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Archive for the 'riparian mitigation candidate project' Category
Tags: new jersey conservation foundation
Posted in land preservation project, NRD settlement candidate project, riparian mitigation candidate project
 Swamp pink photo courtesy of USFWS This 96-acre property, located within the New Jersey Conservation Foundation‘s Burden Hill Project Area, is located in Alloway Township near the Thundergut Pond Wildlife Management Area. It is approximately 80% forested, and contains part of a federally listed Swamp pink (Helonias bullata) population estimated at 1900 plants. It is adjacent to preserved farmland.
In 2008 the NJDEP designated parts of the property as Exceptional value wetlands with some Intermediate value wetlands as well. Important tributaries of Alloway Creek flow through the property, some of which support thriving Swamp pink populations on adjacent parcels of land. This critical forest habitat can support other threatened species as well, such as Red-headed woodpecker, Bald eagle, and Cooper’s hawk.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service considers this property to be of the highest conservation priority in accordance with its Swamp pink recovery plan.
Ecosystem services provided: groundwater recharge, carbon sequestration, riparian buffer, federal threatened species habitat protection
Total project cost: $997,500
Status: The property owner has filed an application to sell with Green Acres and the Natural Lands Trust. Green Acres is presently unable to move on the property due to unavailability of funding.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources.
Tags: u.s. fish and wildlife service
Posted in biological diversity, ecological restoration project, NRD settlement candidate project, recreation & aethestics, riparian mitigation candidate project, water protection, filtration, & control, wetlands mitigation project
The Mill Dam Fish Passage Restoration Project will install a denil-type fish ladder within the Mill Dam to provide access to spawning and rearing habitat for migrating fish and would benefit migratory fish populations that historically spawned in the Rancocas River including: alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), American shad (Alosa sapidissima), and American eel (Anguilla rostrata). The fish ladder at Mill Dam would provide access to approximately 11 miles of spawning habitat for alewife, American shad, and American eel.
Currently, alewife are able to use the Rancocas River up to Mill Dam. However, alewife are prevented from using areas upstream of the Mill Dam due to the obstruction. As a result of the Mill Dam, hundreds of alewife congregate at the base of the dam every spring during the spawning run. In addition, a fish ladder was constructed at the Smithville Dam approximately 5 miles upstream in anticipation of fish passage being provided at Mill Dam. The land use around the Rancocas River includes agriculture, open space, and residential and commercial development.
Improving migratory fish access into the Rancocas River will enhance the biological diversity of the riverine ecosystem, also benefitting wading birds and other wetland-dependent wildlife species. As studies have shown, the reintroduction of herring populations through spawning runs not only makes available the juvenile herrings as a food supply for other marine or freshwater fish, but other life stages of the herring provide additional foraging opportunities for birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Thus, the number of fish species and piscivorous birds upstream of the dam will rise due to the overall improvement in the health of the Rancocas River’s riparian system as natural aquatic food webs are rebuilt.
Recreational fishing opportunities for the public will increase with future “herring runs.” The recreational fishery for striped bass (Morone saxatilius) will benefit from the increases in aquatic biodiversity and forage fish populations. A variety of warm-water fish (e.g., chain pickerel (Esox niger), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), largemouth bass (M. salmoides)) will feed on alewife, thus providing recreational fishing opportunities for both anadromous and warm-water fisheries.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Biological Diversity: Ecosystem restoration- restoring spawning grounds, restoring forage for upstream species
Recreation and Aesthetics: Public access- recreational fishing
Total Project Cost: $500,000
Status: The project has completed conceptual designs and is finalizing engineering designs for the project. Project construction can begin when funding sources are in place.
If you would like further information about this project, contact Conservation Resources.
Tags: rahway river association, wma 07 (arthur kill)
Posted in biological diversity, climate stabilization and/or air pollution mitigation project, ecological restoration project, projects funded by conservation resources, riparian mitigation candidate project, water protection, filtration, & control, wetlands mitigation project
In 2008, CRI facilitated a $42,000 payment for this project from a previously collected NRD settlement.
This exciting project will restore a portion of the headwaters of the Rahway River.
