Here’s why more NJ native plants could be coming to a yard near you

ANDREW S. LEWIS | JANUARY 13, 2022 | ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

The state has an abundance of native flora. A newly signed bill is aimed at helping those plants flourish

Credit: (USFWF)

Swamp pink wildflowers in all their glory

A certain group of plants will soon be standing out among the rest at garden centers and nurseries across the state, thanks to a new bill, signed by Gov. Murphy on Monday, that calls for the establishment of a “Jersey Native Plants Program.”

The bill, first introduced by former Sen. Kip Bateman (R-Somerset) in 2020, will create a labeling system and marketing campaigns similar to the “Jersey Fresh” and “Jersey Grown” initiatives, to help boost consumer awareness of, and interest in, the state’s native plant species.

“Shopping local is a great way to support the farms that make New Jersey the Garden State, but we also need to encourage people to plant local,” Bateman said in a statement last March, when the bill was passed by the Senate. “Native plants will flourish here and help our state’s natural ecosystem thrive.”

More diverse than Alaska

New Jersey is the U.S.’s sixth-smallest state by land area and the second-most populated. Despite what is a clear crunch on natural space, the state remains incredibly biodiverse. According to a 2002 report by NatureServe, New Jersey has around 2,100 native plant species, putting its diversity level above that of Alaska, the biggest state in the nation with a land area by square mileage that is some 77 times larger.

Among New Jersey’s surprisingly vast array of flora, notes the bill’s text, 19 are “globally rare” and “have their largest and most viable populations” in the Garden State. Nine, the text continues, are thought to exist nowhere else on Earth.

Such plant diversity has much to do with New Jersey’s unique geography. The meandering three-hour drive south from High Point State Park to Cape May National Wildlife Refuge moves through five distinct physiographic regions, from mountains to basins to pine barrens to wide salt marsh meadows and sandy beaches.

Endangered by tar and cement

It’s the concrete, asphalt, cars, and vinyl siding pushing between these natural regions, however, that account for much of the reason why about 339 species — 15% — of native New Jersey flora are also classified as endangered.

“The extreme rarity of many of these species cannot be overemphasized,” wrote then-Department of Environmental Protection commissioner Lisa Jackson in a 2006 report on New Jersey’s endangered plant species. Jackson pointed out that over half of the world’s populations of the swamp pink wildflower occur in New Jersey, and that the Hammond’s yellow spring beauty, a tiny wildflower, can only be found in the state.

“As more areas are developed and native plants are taken out to put in buildings, roads and lawns, you’re losing critical habitat,” said Karen Walzer, public outreach coordinator for Barnegat Bay Partnership. A fragmented habitat, Walzer continued, can sometimes be as detrimental as no habitat at all. “With development, you’ll have a pocket of natural area here and a pocket there, but they’re not connected anymore.”

Walzer suggested that we should be thinking of development and native plants as having a direct, rather than indirect, relationship. In other words, as housing, highways and industrial complexes expand, the more important it is to landscape with native plants.

‘They don’t need much water’

“Because native plants are so well adapted to our soils and our climate,” says Walzer, “you’re not going to need to fertilize them, which reduces the sources of pollution going into the ground, storm drains, and rivers. They don’t need much water, which helps conserve our water supply. They support wildlife. They really are the nexus for everything.”

Unfortunately, native plants are often ignored by many homeowners, business owners and landscapers. This turning away from the very flora that can improve the quality of local environments has its origins in the post-World War II era when America began to suburbanize and, as Walzer put it, “lawns became a thing.” In addition to grass, which demands significant watering and fertilizing, Americans wanted new and unusual plants, something to differentiate their yard from their neighbor’s.

Humans, writes the landscape architect Benjamin Wellington, “have a tendency to negatively judge plants that grow without human intention.” Under such a sentiment, the superpowers of native plants — that they can grow almost anywhere, require little maintenance, and naturally improve soil and water conditions — become a disadvantage.

And today, with the majority of Americans living in suburban and urban communities, “a lot of people now just don’t know much about plants at all,” said Walzer. “So, they’ll go with whatever a landscaper wants to put in for them, or what they find at a garden center.”

‘Every little bit helps’

Walzer contends, however, that opinions of native plants have begun to shift in recent years, thanks to increased awareness of how dependent fragile fauna species, like the honeybee, are on native plants. A better understanding of the importance of healthy trees to carbon sequestration efforts has also helped spark interest in landscaping with native plants.

