Volunteers Help Remove Invasive Plants at the Cape Island Important Bird Area

Two volunteer workdays took place last week at the Cape Island Important Bird Area (IBA) - both aimed at reducing invasive plants that are overtaking habitat. Located at the very tip of NJ, the Cape Island IBA is about 15,000 acres in size and includes a variety of habitat types. This IBA serves as a major migratory stopover site- millions of birds utilize Cape Island during spring and fall migration. Controlling invasive plants to increase and enhance suitable habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife on Cape Island is a stewardship priority for NJ Audubon.

On Thursday, volunteers removed invasive vines like porcelain berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata), sweet-autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) and field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) from young, native trees at a maritime forest restoration site at Cape May Point State Park. This restoration project is a cooperative effort led by NJ Audubon and NJ DEP Division of Parks and Forestry to control invasive plants and support the growth and regeneration of native vegetation.

The focus for Friday: purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata) at the Nature Conservancy’s South Cape May Meadows. Volunteers carefully snipped and bagged the flower heads of purple loosestrife plants before they develop seeds and spread further, while folks with thicker gloves snipped and pulled mile-a-minute, which has a prickly, thorny stem. Mile-a-minute is an emerging invasive plant in Cape Island, which means it is not yet established and widespread, and is found in small patches in the area. In addition to mile-a-minute, kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) is another emerging invasive plant found on Cape Island. We employ an Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) strategy to eliminate the emerging plants immediately to lessen the likelihood that they will become widespread and established.

Cape Island has its fair share of both emerging and widespread invasive plants, and Cape May County has the highest number of reported invasive species in the state- 365 total. To address this growing threat to migratory bird habitat, NJ Audubon organized the Cape Island Habitat Restoration Task Force (CIHRTF). CIHRTF is a newly formed Coordinated Weed Management Area (CWMA), and our partners include NJ state chapter of the Nature Conservancy (TNC), NJ DEP Bureau of Land Management, the NJ DEP Division of Parks and Forestry, and the NJ Invasive Species Strike Team (NJISST). The mission of CIHRTF is to identify, control and monitor invasive plants, restore and improve wildlife habitat, and provide outreach and education to the community of Cape Island. CIHRTF will be hosting more volunteer events and educational workshops throughout the year- please check our webpage for the latest information!

These projects are made possible through the support from: the William Penn Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Atlantic City Electric.

S.A.V.E. Sunflower Update: Eagerly awaiting those fields of gold! Stay tuned for upcoming field trip announcements!

It is now July and the sunflower plants are on the rise! Fueled by excellent spring and summer rains, the young plants are growing beautifully – and quite quickly - across the state and expectations are high for a great harvest.  Nine farmers are participating in the program across the state this year, with over 200 acres planted in Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset, and Cumberland Counties.

Checking in with the farmers this week, Buddy Shimp from Shiloh in Cumberland County tells me that his plants are nearing bloom with heads “the size of mason jars.” Recent rains have allowed the crop planted by Brant Gibbs, from Allamuchy in Warren County, to grow over a foot in the past 10 days. The heads of his sunflowers are “the size of softballs” and should be in full bloom in the next two weeks. Jim Laine and Mark Kirby in Hillsborough are coming along. Tom Zeng’s fields off along Amwell Road in East Amwell are just starting to show their color.  Elsewhere, at Duke Farms and at Liberty Farm in Sandyston, plants are nearing a foot in height and will provide a reliable late crop – and extend the viewing season well into late summer.

The bright yellow heads aren’t quite out yet but keep an eye out as you drive around because they should be out soon. This year we have nine farmers participating across Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset and Cumberland County. With 200 acres planted, it is sure to be a beautiful sight!

Interested in seeing some of these farms for yourself? Well, you’re in luck! NJ Audubon will be organizing field trips to participating farms starting in late July and going through August and September.  Keep an eye on our Blog for dates and registration information.

For those interested in partaking of this wonderful, Jersey Grown product that Supports Agricultural Viability and the Environment (the name of our brand, S.A.V.E.), it is now conveniently available at over 40 locations throughout the state.  To find one near you and learn more about participating farmers please visit us at www.njaudubon.org. 

The long awaited forest thinning project at our Hovnanian Sanctuary is finally underway.