Over the past several years, Millburn Township has been working with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to design a stream restoration project that would reduce stormwater runoff and restore the historic hydrology at Old Short Hills Park. The project includes creating a meandering stream that will connect two existing ponds and replacing an existing water control structure. The new stream will be lined with attractive native wetland trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses. The project also entails removing silt from one of the ponds to restore original depth in order to improve water quality and habitat for native aquatic species.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Climate Stabilization and Air Pollution Mitigation: Carbon sequestration- aforestation
Water Protection, Filtration, and Control: Water quality and quantity- wetland restoration, protection of headwaters, riparian land protection
Biological Diversity: habitat- protecting aquatic and riparian habitat, ecosystem restoration
Total Project Cost: $94,300
In 2008, Conservation Resources Inc. helped to facilitate a $42,000 contribution to this project from the NJDEP Office of Natural Resource Restoration.
Status: Project is fully funded and restoration is underway.
If you would like further information about this project, contact Conservation Resources.
Tags: musconetcong watershed association
Posted in biological diversity, ecological restoration project, recreation & aethestics, riparian mitigation candidate project, water protection, filtration, & control, wetlands mitigation project
In 2010, CRI awarded $3500 to this project through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program.
The Musconetcong River runs 42 miles from Lake Hopatcong to the Delaware River, the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi. Over 24 miles of the Musconetcong River are designated as part of the National Wild and Scenic River System due to the remarkable recreational and scenic characteristics of this watercourse. It is the existence of the Warren Glen Dam that ends a 20 mile stretch of this Wild and Scenic River. The Musconetcong River Restoration Partnership believes that the removal of the Warren Glen and Hughesville Dams would add up to 6 additional miles of river to the National Wild and Scenic River System.
The goal of this project is to complete a feasibility study to evaluate restoration and engineering requirements for the Warren Glen and Hughesville Dam removals, and to complete removal of the remnants of the Rieglesville Dam. The feasibility study will include a survey of the dams, including impoundments and extensive diversions, sediment survey and analysis, and a conceptual design of restoration at Warren Glen and Hughesville Dams.
The successful completion of this project will improve fish passage, restore natural sediment transfer, restore floodplain wetlands, improve water quality, restore aquatic habitat, improve forage for raptors, and reduce public safety risk.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration, and Control: Water quality-protection of headwaters, wetland restoration; Water quantity-restoration of natural water flow, increased aquatic habitat
Biological Diversity: Habitat- extend aquatic habitat for fish spawning and raptor forage
Recreation and Aesthetics: expand area designated as part of National Wild and Scenic River system
Total Project Cost: $571,169 The Musconetcong Watershed Association received $50,000 in funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Musconetcong River Restoration Partnership is seeking matching funds in the amount of $50,000. Non-federal matching funds will help the Partnership’s application to the NOAA Open Rivers Initiative Grant Program to compete for funding.
Status: Removal of the Riegelsville Dam is expected by late summer of 2011.
If you would like further information about this project, contact Conservation Resources.
Tags: stony brook millstone watershed association, wma 10 (millstone)
Posted in ecological restoration project, franklin parker small grants program, NRD settlement candidate project, projects funded by conservation resources, riparian mitigation candidate project
 Pike Run at high flow conditions Pike Run, in Montgomery Township, Somerset County, has been adversely affected by upstream development. Encroaching development and its associated non-porous pavement have resulted in stormwater being diverted directly into the stream through stormwater pipes, instead of infiltrating through soil. Flash flows during and after storm events have eroded the stream banks, incised the stream, and flushed out stream sediment. This has resulted in a greatly straightened stream that has been eroded down to bedrock and is disconnected from its flood plain.
Reconnecting Pike Run to its flood plain along a 1400 foot segment would allow high stormwater flows to dissipate in a safe and natural way, reduce flooding potential, reduce erosion, and protect installed instream structures.
The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association has started a multi-phase restoration project of Pike Run at Montgomery Park in partnership with Montgomery Township and the NJDEP. The first three phases have been completed. The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association is currently seeking funding for Phase 4.