To encourage the burgeoning trend, in 2016 Walzer and her colleagues at the Barnegat Bay Partnership used a Department of Environmental Protection grant to develop the website jerseyyards.org, which provides users with resources on native plants and how to incorporate them in their landscaping plans.

With the passage of the Jersey Native Plants Program bill, Walzer said that the kind of information the partnership’s website provided its small user base can now be disseminated across garden centers and nurseries throughout the state. Native plants will be clearly labeled, making them easily identifiable for consumers.

“Native plants work fine in formal landscaping, too,” Walzer said. “You don’t have to turn your entire yard into a meadow — where you would have planted a non-native shrub, put in a native one instead. Every little bit helps.”

60 years. 125,000 acres. 1 New Jersey. New Jersey Conservation Foundation preserves land for you. But we can't do it alone. Become a member today! Protect green, save green! New Jerseyans love preserved land! Over the past 60 years, voters overwhelmingly passed every statewide ballot question on funding to protect open space, farmland and historic sites. This state we’re in may be the nation’s most densely populated, but we’ve worked hard to permanently preserve about a third of our total land mass for future generations. But some may wonder if enough is enough. Is preserved land an economic drain on taxpayers?  Does it cost too much?  Can we afford it?  And does open space really have monetary value? The answers to these questions and more are laid out clearly in a Mercer County report that busts misconceptions and spotlights the oft-overlooked benefits of conserved lands. The report echoes the findings of several previous studies on how preserving green space can save green … as in taxpayer dollars. One such groundbreaking report was “Valuing New Jersey’s Natural Capital,” issued in 2007 by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Mercer County’s new report, “Return on Environment,” examines only lands in Mercer County, but its findings can be applied to all or most of New Jersey. Mercer County is a microcosm of the state: it’s diverse, with urban, suburban and rural landscapes, and residents of all ages, races and cultures. The county has about 39,000 acres of preserved land, or about 27 percent of its land mass. “Protected open space provides substantial economic, environmental, and health benefits to surrounding communities, but these benefits are often overlooked or undervalued in policy debates and investment decisions,” says the report. A better understanding of these benefits shows that protected open space contributes to the county’s economic development and its fiscal stability. Mercer County Park, West Windsor Township Here are the report’s major findings: ·       Environmental benefits – Protected open space in Mercer County provides huge environmental benefits for local communities, including replenishing water supplies, improving water quality, mitigating flooding during storms, protecting wildlife habitat, and removing pollution from the air. Combined, these nature-based ecosystem benefits would cost more than $97 million a year to replicate if lost. In addition, protected lands avoid $9 million and $102 million, respectively, in annual stormwater system maintenance and pollutant removal costs. And the thousands of trees in Mercer County parks store carbon that would otherwise contribute to climate change, a service worth nearly $108 million. ·       Recreation and health – Preserved open space provides low cost or free recreational opportunities to residents and promotes health and wellbeing. The report estimates that residents who participate in recreational activities on county open space reap over $47 million worth of benefits a year. This number represents the amount that they would have to spend in the private market for the same activities that they currently enjoy at little or no cost. In addition, physically active people who use outdoor open spaces benefit with lower incidences of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, depression, certain cancers, and obesity. It is estimated that the physical activities on protected open space accounts for about $84 million in avoided medical costs annually, plus another $65 million in avoided losses from reduced productivity at work. ·       Property values – The study found that protected open space increases the value of nearby homes, since buyers are willing to pay more for properties near and adjacent to green spaces.  The increased value of homes located up to a half-mile from open space averages about $7,100 a house. These higher home values generate increased property tax revenues for local governments and higher transfer taxes when the homes are sold. ·       Economic activity – Preserved open space and farmland generate jobs and promote spending by visitors. It’s estimated that $104 million in annual economic impact occurs on and because of protected open space in the county. This includes buying goods produced on preserved farmland, and ecotourism revenues from park visitors. Protected open space contributes an estimated 980 jobs to Mercer County, including maintenance workers, park administrators, rangers, farmers, guides and hospitality professionals. “This report quantifies the economic benefits and supports the investments we have made in acquiring and caring for Mercer County open space parcels,” said County Executive Brian M. Hughes. “Mercer County will continue to strategically acquire key parcels to expand on and improve our existing parks and open spaces, and increase our focus on stewardship – caring for the land to ensure its health and vitality – and continue to provide a range of activities for our residents.” This sounds like a pretty good blueprint for any county in New Jersey to follow!  And don’t forget that although the price of land in New Jersey is high, once the purchase price is paid the open space lands keep generating these economic benefits year after year into the future. And as this week’s climate summit in Glasgow highlighted, an investment in open space and a commitment to stopping and reversing deforestation around the globe is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.  And this work is happening right here in Mercer County, NJ! To read the “Return on Environment” report, go to https://www.mercercounty.org/departments/planning/return-on-environment-report/-fsiteid-1#!/. To read the “Valuing New Jersey’s Natural Capital” report, go to https://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/publications/Natural_Capital_Full%20Report.pdf. And for information about preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org.

