In 2010, CRI awarded the New Jersey Audubon Society $16,000 through its RPWHP grant program. This grant covered 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. This project provided additional critical habitat for grassland-dependent birds, and helped to improve water quality and reduce erosion.
Ecosystem Services Provided:
Biological Diversity: Habitat- grassland restoration, grassland bird habitat
Total Project Cost: $32,000 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 included the NJ chapter of Pheasants Forever, which donated $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.
Status: Seeding is now complete at Six Mile Run with 153 acres of native warm season grasses in place.
The tall grasses at the Middlebush site and the starting grasses at the location seeded during the spring of 2011 tell the story. The 300-acre restoration project along Six Mile Run is now complete, and NJAS’s Citizen Science group should be seeing some amazing species next spring!