- Phase 1, restoration of a 1.27 acre wetland meadow;
- Phase 2, creation of instream habitat and a meandering stream flow pattern through the use of single wing deflectors and cover logs;
- Phase 3, live stakes planted on the streambanks alongside each instream structure and along the restored wetland meadow to further stabilize Pike Run’s stream banks;
- Phase 4, reconnect Pike Run to its flood plain.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration & Control: Water quality and quantity- stream buffers, stormwater management, groundwater recharge; Flood control- wetlands protection, riparian land protection
Climate Stabilization and Air Pollution Mitigation: carbon sequestration- meadow restoration
Total Project Cost: $630,000
In 2008, CRI granted $3,000 to the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association for this project
through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program.
Status: In order to begin Phase 4, the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association needs to hire a consultant to design the reconnection, run a stream modeling program to make sure that there will be no detrimental effects, submit permits to NJDEP for approval, and hire a contractor to conduct the fieldwork.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources Inc.
Tags: saddler's woods conservation association, wma 18 (lower delaware)
Posted in biological diversity, climate stabilization and/or air pollution mitigation project, ecological restoration project, franklin parker small grants program, NRD settlement candidate project, projects funded by conservation resources, recreation & aethestics, riparian mitigation candidate project, water protection, filtration, & control
 Saddler’s Woods surrounds the headwater spring of the main branch of the Newton Creek, called Saddler’s Run, which is a tributary of the Delaware River in Camden County, NJ, and contains an old growth forest, young woodlands and wetlands all located within five miles of Philadelphia. The 15 acre parcel is permanently protected by a conservation easement. Saddler’s Woods was officially named in January of 2004 to honor Joshua Saddler, a runaway slave who escaped a Maryland plantation with his wife and two daughters in the early 1800s. Saddler eventually earned his freedom and thrived, farming on the border of the woods. Saddler attempted to make protections for the woods when he wrote into his will in 1868 that “to commit no waste,… no heirs shall cut the timber thereon.” -JS 1868
This habitat enhancement project is crucial for the restoration of the Newton Creek Watershed, which is an essential habitat for a large number of migratory songbirds, waterfowl and fish and necessary in order to help protect the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy Aquifer, from which many in the region – 472,000 people in Camden county alone – draw their drinking water.
It is imperative to rehabilitate one of the last remaining examples of old growth forest in the Eastern United States. Less than 0.05% of the forests in the Eastern United States can be considered old growth which makes this forest a superlative habitat. With its unique historical and cultural contexts, Saddler’s Woods merits the highest committed investment for its rehabilitation.
Saddler’s Woods Conservation Association ( SWCA) will:
- remove debris and eradicate invasive species throughout 15 acres of forest and plant native species in four acres of target restoration zones;
- plant native vegetation along the stream bank and install coir logs along the streambank to control erosion;
- restore and maintain over 1600 linear feet of trail including a new bike path of 1,000 linear feet;
- continue to improve the volunteer center facility and acquire tools and equipment for volunteer restoration activities;
- conduct species surveys to document flora and fauna, which will guide restoration initiatives like the newly erected deer exclosure;
- acquire educational items, update the trail map, and infrastructure for the new Haddon Township Environmental & Historical center; and
- expand operations to grow the organization with personnel and other critical operational needs.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration & Control: Water quantity- protection of groundwater recharge area, stream buffers, reforestation, avoided deforestation; Flood control- riparian land protection
Climate Stabilization and Air Pollution Mitigation: carbon sequestration- avoided deforestation
Biological Diversity: Habitat- protection of old growth forest; Ecosystem resilience, pest control, disease control- ecosystem-level management
Recreation and Aesthetics: Environmental education
Total Project Cost: $115,000
CRI has provided continued funding for this project through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program:
2007- $3000
2008- $2500
2009- $2000
2010- $2000
2011- $2500
Status: This project will be executed in concert with other restoration projects, which will leverage costs and expand the impact of SWCA’s restoration efforts.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources.
Tags: edison wetlands association, wma 09 (lower raritan south river and lawrence)
Posted in biological diversity, completed projects, ecological restoration project, NRD settlement candidate project, projects funded by conservation resources, recreation & aethestics, riparian mitigation candidate project, water protection, filtration, & control, wetlands mitigation project
Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) conceived the ambitious Raritan River Walkway and waterfront Brownfields-to-Greenfields (B2G) project in 2002. The visionary project broke ground in August 2009, and its first phase was complete by year-end. By transforming the garbage and toxic waste of Edison Landfill and Kin-Buc Landfill Superfund Site into gardens and rich wildlife habitat, the Raritan River Walkway is creating a national B2G model for redeveloping industrial sites into safe public greenfields with riverfront access and recreation. EWA announced the walkway’s completion with a press conference onsite in late 2009 with Assemblymen Peter Barnes and Patrick Diegnan, then-Mayor Jun Choi, and Conservation Resources president Michael Catania. The trail formally opened to the public in 2010.