New Jersey Conservation Foundation 170 Longview Road  | Far Hills, New Jersey 07931-2623 (908) 234-1225 | info@njconservation.org Follow Us Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser

As seas rise, NJ’s wetlands disappear

Andrew S. Lewis | November 2, 2021 | Energy & Environment

Fall storms do damage as development pressures increase

Credit: (Andrew S. Lewis)

Critical issues

According to a new paper, led by Rutgers University’s Judith Weis, “The loss of marshes due to rising sea levels is now a critical issue for the present, rather than a future problem.”

Autumn in New Jersey often means the arrival of the highest tides of the year. Right on time, early October’s new moon brought several days of well-above-average high tides made worse by persistent easterly winds, which, on the Jersey Shore, act like a bulldozer, pushing ocean water into back bays and holding it there, against the will of outgoing tides.

For several days, whole swaths of back-bay wetlands, dry on normal high tides, were consumed by the water for hours at a time, only the tips of their cordgrass meadows poking above the rolling waves.

“Instead of six or eight days a month,” said Dr. Lenore Tedesco, executive director of the Wetlands Institute, in Stone Harbor, Cape May County, “the frequency of inundation of some of these marshes now is on the order of 20 days a month.”

It is helpful, Tedesco continued, to think of such persistent flooding like a potted plant. “If you water it too much,” she said, “it stops growing well.”

October’s severe tidal flooding came on the heels of a new research paper that analyzed five wetlands locations in New Jersey, from the Delaware Bay to the Meadowlands. The paper, published in the journal “Anthropocene Coasts,” follows work done for a 2020 report conducted for the Department of Environmental Protection’s science advisory board and led by Judith Weis, a professor emerita of Rutgers University’s biological sciences department.

A litany of threats

Both studies identified a litany of threats to the state’s wetlands, including land reclamation, development, dredging, and nutrient overload. But sea level rise, Weis and her co-authors wrote, “is by far the largest climate-related threat to salt marshes.”

Coastal New Jersey is experiencing sea level rise at a rate of between 0.19 and 0.23 inches a year. Over the last century, the water has risen by almost 18 inches, one of the fastest rates in the world. That rise in the water is furthered by subsidence — the sinking of the land due to forces both natural, ongoing downward settling from the last glacial period, and unnatural, slumping from draining aquifers faster than they can be replenished.

A significant percentage of the rise has occurred in recent decades, revealing an acceleration that, based on a scenario of moderate fossil fuel emissions, is going to push tides at least 1.4 feet higher by 2070 and at least 2 feet by 2100. Under a high emissions scenario, the predictions are much more frightening.

Credit: (Andrew S. Lewis)

Early October’s new moon, coupled with several days of easterly winds, caused much of the South Jersey Shore’s back bay marshland to be completely underwater.

Just as no stretch of New Jersey shoreline is quite the same as the next, the rise is not uniform along the coast, nor is the impact it is having on wetlands, which are crucial to the survival of scores of fragile fish and bird species. Wetlands are also crucial for their ability to absorb  carbon dioxide and other toxins, like runoff from residential and agricultural development, while protecting coastal communities from flooding. For example, the study points out that the Northeast’s tidal wetlands prevented $625 million in flood damage from Superstorm Sandy, and that, year over year, they reduce flood losses by 16%.

In the Meadowlands, most of the wetlands loss can be attributed to development pressure. According to the new Rutgers study, in 1889, there were over 20,000 acres of tidal wetlands in the Meadowlands; by 2019, the total was down to about 8,400.

What about Raritan Bay?

Between 1986 and 2015, the Raritan Bay region’s wetlands experienced “virtually no change,” and in the New Jersey portion of Raritan Bay, in fact, there was more gain than loss. The authors point out, however, that published data on wetlands loss in the region is lacking and that “there is a great need for further study in Raritan Bay and other parts of Harbor Estuary.”

On the southern reaches of the New Jersey coast, however, the losses are significant. Between 1972 and 2012, the study found, nearly 12% of Barnegat Bay’s tidal wetlands disappeared, equating to an average shoreline erosion rate of over 19 inches a year.

