A Forest for the Future

New Jersey Audubon, teachers from the Toms River School District, and more than eight hundred middle school and high school students have just planted a new, 13-acre Atlantic white cedar stand at our Hovnanian Sanctuary in Berkeley Township.

We’ve written about work at our 513-acre sanctuary before, but the creation of the Atlantic white cedar forest is an event we’re extra pleased with. Atlantic white cedar forests have declined in New Jersey and throughout the Eastern Seaboard, with only an estimated 20 to 25 percent of their original extent remaining. These forests grow in wet areas and provide excellent habitat for a number of rare and endangered plant and animal species, including Pine Barrens treefrog, Hessel’s hairstreak, barred owls, curly-grass fern, and swamp pink. It is essential to manage and restore Atlantic white cedar systems to ensure the stability of these species.

In a collaboration between NJ Audubon and the Toms River School District, eight hundred students from grades 6 through 8, participated in the four-day event, planting more than 10,000 seedlings. They received help from Toms River High School advanced placement science students who have been studying Atlantic white cedar throughout the school year. These seedlings, most less than a foot tall, will take decades to develop into a mature forest. We hope that the students who helped us plant them will visit the site over the years to check on their progress, and that they will bring their own children to visit the forest someday.

During the four-day event, in addition to planting trees, the students spent time in the field learning about Pinelands flora, fauna, soils, and hydrology. They also were able to learn about careers in conservation from NJ DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, Brian Corvinus and Greg McLaughlin from the NJ Forest Fire Service, Eric Schrading from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Jim Dunne and Courtney Compton from the NJ Division of Forestry.

Funding for the restoration project has been provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest Service, New Jersey DEP’s Critical Habitat fund, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the William Penn Foundation. The education portion the project was funded by The National Park Foundation and the Trust for Public Land with support from the Toms River Regional School district.

Thanks to all of our many partners and volunteers for helping us complete this restoration effort!

Written by Jean Lynch

Things Are “Hopp’n” At The Wattles Stewardship Center

American toads by the thousands are emerging from the newly constructed vernal pool at the Wattles Stewardship Center in Port Murray, NJ!  The young toads are the first of many amphibians species emerging from the newly constructed habitat feature, which is also supporting other amphibians (adults and young) such as green frog, wood frog, spring peeper, Northern gray tree frog, and spotted salamander.

In 2010, NJ Audubon implemented the construction of this vernal pool utilizing funding from USFWS Coastal Program, USFWS Partners in Fish & Wildlife, Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, PSE&G and a donation of plant materials from Pinelands Nursery of Columbus, NJ.  NJ Audubon was able to take an existing (but dilapidated) defunct in-ground swimming pool that was left on site when Audubon took title of the property and convert it into a functional vernal pool. This converted pool is serving not only as prime suitable breeding habitat for amphibian species, but it also is used for educational purposes to promote the importance and ecological significance of vernal pools.

NJ Audubon believes it essential to bring public awareness to vernal pools because, even though the NJ Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act has been in place since 1989, it has done little to protect vernal pools because wetlands smaller than 1 acre (most vernal pools in NJ are less than 0.25 acre) were exempt from the regulatory protection and many were filled. Fortunately, we can re-establish vernal ponds that look and function like their natural counterparts, thus, restoring an important component of the landscape. Incentives to restore or establish seasonal wetlands are plentiful - to prevent flooding by holding rainwater; to have a place for specific species to utilize as part of their lifecycle. Not only do vernal pools provide suitable breeding habitat to various species but they also provide foraging grounds for various wading birds and reptiles. Replacing this vanishing part of our landscape is as rewarding to us as it is essential to the health of the environment.

Also confirmed utilizing the pool are many mico-invertebrates such as dragonfly larvae, water-boatman, water strider, and diving beetles. Additionally great blue heron, mallard duck and snapping turtle have been noted foraging in pool, not to mention several dragonfly, butterfly and songbird species also utilizing the area.

All photos taken at Wattles Stewardship Center by John Parke