EWA advocated successfully for the Township of Edison and the Middlesex County Freeholders to post for a $508,725 bond and reimbursement, and their advocacy led the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to allocate Natural Resource Damages (NRD) funds to this project. The NRD funding itself came from the Hatco site settlement in Woodbridge, where EWA worked with NJDEP to force a $13.2 million cleanup of PCB lagoons. The state funding was managed by CRI, which worked with NJDEP, EWA and the Township to forge an agreement for the project to begin. The first phase offers a scenic 1,500-foot trail with the first extended public access to Edison’s seven-mile riverfront in Township history. The trail includes kiosks, native wildflowers and butterfly gardens, a footbridge spanning a tidal wetlands inlet along Mill Brook, and a public gazebo.
CRI was able to facilitate a $593,000 regulatory contribution to this emerging greenway and restoration project along the Raritan River.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration & Control: Water quantity- wetland restoration
Biological Diversity: Habitat- restoring native vegetation, protecting aquatic habitat
Recreation & Aesthetics: Public access- hiking trails, access to waterfront; Environmental education- informational displays
Total Project Cost: $870,848
Status: The trail formally opened to the public with a tree-planting ceremony and walkway tour with Edison Mayor Antonia Ricigliano and other elected officials in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in April 2010. The first phase now offers the families of Edison and surrounding areas a public gazebo, swallow nest boxes, native fruit-bearing trees and a butterfly garden, a footbridge over tidal wetlands along the mouth of Mill Creek, and a scenic 1,500-foot trail with the first extended public access to Edison’s seven-mile riverfront in Township history.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources.
Tags: d&r greenway land trust, wma 20 (assiscunk crosswicks and doctors)
Posted in biological diversity, ecological restoration project, franklin parker small grants program, projects funded by conservation resources, recreation & aethestics, riparian mitigation candidate project, supplemental environmental project, water protection, filtration, & control
The restoration of the Blacks Creek waterfront will enhance wildlife habitat, increase the buffering capacity of riparian areas to improve the health of the Upper Delaware Estuary, and create recreational and educational opportunities for the local community and surrounding region of central New Jersey.
This project, sponsored by the D&R Greenway Land Trust, seeks to preserve urban open space, conserve historic structures (a scale house and trestle from the 19th century Camden & Amboy Railroad), restore riparian buffers and native plant communities, and create an interpretive nature trail along Blacks Creek to help promote the appreciation and conservation of natural resources in Bordentown City, as well as provide a walking path through one of the few remaining natural areas of the mostly urbanized city. This trail will comprise the first phase of a larger Blacks Creek Greenway that will eventually extend one mile along Blacks Creek, from Route 130 to Crosswicks Creek, and tie into the newly developed Railroad Avenue Promenade Trail and Thorntown Creek Greenway Trail, as well as the regional Delaware River Heritage Trail that will extend from Trenton to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. This project is listed on both the Bordentown City Open Space Plan and Bicycle/Pedestrian Circulation Element of the Master Plan.
The restoration of the riparian buffers along Blacks Creek will entail: stabilizing the shoreline in areas that are eroding; creating shallow water areas for fish habitat; reducing invasive plant species and replacing with natives to improve wildlife habitat; increasing the width of the buffers where possible to help improve water quality; and creating focused access points to the water for non-motorized boats and wildlife observation.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration & Control: Water quality- riparian buffers, shoreline stabilization, wetlands restoration, protecting aquatic habitat
Biological Diversity: Habitat- restoration of native vegetation; Ecosystem resilience and pest control- removal of invasive plants
Outreach, Recreation & Aesthetics: Environmental education- interpretive nature trail; Public access- hiking trails, access to waterfront
Total Project Cost: $40,000
In 2008, CRI granted this project $3,000 through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program.
Status: Currently, 6 properties along Blacks Creek have been preserved by D&R Greenway and one property has been transferred from PSE&G to the City. D&R Greenway anticipates closing on two additional properties in the near future.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources Inc.