More than any other location, the Delaware Bay region illustrates just how much unnatural pressure that sea level rise is putting on wetlands. The vast majority of the Bayshore’s some 85,000 acres of marsh is unimpacted by development, though the negative legacy of 19th- and early 20th-century salt hay farming, like diking, remain. Therefore key elements of wetlands stability — low elevation, sediment supply, and open space for migration — are in abundance.

Because of these contributors, the Delaware Bayshore marsh accretes on average 0.17 inches a year. Under natural rates of sea level rise, this amount of accretion would allow the marsh to keep up. But up against the 0.21 inches of sea level rise that New Jersey experiences on average per year, the Bayshore’s wetlands just can’t keep up. The result is a loss of between 1%-2 % of marsh per decade, according to the study.

“The loss of marshes due to rising sea levels is now a critical issue for the present, rather than a future problem,” the authors conclude.

Blue Acres, potential solution?

There are, however, “potential solutions” for the state’s wetlands loss, according to the study.

Wetlands do have the ability to migrate inland with sea level rise, but in much of New Jersey’s coastal and riverine areas, marsh movement is restricted by the built environment. If future development is conducted in nontraditional ways that avoid “coastal squeeze,” as the study’s authors put it, and instead allow for marsh migration pathways, the state’s wetlands might be sustained. A study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the mid-1980s estimated that New Jersey had 916,000 acres of wetlands, an amount, Weis said, that’s “getting smaller every day.”

Another alternative to traditional development is strategic managed retreat.

In New Jersey, the Blue Acres program acquires and demolishes repetitively flooded homes, permanently preserving the land where they stood as open space and, thus, a buffer for future flooding. Currently, the program looks for “clusters” of homes to buy out and demolish to create large buffer zones. But after the deadly and costly flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ida this summer, there is renewed attention on Blue Acres and its path forward.

In a call with reporters in September, DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette was asked about the effectiveness of the program’s cluster approach to home buyouts. “We may be putting barriers in our own way to conveying risk if we are only saying we are going to buy out entire communities,” LaTourette said.

Credit: (Andrew S. Lewis)

“Instead of six or eight days a month,” says Dr. Lenore Tedesco, executive director of the Wetlands Institute, “the frequency of inundation of some of these marshes now is on the order of 20 days a month.”

LaTourette expanded upon his suggestion that changes could be on the way for the Blue Acres program in a recent interview with NJ Spotlight News. “The program needs to be reimagined,” LaTourette said. “New Jersey is going to have a wetter, more flooded future and making Blue Acres proactive is reflecting that reality.”

Perhaps Weis and her co-authors’ most interesting potential solution for boosting the state’s wetlands is their recommendation to legislators and citizens alike to reconsider our aggressive position toward the invasive phragmites — the tall, tasseled reed that is now ubiquitous across the state, along the upland edges of marshlands and throughout freshwater wetlands.

Changing view of phragmites

The traditional approach to phragmites has been to eradicate them, simply because they are labeled as invasive, but also because they can have negative impacts on a certain few fish, bird and plant species. But because of their dense growing pattern, phragmites are also effective in trapping sediment, thus improving accretion, as well as absorbing CO2, heavy metals and nitrates from agricultural and residential runoff.

“Phragmites doesn’t do salt water, so they’re only relevant at the saltwater-freshwater fringe,” the Wetlands Institute’s Tedesco cautions. “So, if you’re interested in ecosystem sustainability, habitat function, food web resources, it’s not a good plan, but if you’re interested in how fast it can bury carbon, vertically accrete or trap metals and contaminants, it’s a workhorse.” Nevertheless, Tedesco said, utilizing the invasive species is “an interesting concept.”

Weis agrees that more research needs to be done to determine where and how phragmites can be most effective, but she says that now, more than ever, is the time to find out. “In this age of sea level rise and marsh loss we’re living in,” she said, “having that plant turns out to be an advantage.”

Finally, living shoreline projects offer hope in many forms, from the construction of oyster reefs to distributing sediment dredged from navigational channels onto sinking marshland and eroded shoreline edges — a technique being pioneered by Tedesco and her team, along with the state and Army Corps of Engineers, at the Wetland’s Institute’s Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab.

The lab is a new concept and project monitoring is just beginning, but Tedesco is encouraged by what they’ve seen so far. In one area, which was once marsh but in recent years has been transformed to mudflat because of over-inundation, Tedesco’s team has been successful at regrowing Spartina cordgrass — the first step in regenerating a wetlands habitat that can sustain fragile species like the diamondback terrapin and salt marsh sparrow.