Sunny skies and warm temperatures provided a near perfect day on Wednesday June 22^nd, for NJ Audubon staff members to guide a tour of the forest restoration project that is now underway at the Hovnanian Sanctuary. Attending the tour were representatives from the US Fish & Wildlife Service, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, local residents and reporters. The activity is clearly obvious right from the roadside of Davenport Road in Berkeley Township, so we didn’t need to walk very far before the discussion began.

This stewardship project aims to restore approximately 300 acres of pineland forest to a more typical, fire-adapted savannah type ecosystem. The pinelands forest evolved as an ecosystem that was historically subject to frequent forest fires. As such, the plants and animals native to this area are specialized at surviving in this unique environment, and in fact, their numbers begin to decline when fire is excluded from the region. Our restoration project will provide better habitat for a variety of threatened and endangered species known to exist in the area, but whose populations have declined as a result of the changing environment.

The Hovnanian Sanctuary hasn’t seen forest fires or any other type of active management in at least 30 years. Fire has been excluded from the property due to its proximity to nearby homes. Simply reintroducing fire at this point is not an option due to the excessively high levels of fuel (vegetation) within the forest, and if a fire were to break out now, it might be uncontrollable and catastrophic to the local residents. Therefore, the first step in the process is to mechanically reduce the amount vegetation by selectively removing the less vigorous trees. This is similar to weeding a garden. The process improves spacing among the residual trees and allows sunlight to reach the forest floor. The increased light will stimulate a more diverse herbaceous and shrub layer. Once the fuel load is reduced to a safe level, prescribed burning can be employed to really restore the site to a pinelands fire-adapted ecosystem. The photo at the right shows treatment area on the left vs. untreated on the right.  Note how dense the vegetation has become in the absence of fire or other management.  Overall, the project will take several years to fully implement.

Thinning contractor John deRouville uses a large feller to cut and bundle low quality trees. The trees are chipped onsite and trucked to a facility to be converted into mulch. A recent study was conducted at the University of Chicago using mulch produced from a NJ pinelands thinning project similar to ours. The results indicated that the pine mulch was comparable to peat moss as a soil amendment or growing medium. We think that this is exciting news since the pine mulch is a much more environmentally friendly option than peat moss, which is mined from bogs and considered a non-renewable resource. While it is exciting that we are producing a renewable resource as a byproduct of achieving our restoration goals, it certainly does not generate anywhere near enough revenue to offset the costs associated with completing the project. In fact, without the generous support of our partners, this project would not be feasible. Our partners include; Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, and USDA Forest Service.

We’ll have more updates as the project progresses.

Photos taken by Don Donnelly at the Hovnanian Sanctuary.

Salem River Wildlife Management Area

Suzanne and I left Cape May County well before sunrise for our bird surveys at Salem River Wildlife Management Area. We’re working at three sites with funding from a number of sources, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Corporate Wetland Restoration Program, and the Wildlife Management Institute, and DuPont. Of course, the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife is our main partner on these projects.

Stop 1 (or stop 2, if you count Wawa) was the former dairy site right beside the Salem River in Pilesgrove Township. Shortly after we arrived, we flushed a female turkey and her young—one of whom flew up and landed, looking confused, in a tree. There’s a big kingbird hangout up the hill, near the entrance to the large open field, and we see lots of Fowler’s toads and plenty of mammal scat, too.

We’ve seen a lot of the major grassland birds in the large field—kestrels, grasshopper sparrows, meadowlarks, and more. This site already has a nice grassland component, but we’re working with NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife to expand the size of the grassland. Many grassland species require very large grassland areas to nest, and here we have an opportunity to manage more than 80 acres for grassland-dependent wildlife. Bobwhite quail should benefit from this project as well.

Stop 2 was a former commercial tree nursery that is now part of the WMA. I love this spot because it’s so strange—creeping junipers, ornamental cherries, arborvitae, and a whole mishmash of native landscaping trees or their cultivars keep company with species they wouldn’t normally hang out with. This is one natural area where the normal plant associations do not apply, and as long as the plants in question are not invasive, that can make a site visit different and fun.