Tags: bergen save the watershed action network, wma 05 (hackensack hudson and pascack)
Posted in climate stabilization and/or air pollution mitigation project, ecological restoration project, franklin parker small grants program, NRD settlement candidate project, projects funded by conservation resources, recreation & aethestics, riparian mitigation candidate project, water protection, filtration, & control
The focus of this project is the development of a regional approach to stormwater/watershed management. Guided by expertise from Rutgers’ Water Resources Program and Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network (SWAN), decision makers and stakeholders will engage in a series of information sharing workshops that generate tangible, time-driven results. The meetings will culminate with on-the-ground projects requiring the installation of a demonstration rain garden or streambank restoration project within each of the four towns. The outcomes generated by these meetings and hands-on projects will be used to develop educational materials and other media communications designed to promote the adoption of these techniques more broadly throughout the community.
The principal audience for the stewardship workshops will be elected municipal officials; Planning Board members; environmental commissioners; Dept. of Public Works personnel; and town professionals such as engineers and planners. For the hands-on rain garden and streambank projects Bergen SWAN will reach out to educators, garden clubs, community organizations, and other stakeholders for their input and participation.
There is a dire need to bring new ideas on watershed management to local officials and decision makers. Currently, the prevailing mindset concerning flood control and stream management is to regularly dredge stream beds and move the water quickly down the line to the next town. Such traditional methods inadequately address peak flows and quantity, do not at all address water quality, and seriously damage and stress existing ecological communities.
By providing information on best management practices and low impact stormwater management systems, and by promoting watershed-friendly strategies – floodplain buyout programs, humane geese population control, water conservation inside and outside of homes and buildings, the adoption of no-mow zones, native plants, smaller lawn areas, and other alternative landscaping techniques — municipal officials, land managers, and others will be able to build their capacity for addressing stormwater problems with more creative, long range solutions.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration & Control: Water quality- protection of groundwater recharge areas, restoration of stream buffers, stream bank stabilization, prevention of sedimentation, stormwater projects, reduction of runoff
Climate Stabilization and Air Pollution Mitigation: Carbon sequestration- aforestation
Outreach, Recreation & Aesthetics: Environmental education- workshops/training sessions
Total Project Cost: $30,600
CRI granted $4,000 to Bergen SWAN in 2007, and another $4,000 in 2008 for this project through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources Inc.
Tags: branch brook park alliance, wma 04 (lower passaic and saddle)
Posted in ecological restoration project, franklin parker small grants program, NRD settlement candidate project, projects funded by conservation resources, recreation & aethestics, riparian mitigation candidate project, water protection, filtration, & control, wetlands mitigation project
Waterways constitute Branch Brook Park’s most important ecological resource and one of its most important historic attributes. Historically, the Olmsted firm envisioned Branch Brook Park’s continuous waterway system as its aesthetic spine. Over the years, the system has become stagnant and polluted, partially filled in, and subject to reduced water flow.
Restoration of this natural system is critical to the Branch Brook Park Alliance’s plans to preserve Branch Brook Park and catalyze the economic development of the surrounding residential community. Restoration of the waterways and the riparian buffer will not only improve the appearance and increase public use and enjoyment of the park, but also benefit the local and regional ecosystem by improving water quality, lowering nutrients and sedimentation, increasing oxygen and improving the trophic level both in the watercourse and the watershed.
A healthy watercourse will support a wider diversity of aquatic life and improve habitats for flora and fauna in the park. The restored waterways will also have the potential to support environmental education activities along with increased opportunities for bird watching, fishing and boating.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Water Protection, Filtration, & Control: Water quality and quantity- protection of groundwater recharge areas, restoration of stream buffers and watershed
Outreach, Recreation & Aesthetics: Public access- access to waterfront with associated recreational activities; Environmental education
Total Project Cost: $281,000 for the feasibility study
CRI has provided funding for this project through its Franklin Parker Small Grants program: $4,000 in 2008, and $2,500 in 2009.
Status: A waterway feasibility study is currently underway. The Branch Brook Park Alliance will also be seeking additional funds for full restoration of the waterway.
If you would like further information about this project, please contact Conservation Resources Inc.
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