“Soft” solutions, like the distribution of sediment dredged from navigational channels, which has been conducted in the back bay waters around the Wetlands Institute, to build up several rapidly eroding marsh islands, along with others presented in the study, represent the multi-pronged approach to sea level rise that both Tedesco and Weis say the state needs to take.

“This is happening because of what people have done to the atmosphere, so there’s a responsibility to maintain endangered ecosystems the same way as we try to maintain endangered species,” said Weis. “It may be that in a couple hundred years, with sustained sea level rise, wetlands are going to be gone altogether no matter what we do, but if we can keep them around longer, isn’t that a good thing?”

Wawayanda State Park Expanded With ‘Small But Critical’ Land Purchase

 Valerie Musson 

 10/26/2021 4:09 p.m.

 

Wawayanda State Park in West Milford will soon receive a trail addition through a private purchase by the Land Conservancy of New Jersey. Photo Credit: The Land Conservancy of New Jersey

Wawayanda State Park in West Milford will soon receive a trail addition through a private purchase by the Land Conservancy of New Jersey.

The land acquisition, located between Wawayanda State Park and Abram S. Hewitt State Forest, completes the Terrace Pond North Trail and is full of mountain laurel, eastern hemlock, oaks, birches, and striped maple.

The 2.5-acre purchase from owner Norma Schadegg also adds a buffer for timber rattlesnake and northern copperhead habitats throughout the nearby cliffs.

“Paired with the protection of 10 adjacent acres by The Land Conservancy of New Jersey and the Trail Conference several years ago, this acquisition is a great victory for the public’s enjoyment of the Terrace Pond North Trail and the beautiful land it crosses,” said New York-New Jersey Trail Conference (NYNJTC) Executive Director Joshua Howard.

“Although small in size, preserving the land was key in securing the last section of the Terrace Pond Trail North,” said Project manager Linda Gloshinski. “This trail should be on everyone’s bucket list, as the vistas are breathtaking, especially in fall.”

Click here for more information about the Wawayanda State Park expansion and the permanent securing of public trail access.

The Cusp of a Wildlife Protection Renaissance

By Guest Contributor | October 19, 2021, 12:55 pm | in Columnist

By Eric Stiles and Collin O’Mara

The historic, bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA), recently introduced in the US Senate which aims to invest a total of $1.4 billion annually for state-led efforts to protect thousands of at-risk wildlife species, will be the most significant investment in wildlife conservation in a generation. An investment of this magnitude will support at-risk species population numbers to prevent them from having to receive federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, as well as provide funding to recover species already federally protected. RAWA’s benefits will extend to economic stimulation with job creation and support for the outdoor recreation economy.

A loss of species and biodiversity is a here and now problem, only exacerbated by climate change. A shocking one-third of America’s wildlife species are at an increased rate of extinction and sadly, more than 150 U.S. species have already gone extinct. The recently released Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) report must serve as our final wake-up call to propel us toward aggressive strategies tailored to the species, habitat, and unique human-wildlife connections. RAWA will serve as one resiliency strategy by providing science-based planning and implementation support. Historically, funding for wildlife recovery and protection was lacking, but greatly needed. RAWA will provide unprecedented support through directly funding wildlife recovery and conservation to effectively protect the most vulnerable of species throughout the country.

Specifically, federal funding from RAWA will flow directly to state-led efforts to recover wildlife outlined in each state’s Wildlife Action Plan. These plans are a Congressional prerequisite to receive wildlife-supporting grants. Serving as a blueprint for conservation of species, New Jersey’s Wildlife Action Plan is tailored to the Garden State’s specific wildlife conservation needs and habitat protection. With funding to implement the Plan, we have a chance to prevent species from becoming threatened or endangered and support the recovery of species that are already considered at-risk. In New Jersey, species such as the red knot, little brown bat, common tern, corn snake, northern red salamander, and banded sunfish, are just a few of numerous species in need of assistance.

New Jersey’s diverse habitats such as forests, grasslands, and wetlands, are home to diverse species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fishes, amphibians, and invertebrates. Habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change are just a few threats to the existence of not only New Jersey’s wildlife, but wildlife throughout the United States.  Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will be an effective, tailored approach to recovering the species most at-risk and investing in state-led efforts to prevent the extinction of the wildlife with whom we share our home.

Further, Americans spend $140 billion dollars on wildlife-focused recreation every year. The outdoor recreation industry generates $788 billion in economic activity, supports 5.2 million jobs, and generates $59.2 billion in state and local tax revenue annually. An investment in wildlife conservation will result in more funding for outdoor opportunities and public access for all Americans. RAWA is also expected to create more than 33,000 jobs every year in communities where the Act’s dollars are invested, putting money back into the pockets of American’s that have been hit hardest by the ongoing global pandemic.