Of course, some of them are highly invasive, and for those ones we’re working on reining them in. We just did an enormous job removing about 15 acres of autumn olive from the fields, and now we’re following up to keep the autumn olive and honeysuckle from taking the fields right back. My favorite part of this stop this week was watching six monarch caterpillars do a number on a cluster of 14 milkweed plants. Some of the plants had been completely stripped of leaves and some leaves were just half-eaten. These were very hungry caterpillars.

We made a couple more stops that day—to another WMA site that we are converting to native grassland, and to a large riparian buffer project on private property. All the sites look good, all will have more work done to them, and their habitat value will just keep getting better and better.

All photos taken at the Salem River Wildlife Management Area by Jean Lynch.

Posted by Jean Lynch, Stewardship Project Director, South Region

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

Reforestation and a Partnership Grows at Drew University

On April 15, 2011 the last piece of a four year long forest restoration project was completed on the campus of Drew University in Madison with the installation of over 1,100 native trees and shrubs by Drew students, faculty, community volunteers, volunteers from Pfizer (a member of NJA's Corporate Stewardship Council), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and New Jersey Audubon staff. The project was the vision of Drew Professor of Biology Dr. Sara Webb, who recognized, while conducting classes and research in the 80-acre forest preserve, that the forest conditions were degrading rapidly, thanks to overabundant deer in the preserve.

With no method of deer control little native undergrowth/regeneration remained to collect runoff and prevent erosion; or provide suitable habitat for forest interior species. To add insult to injury, invasive wisteria and Asiatic bittersweet vines were thriving in these conditions choking and toppling dozens of native trees each year which in turn lead to forest gap openings that were only being filled by other non-native invasive vegetation that the deer would not browse. Only with intervention would this ecosystem regain the structure and diversity that could again provided suitable habitat for native species and maximize groundwater replenishment, minimize sedimentation of receiving surface waters. (NOTE: the Drew Forest Preserve, which includes the Zuck Arboretum and the recently named Christine Hepburn Forest Restoration Area, is critically important for groundwater recharge and runoff reduction within the Passaic River watershed and the Buried Valley aquifer area.)

Though the USWFS' Partners in Fish and Wildlife Program, Drew, NJ Audubon and USFWS entered into an agreement to remove invasive vegetation and reforest the area. But it wasn't until a generous gift from former Madison residents and NJ Audubon Life Members, Christine Hepburn and her husband Ken Martin, that the project really came together with the installation of fencing around the entire 17-acre restoration area, thus excluding deer but allowing for movement of other wildlife though the small openings of the fence material.

"I am so excited; this is a long-held dream come true." said Christine Hepburn about the project. "For many years, the Drew woods provided me with Pileated Woodpeckers, Wood Thrushes, and other delights. This patch of woods brought me peace and joy but also sadness and frustration from seeing virtually all of the native understory mowed down by the deer again and again. I'm anxious to see how wonderful these woods become now that so many different new plants will be able to grow."

Brain Marsh of USFWS echoed Hepburn's remarks, "This project will reverse serious degradation of the Drew University Forest Preserve, thereby improving the forest’s capacity for hydrologic stabilization while also enhancing habitat for the native flora and fauna, including migratory birds and aquatic habitat species associated with the preserves' ponds and vernal pools.

"It is thrilling see ecological integrity and biodiversity returning to these woods. The rescue of this forest required intensive intervention that could not have happened without support and expertise of New Jersey Audubon, USFWS and environmentalist Chris Hepburn. My hope is that this project will inspire our university students and to inform the broader community about the value and complexity of natural ecosystems." said Professor Webb.

All photos taken at Drew University Project site.  Photos by Lynne Delade and John Parke

Eagle Ridge Golf Club Takes Action to Provide Important Habitat for Bird and Pollinator Species

Eagle Ridge Golf Club (Eagle Ridge), assisted by the New Jersey Audubon Society (NJAS), has entered into a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to partake in a habitat restoration project on their Lakewood, Ocean County, NJ facility. Through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, Eagle Ridge, NJAS and the USFWS, will be restoring natural wildlife communities, that will create important habitat for migratory birds as well as for various pollinators, such a butterfly species.

