage volunteer stewardship and study of Brightwood Park by local students (K-12)
- Maintain invasive-free areas
- Initiate a consistent annual volunteer effort toward reduction of invasive species throughout the Park
- Foster native forest regeneration through removal of invasive canopy trees
- Create wildflower meadow in the 1-acre area near the parking lot and lake
- Restore lakeshore shrubland community between the lake and wildflower meadow
- Restore health of lakes by developing and implementing engineering plans to eliminate lake eutrophication
- Restore health of lakes by controlling the resident Canada goose population
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Biological Diversity: Habitat-federal threatened/endangered species habitat protection; Ecosystem restoration- invasive plant removal, native flora restoration
Outreach, Recreation and Aesthetics: Environmental education- outreach to residents, volunteer training
Total Project Cost: $242,400
Status: CRI provided a $4,000 grant for this project in 2007 through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program.
If you would like further information about this project, contact Conservation Resources Inc.
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