Eric Stiles is the President and CEO of New Jersey Audubon

Collin O’Mara, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation

Murphy outlines $100M investment in parks, playgrounds

By Ry Rivard | 10/20/2021 01:30 PM EDT

Gov. Phil Murphy’s office on Wednesday announced $100 million worth of grants and loans to help pay for open space, park and playground projects. Details: The proposed funding plan, which still requires final approved by the Garden State Preservation Trust, would largely go to land acquisitions, including $42 million for park development in what the state defines as overburdened communities. A small chunk of the money, less than $5 million, would go to buy out property prone to flooding, a program that the Murphy administration is eventually looking to expand. The projects: Grant projects highlighted by the administration include: renovating Tippin’s Pond Park in Pennsauken; helping to buy a half-acre property, demolishing a former firehouse on site and creating a firehouse-themed splash park for children in Guttenberg; buying an 11.5-acre parcel in Edison to create a waterfront park; expanding the Holmes A. Adams Recreation Complex in Neptune City; and preserving the historic Colt Gun Mill on the Allied Textile Printing site in Paterson. “With these investments, we will take another significant step toward ensuring all New Jersey communities have access to recreational opportunities and enjoy the benefits of natural resource conservation,” Murphy said in a press release. “The proposed projects will provide equitable and meaningful access to urban parks, help address the impacts of climate change, and advance our long-term resilience goals. Investing in our communities through these projects will improve the quality of life for families living across New Jersey now and in the future.” The funding was announced by Murphy in Union City alongside his top environmental official, Shawn LaTourette, and state Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson), who’s also mayor of Union City. A complete list of the projects is available at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s page for the Green Acres program.

TOWN:  Fairfield Township | COUNTY: Cumberland | REGION:  Delaware Bay Watershed | ACRES: 30

Farmland forever! 30 acres preserved along scenic Cohansey River in Cumberland County

Daniel DeTullio bought his farm along the Cohansey River in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County in 1987 because of its scenic beauty and abundant wildlife. He and his wife, Raquel, just preserved the nearly 30-acre property to protect it from future development. “It’s so peaceful and quiet and serene back there, it would be a shame to develop it,” said Dan. On Sept. 13, New Jersey Conservation purchased the development rights on the DeTullio farm, ensuring that it stays farmland forever. The farm is surrounded on two sides by the state’s Cohansey River Wildlife Management Area, and is bordered by a tributary known as Rocaps Run. The Cohansey winds through a mosaic of tidal marshes, woodlands and farms before emptying into the Delaware Bay. The area provides habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, including bald eagles. “The eagles back there are like mosquitos,” Dan joked. There are also plenty of wild turkeys, ducks, geese, owls, deer and other creatures. “You see a lot of things there that you don’t see anywhere else,” said Dan. The DeTullios still own the farm, but the land is now permanently restricted to agriculture. Preserving the property will maintain the area's rural and scenic character, protect wildlife, safeguard soil quality, and protect the land’s ability to recharge groundwater. Funding was provided by the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC)and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Cumberland County also contributed to the project by paying for property appraisals. “We are thrilled to help ensure that this beautiful riverside farm stays farmland forever,” said Michele S. Byers, executive director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation. “We’re very grateful to the DeTullios for deciding to preserve their farm, and to our partners for providing funding to make this project possible.” The DeTullio farm is located just south of Bridgeton, and a short distance from the Dutch Neck section of Hopewell Township, where New Jersey Conservation Foundation helped preserve several historic farms. Most of the farm’s soils are “prime” and “statewide-Important” soils, the two highest quality classifications for food production. Much of the newly-preserved land is in open field agriculture, with smaller forested areas on its northern and southern sides. This farmland preservation project advances New Jersey Conservation's collaborative partnership with Cumberland County to save working family farms with outstanding agricultural attributes. It also builds upon New Jersey Conservation Foundation's work to preserve farms and wildlife habitat in the lower Cohansey River region of Cumberland County. Julie Hawkins, State Conservationist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, praised the partnership that made the DeTullio preservation project successful. “The New Jersey Conservation Foundation was the first nonprofit in New Jersey to successfully seek NRCS financial assistance for agricultural land preservation more than 15 years ago,” said Hawkins. “Partnership is key to preserving farmland in New Jersey and this effort couldn’t have been done without the help of State Agriculture Development Committee as well.  SADC is our state’s leader in farmland preservation and was ranked #1 in the nation by the American Farmland Trust for its implementation of policies to protect farmland and support its viability.  We’re grateful that NRCS funding can be a catalyst in New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s and SADC’s efforts to help family-run farms remain farmland for future generations.” About New Jersey Conservation Foundation A private nonprofit based in Far Hills, New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s mission is to preserve land and natural resources throughout New Jersey for the benefit of all. In addition to protecting over 125,000 acres of open space, farmland and parks, New Jersey Conservation promotes strong land conservation policies at the local, county, state and federal levels, and provides support and technical assistance to hundreds of partner groups. For more information about New Jersey Conservation Foundation and its programs and preserves, visit www.njconservation.org or call 1-888-LANDSAVE (1-888-526-3728).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 23, 2021 Contact: Lawrence Hajna  (609) 984-1795 Caryn Shinske  (609) 292-2994