"The golf course lies within the Service’s Atlantic Coastal Bay focus area of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. The golf course represents a large tract of open space with a mix of early successional and edge habitat. Foraging and nesting habitat are available on the course to a variety of migratory birds, including purple martin, eastern bluebird, and eastern kingbird." said Brian Marsh, Private Lands Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The USFWS commends Eagle Ridge's interest in creating and restoring wildlife habitat on their property.”

Earlier this spring Eagle Ridge and USFWS installed numerous nest boxes throughout the property for purple martin, bluebird and American kestrel, all of which became fully occupied by mid May.   "My love of wildlife, in particular birds, has caused me to really focus my attention on the environment. I am encouraging nesting for the native wildlife at Eagle Ridge in hopes of increasing species populations, and I believe it is working. Golfers are coming up to me saying they have never seen so much wildlife here at Eagle Ridge compared to other courses. It is a labor of love for me." said Jerry Kokes, President of Eagle Ridge.

The site is very interesting in that it’s not your typical golf course -care was given to protect and support a diverse array of native plant life.  An example of this is the abundance of the native wildflower species Pink Lady's Slipper orchid at the site.  However, as with all areas in NJ, Eagle Ridge and USFWS still had to implement removal/controls of invasive non-native herbaceous vegetation that included, non-native grasses, spotted knapweed, and mugwort, from areas of the property. Non-native invasive vegetation invade areas, shading out and killing off existing native plants thus creating a simplified ecosystem that will not support a diverse set of native animal. In an effort to enhance the course’s value to migratory birds and pollinators the partners are establishing a native meadow consisting of native wildflowers and warm-season grasses on the several acres that received the invasive vegetation removals. Warm-season grasses are ideal cover for land managers and wildlife because they do not require fertilization or irrigation, provide erosion control, are drought tolerant, grow mostly in the middle of the summer when other grasses are dormant, add color and texture to the landscape, remain upright during winter, and provide foraging and nesting cover to migratory birds. Additionally their extensive root systems soak up excess nutrients, thus aiding in water filtration as well as allow them to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it underground. Warm season grasses are highly effective carbon “sinks” — they are, in fact, called “C4” grasses because they absorb an extra molecule of carbon while cool season grasses are labeled “C3.”

"Eagle Ridge is demonstrating an outstanding commitment to sustaining native wildlife populations." said John Parke, Stewardship Project Director for New Jersey Audubon. “What is really exciting is the amount of grassland dependent bird species that are using the restoration areas, like grasshopper sparrow and meadowlark. Congratulations to Eagle Ridge for solidifying a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding community to foster environmental awareness and a conservation ethic while enhancing wildlife systems in New Jersey."

All photos shown here were taken at Eagle Ridge Golf Club.

This Blog Post is for the Birds!

In April, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation invited New Jersey Audubon’s Director of Conservation and Stewardship, Troy Ettel as guest columnist on their  blog.  We are reproducing those posts here to kick-off New Jersey Audubon’s new Stewardship Blog which will feature weekly updates on New Jersey Audubon projects throughout the year, posted by its professional stewardship staff.  This is the second of two installments run on the Dodge blog in late April 2011.

In this space last week, I discussed how our work at New Jersey Audubon developing and implementing large-scale habitat management projects has brought home the importance of economic realities to the sustainability of conservation. The reality that the quality of life and opportunities for people that live in the regions that we are striving to protect are an incredibly important part of the equation first became apparent to us while working directly with New Jersey farmers.

Annually, over the past three years we have hosted what we have called “Farmer Forums”. Often, we have been joined by other conservation partners and a growing assortment of farmers interested in participating in NJ Audubon’s S.A.V.E.^TM initiative. Making use of the USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grant program, we are connecting farmers, forest owners, and local operators to niche markets, launching our own brand, S.A.V.E., that stands for Support Agricultural Viability and the Environment. The goals of the project are to help revitalize local economies of the region while sustaining ecological restoration and preserving landscapes at the same time.

The Forums are not just an opportunity for NJ Audubon to vet new ideas; some of the best new ideas and problem solving continues to come from the farmers. Over time, the need for NJ Audubon to reiterate the ecological component of the project has faded; today the farmers often make the point for us. At a Forum in 2010, when a new farmer asked what would happen if a participant in the program was not interested in the conservation side of the project, another farmer was the one to jump in and emphatically state, “we would kick them out of the program.”