MURPHY ADMINISTRATION TO RESTORE 10,000 ACRES OF ATLANTIC WHITE CEDAR FORESTS, ENHANCING STATE’S RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE (21/P29) TRENTON – A component of the Murphy Administration’s strategy to ensure New Jersey becomes more resilient to climate change, the Department of Environmental Protection will restore 10,000 acres of globally threatened Atlantic white cedar forests to the state’s Pinelands region, Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced today as part of the State’s recognition of Climate Week. New Jersey’s Atlantic white cedar forests have been adversely impacted by climate change, including by sea-level rise and storm surge that have brought saltwater into these fragile freshwater ecosystems, leaving ghost forests where thriving Atlantic white cedars once stood.  “This is the largest forest restoration project ever undertaken in New Jersey and the largest ever in the nation restoring Atlantic white cedars,” Commissioner LaTourette said. “Through this project, we will reestablish once-dominant stands of Atlantic white cedar, but at higher elevations less vulnerable to rising seas and saltwater intrusion and provide habitat for globally rare plants and wildlife, while capturing and storing carbon and absorbing floodwaters.” The DEP’s Forest Service has already successfully returned Atlantic white cedar to sites where it has been lost on both public and private land. DEP will now scale up this effort, returning more than 10,000 acres of cedar forests to New Jersey’s Pinelands in places where its continued survival is not threatened by a changing climate. This effort will strengthen connectivity of this ecosystem, increase the area of high-value wetlands that store and naturally filter water, create natural breaks needed for wildfire control – and begin to restore the grandeur of southern New Jersey’s wetland forests. For information and a video, visit http://atlanticwhitecedar.nj.gov/  The restoration activities will take place on state-owned forests, parks, and Wildlife Management Areas and is funded through DEP’s natural resource damage recoveries, including settlements with manufacturers and distributors of gasoline containing methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) that contaminated groundwater and surface water throughout New Jersey. DEP pursues natural resource damages to compensate the public for harm to their natural resources and utilizes recoveries for environmentally beneficial projects like the restoration of Atlantic white cedars, the creation and enhancement of wetlands, the cleanup of waterways, and other projects that support the public’s use and enjoyment of their environment. An imperiled resource At the time of European settlement, an estimated 500,000 acres of Atlantic white cedar forests stretched from Maine to northern Florida and along parts of the Gulf of Mexico coast – with some 115,000 acres in New Jersey alone. In New Jersey, these forests were found predominantly in the Pinelands and to a lesser extent in in the Meadowlands of northern New Jersey and the Delaware Bay and Raritan Bay regions. Today, fewer than 125,000 acres remain nationally. New Jersey, with less than 25,000 acres of Atlantic white cedar stands, remains a stronghold, though a diminished one. As a result of these losses, these forests are considered imperiled by various government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service. Past logging has been a significant contributor to the decline of Atlantic white cedars. Disease- and pest-resistant, cedar wood was valued for the construction of ships, shake roofs, clapboard, and fences. Other factors contributing to losses include ditching, draining of wetlands, deer browsing and dam-building by a rebounding beaver population. In addition, Atlantic white cedar, though a coastal species, is not salt-tolerant. New Jersey has lost large tracts of these forests in areas impacted by steady sea-level rise as well as by storm surge along creeks and rivers, particularly during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The impacts of sea-level rise have left dead forests known as ghost forests for their craggy and bleached-white appearance (pictured). Yet the Atlantic white cedar forests serve as efficient carbon sinks, collecting atmospheric carbon and storing it throughout the tree and in the organic peat soil that these forests generate. In addition, these forests provide unique habitat and are critical in maintaining the excellent water quality of the Pinelands as they filter, cool and slow the movement of ground water and streams. The New Jersey Forest Service led a rigorous stakeholder process to identify and prioritize suitable areas for Atlantic white cedar restoration on state-owned property and has been working closely with municipalities and stakeholders since 2018. In addition to numerous municipalities, the DEP has worked with more than 60 stakeholder groups, including prominent environmental groups such as the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Pinelands Preservation Alliance, and