Partially as a result of the economic downturn, many of the government subsides that have fueled natural resource stewardship for decades are receiving less funding or have been eliminated altogether. The conservation community faces a time of change and adaptation to this new paradigm that parallels our colleagues in the agricultural sector. Looking around the table at the Forums, change and adaptation are clearly becoming the new “normal” for farmers. Brant Gibbs formerly operated a prominent dairy farm in Warren County, Buddy Shimp from Salem County got started in the business as a potato farmer, and Raj Sinha is a first generation farmer from Sussex County who, among other ventures, is producing his own Jersey Grown salsa label. Today, all are growing working on growing birdseed with NJ Audubon.

Ultimately the Forum and discussions are all about connections – how farmers, conservation groups and retailers can collaborate to meet their varied individual objectives better than working apart. Thus far the results have been very positive. Jersey Grown Birdseed was the first product marketed under the S.A.V.E. initiative. Three farmers, Mark Kirby and Jim Laine of Hillsborough and Tom Zeng of Ringoes started growing black-oil sunflower in 2008 for the initiative. With a loyal customer base built over the past 20 years to purchase birdseed, NJ Audubon offered something that the farmers did not have – direct access to a niche market. This helped remove some of the project’s risk. In turn the farmers could give NJ Audubon something that it wanted, a local, Jersey Grown seed as an alternative to what was available in the marketplace – seed trucked from the Upper Midwest.

A business plan designed in collaboration with Rutgers MBA Consulting Program helped keep the birdseed project on target. Start-up funding from the Conservation Innovation Program, allowed the farmers and NJ Audubon to further focus on a greener product, allowing establish of test plots experimenting with small bits of charcoal or bio-char, to look at opportunities to fix carbon in the soil within agricultural systems. At the same time, NJ Audubon uses revenue from the program to manage habitat for rare grassland birds and – equally important – used the expertise of the farmers to help manage the habitats. Sales have increased by 96% in its third year, 2011, exceeding 60 tons and being sold in nearly 30 locations statewide and now with 11 farmers involved. The success has allowed NJ Audubon to eclipse its modest initial goal of 40 acres managed for grassland birds and hopefully move in a direction that ensures future sustainability.

One of the highlights of the project has been the ability to increase traffic and attention to local farms participating in the project with NJ Audubon. This has included developing eco- and agritourism opportunities to further connect farmers and farms with the people living in New Jersey’s cities and suburbs. One of the orgininal farmers, Mark Kirby said, “One of the best things about working with NJ Audubon is that they have 22,000 members and now I am getting calls from people asking me what else I sell.” That sentiment has laid the perfect foundation for discussion in Forums. The project is ultimately about connections – connections for people to the land as food and as a natural part of their environment. The farmers are now bringing their ideas forward to talk about the next products for the label and some have had independent conversations with retailers carrying the seed about collaborating on other ways.

One of the greatest connections behind this project is the direct ability to connect consumers with the origin of their products. Any consumer who wants to know where their birdseed is grown or any of their other products comes from can join NJ Audubon for a trip to see the fields, meet the farmers, and see the habitat being created. You can check it out yourself. Just visit www.njaudubon.org this summer to sign up for trips, find retail locations, and look for those new S.A.V.E. products – cold-pressed sunflower oil and native pine mulch - coming to market in 2011.

Support for this project has been provided by the US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service through its Conservation Innovation Grant program, Conservation Resources, Inc., and the King/Weseley Family Charitable Foundation.

Expanding Jersey Grown with Birdhouses and Feeders “Made from Jersey Grown Wood”

In April, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation invited New Jersey Audubon’s Director of Conservation and Stewardship, Troy Ettel as guest columnist on their  blog.  We are reproducing those posts here to kick-off New Jersey Audubon’s new Stewardship Blog which will feature weekly updates on New Jersey Audubon projects throughout the year, posted by its professional stewardship staff.

Over the past seven years at NJ Audubon, our work to develop stewardship plans throughout New Jersey, whether in Highlands forests, South Jersey pines, or within the agricultural landscapes that define the Garden State, has really brought home the importance of economic realities to the sustainability of conservation. In particular, the quality of life and opportunities for people that live in the regions that we are striving to protect are an incredibly important part of the equation. We’ve seen that there are direct parallels with the “Buy Fresh/Buy Local” initiative for fresh, local food to cultivate similar unique opportunities that connect local consumers with local producers for an even wider range of products.