New Jersey Audubon. “The grand Atlantic white cedars, like the pines and oaks, have characterized the natural landscape in the Pinelands for thousands of years,” said Richard Prickett, Chairman of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission. “Early settlers depended on the rot-resistant, straight-grained wood from these trees to clad and shingle their homes, fence in their livestock, build sneakboxes and other traditional boats and decoys to hunt for migratory game. Today we again need to depend on the majestic cedars, not to build objects from their wood, but to grow wood to help remove and store the carbon dioxide that the success of our forefathers has generated. With our help, the Atlantic white cedar can once again grow abundantly in the Pinelands and benefit humanity.”  “Restoration of Atlantic white cedar forests will fight climate change by sequestering large amounts of carbon in trees and restoring deep soil carbon in sphagnum peat for thousands of years,” said Jay Watson, Senior Director for Statewide Land Protection for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.  “Atlantic white cedar forests also provide a unique habitat for rare Pine Barrens plants and animals in need of protection. We applaud the NJDEP for these ambitious restoration efforts and look forward to working with them to advance this important project and other natural climate solutions.” “New Jersey Audubon supports this ambitious effort by the State, as Forest Stewardship Planning and active ecological forestry practice implementation,” said John Parke, Stewardship Project Director for NJ Audubon. “Atlantic white cedar restoration inherently provides enormous ecological uplift in a globally recognized Biosphere that is the New Jersey Pinelands.” “Atlantic white cedar forests are very special places, and you know it as soon as you step into one,” said Carleton Montgomery, Executive Director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. “They are quiet, sublime and magnificent. Restoring these forests on a landscape level to the Pinelands will certainly provide a great many benefits to the region’s ecological diversity. But restoring these forests will provide many intangible benefits as well, as places for people to enjoy the simple grandeur of nature for many generations to come.” Restoring a globally rare ecosystem Atlantic white cedar depends on damp and acidic soils found along rivers, streams, bogs and wetlands. Mature forests form dense stands that allow little sun to penetrate to the forest floor. This shade-shrouded ecosystem fosters growth of sphagnum-moss hummocks, liverworts, ferns, insect-eating plants, and rare orchids, some found only in the Pinelands.  In turn, this unique ecosystem supports rare animal species, such as the Pine Barrens tree frog (pictured), barred owl and timber rattlesnake. These forests filter and purify water, stabilize stream banks, store stormwater and create natural breaks that can slow or halt the spread of wildfires. The first phase of restoration is targeted to begin in the latter part of 2022 and encompass 2,000 acres along river headwaters in western Wharton State Forest. These areas were logged of cedars before the state acquired the land decades ago. The DEP will seek New Jersey Pinelands Commission approval for this phase of the project early next year. The DEP is also encouraging landowners to emulate the project. The projects will restore a more natural mix of forest types, providing habitat for a greater variety of plant and animal species. Restoration areas will vary from more than 20 acres each to parcels of several hundred acres. Priority will be given to connecting existing stands of cedars. Careful attention will be paid to conditions such as soils and hydrology. Any areas that could be impacted by saltwater from storm surge have been mapped and will be avoided. Stands of competing hardwoods, such as red maple and black gum, that have taken over formerly cedar-dominant areas will be removed. Areas will be regenerated using on-site remnant cedars as the seed source or, in limited instances, they will be replanted with Atlantic white cedars raised at the DEP’s Forest Nursery in Jackson. Each site will be carefully monitored and, if necessary, protected from deer browsing with fencing. Follow Commissioner LaTourette on Twitter and Instagram @shawnlatur and follow the DEP on Twitter @NewJerseyDEP                                                                         ##

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is dedicated to protecting New Jersey’s environment and public health. The agency prioritizes addressing climate change, protecting New Jersey’s water, revitalizing its communities and managing and promoting its natural and historic resources. For the most recent information about the DEP, follow its Twitter feed at @NewJerseyDEP or visit www.nj.gov/dep.

NJ Spotlight News video  report on Climate Change impacts in New Jersey – From August 10, 2021.

https://www.njspotlight.com/video/climate-change-how-could-nj-be-impacted-and-how-should-it-respond/