Seeing the connection and importance of local producers playing a role in the implementation of conservation projects, NJ Audubon decided to become more directly involved in connecting agricultural producers with consumer markets. NJA trademarked its own brand - S.A.V.E.^TM - which stands for Support Agricultural Viability and the Environment. After decades in the trenches fighting against the types of land uses that we do not like, we felt it was time to start highlighting those that we do. Thus, the emergence of S.A.V.E. – a brand that connects farmers to consumers with a conscience – those interested not only in the origins of their products but also in knowing that supporting the environment is as easy as purchasing a product. In 2008, we started with Jersey Grown birdseed which I will talk more about next week. Now the brand is broadening.

On April 19, 2011 at a press conference in Egg Harbor City, Atlantic County, NJ, Douglas Fisher the NJ Secretary of Agriculture joined NJ Audubon and Lynn Fleming, NJ State Forester in announcing an expansion of the Department’s highly successful Jersey Grown/Jersey Fresh program to allow, for the first time, products made from 100% NJ wood to be labeled “Made with Jersey Grown Wood.” The first products to be certified under this label expansion are birdhouses and birdfeeders offered by NJ Audubon.

"Consumers who see the ‘Made with Jersey Grown Wood’ logo on products will immediately know they are supporting New Jersey businesses," said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher.  "We are happy to partner with NJ Audubon on the expansion of the Jersey Grown program to first, sunflower birdseed, and now, wood. We urge everyone to ask for Jersey Grown at participating nurseries, garden centers, feed stores and specialty shops."

NJ Audubon’s birdhouses and feeders are made of Atlantic white cedar sustainably harvested under forest stewardship plans approved by the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection. The lumber is sawn at Schairer Brothers Sawmill in Egg Harbor City. Founded in 1936, Schairer Brothers is one of the few sawmills left in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, providing lumber to local markets mostly within a 50-mile radius. Owner Paul Schairer is a third generation mill operator, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who first began milling wood in the 1920s and operated the family mill while his sons served in World War II. Paul sees a place for his small, family-owned sawmill both to preserve New Jersey’s forests and to serve the local market. He mentions that he used to provide wood to a local furniture-making business, but lost the contract when the furniture maker began buying lumber sourced from China. He also is frustrated by the lack of management around him that is contributing to a decline in the region’s forests – from invading insects such as the southern pine beetle and gypsy moth, to a poorly understood decline in Atlantic white cedar. “We need management on some parcels,” Paul says. “The woods are not healthy. Without management we have stressed trees.”

Atlantic white cedar is an important, native ecosystem that harbors many rare plants and animals in New Jersey – but despite the presence of tens of thousands of acres of cedar forests on public land it is declining. Restoration of cedar is one of the highest conservation priorities in South Jersey; it is also has one of the highest per acre restoration costs. To date, cedar restoration has been funded almost entirely by grants from the federal government. However, considering the current debate surrounding the national debt and severe cuts to many of the programs that have been allowing this important work to occur, we should be deeply concerned about the sustainability of government-dependent conservation. If an economic incentive existed to properly manage and maintain not only white cedar forests, but forests throughout the state, implantation of approved Forest Stewardship Plans would allow sustainable harvest while also helping achieve goals for forest restoration and management.

State Forester Lynn Fleming, who oversees the NJ State Forest Service, the agency within NJ DEP responsible for approving Forest Stewardship Plans, agrees, "The 'Made with Jersey Grown Wood' label advocates quality products produced by our state's local forests. Fortuitously, the introduction of the label coincides with the International Year of Forests, which celebrates sustainable forestry all over the world."

NJ Audubon agrees, and supports local, family-owned businesses that provide forest and farm products for local use, support the local economies of New Jersey’s communities, and help secure the future of New Jersey’s forests and farmland. When preservation of natural resources makes economic as well as ecological sense, our job is a lot easier.

For more information about the program or to find a list of participating retailers that sell S.A.V.E. products please visit NJ Audubon’s Jersey Grown website.