6.  CONSERVATION PLAN

Adopted by the Mountain Lakes Planning Board, December 16, 2010

The purpose of this Conservation Plan element is to examine the natural resource characteristics of Mountain Lakes, especially in terms of areas of environmental concern.

CONSERVATION OVERVIEW/BACKGROUND

The preservation and enhancement of natural environmental features and resources was a centrally important consideration in the development of Mountain Lakes as a planned residential community in the early part of this century.  The Borough's original design created the lakes as the central focus of the planned new community.  Large land areas were also left undeveloped as woodlands.  Roads and residential neighborhoods were laid out to deliberately create a park-like atmosphere by interweaving these man-made elements with the preserved natural features.  This resulted in a community with a distinct character interrelating and balancing man-made and natural features.

A result of these physical characteristics of the Mountain Lakes community was that it attracted a population dedicated to the conservation of natural resources.  The Borough and its citizens have for generations conserved and protected this natural heritage.

CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES

The Borough should:

  1. Maintain, review and analyze the Mountain Lakes Environmental Resource Inventory document.
  2. Continue to support the efforts of the Commissions and Committees that oversee the natural resources of Mountain Lakes (i.e. Environmental, and Shade Tree, Lakes Management, Woodlands Management etc.) and provide financial support and personnel as required.
  3. Periodically review the reports/concerns of these Commissions and Committees
  4. Assure that the quality of the groundwater is maintained and potential sources of contamination are identified and remediated.
  5. Maintained the quality of the lakes using state-of-the-art monitoring, testing, treatment, cleaning as well as educational programs.
  6. Protect from development the Borough properties that have been set aside for parks, open spaces or conservation areas.
  7. Increase efforts to educate residents of all ages on ways to protect the natural environment.
  8. Participate in Regional Environmental groups and programs.
  9. Maintain the quality of the woodlands and the tree canopy on both private and public land.
  10. Actively consider the acquisition of sensitive and environmentally desirable properties.
  11. Limit damage from disturbance of steep slopes

NATURAL RESOURCE CHARACTERISTICS OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

The following is a description of the major natural resource features of special importance to the Borough of Mountain Lakes.

General

The natural resources that are of special importance to Mountain Lakes are its numerous lakes and its extensive vegetation, especially woodlands.  The wildlife found in these resources constitutes a natural asset and is typical of the rural-suburban fringe to which the Borough belongs.  To the extent that significant portions of these areas are publicly owned and dedicated to parks, open space or for conservation purposes they are relatively well protected.

Other natural resources that are more vulnerable and require or deserve special protection are:

The utilization of natural resources for the benefit of the residential community, most notably the lakes and preserved woodland areas, has created a community with a distinctive character blending natural and man-made features.  This character has been described as a park-like setting.  The preservation of the lakes, parks and large open space conservation areas has historically been the focus of the Borough's conservation efforts.  The preservation of the many small block-by-block parcels located throughout the Borough is collectively also important.  Together they serve to filter air pollution, absorb unpleasant noises, regulate temperature variations, control soil erosion, provide privacy, create pleasant views and personalize individual landscapes.  This is particularly important to a community like Mountain Lakes which has a typical lot size of one-half acre or less, significantly smaller than the typical lot size of most other Morris County communities.

Lakes

The lakes, in order from the topographically highest to the lowest altitude, are: Birchwood, Crystal, Sunset, Olive, Shadow, Cove, Reservoir (Grunden's Pond) Mountain, and Wildwood.  Taken together, the five largest lakes contain about 155 acres of surface water, with Mountain Lake, the largest, at about 80 acres.  The lakes are used extensively for swimming, fishing and non-power boating.  Lake water is tested and treated regularly during the summer months to maintain the health of the lakes so they will accommodate these types of activities.

The preservation of the lakes and quality of surface waters and the slowing of the process of eutrophication depend upon the extent to which pollution can be avoided and treatment and cleaning procedures are performed.  Non-point pollution from roads, parking lots, lawns, etc., should be controlled or reduced by the provision and enforcement of proper construction and maintenance standards as well as routine cleaning of streets and storm drains.  Sedimentation resulting from erosion also falls in the category of potential hazards that can be mitigated by appropriate criteria for development and maintenance.  Phosphate pollution resulting from runoff from lawns remains a particular concern.

The original dams which created the Borough's lakes were constructed at the beginning of the 20th century and all but the Sunset dam have been upgraded The upgrade of the Sunset dam is part of a current and on-going study.  Routine inspections and reports containing dam assessment, repairs and maintenance are submitted to the State of New Jersey.

Flooding and Detention Areas

Soils that are subject to flooding at least every two years can be found in the northeastern sections of the Borough, in areas near the intersection of Morris Avenue and Fanny Road, and below the railroad behind Midvale Acres and Yorke Village.  These areas, as well as some sections along Pocono Road and Laurel Hill Road, serve as natural detention areas.  All or at least most of this land is in Borough ownership.  All of this land is a prime subject for preservation by specific purpose dedication.

Groundwater

The Borough's potable water supply is dependent upon four wells that are Borough-operated.  Two of the wells are located within the Borough while two are in Denville.  One well located off the east side of Rt.  46 provides the majority of the towns' needs.  Assurance of an adequate water supply, in case of large demand or a temporary problem with the main well needs to be maintained.  Additionally, Mountain Lakes has inter-connect arrangements with nearby towns to provide water in case of a catastrophic event.  The depth to groundwater provides generally adequate pollution protection but faults, unfavorable soil conditions or the negative pressure caused by pumping could cause infiltration of pollution under certain circumstances.  The Borough's groundwater protection ordinance and the prime aquifer ordinance outline specific recommendations for uses and performance standards for land development over the aquifer and its recharge zone.  As required, the Borough tests the water for numerous minerals, contaminants and pollutants, to assure its quality.

Vegetation

The vegetation in Mountain Lakes includes the natural, wooded areas in the western and eastern sections of the Borough, and many scattered stands of natural woods, planted trees and extensive landscaping along the Boulevard and in most of the residential sections of the community.  Much of this vegetation dates to the beginnings of the Borough in the early part of the 20th century as a planned community In recent decades, Borough policies have encouraged the selective preservation of trees as part of the planning for new development.  The environmental character of Mountain Lakes to a large extent is a result of this legacy of large trees, woods and mature vegetation.

This legacy, however, is slowly but substantially changing as a result of two important trends.  The Borough's woodlands and vegetation are aging and much is in declining health.  This fact will have an increasing significance to natural resource preservation concerns in the Borough.  In addition, many privately owned natural wooded areas are giving way to extensive formal landscaping.  This is the result of changing tastes in landscaping of many individual homeowners, favoring more open, cultivated planting materials.  This is reducing the structural diversity of the vegetative understory away from denser natural species.  As a corollary, this loss of vegetation is resulting in a loss of song birds in the Borough.  These factors are slowly changing the natural resource and environmental characteristics of Mountain Lakes.

Excessive deer population has resulted in the loss of low scrubs and vegetation.  Programs to limit the deer population were initiated in 2005 and have been successful in culling the deer population.  Low level vegetation is returning.  The Woodlands Management Committee has instituted a program to educate, identify and remove invasive species in the community.  In order to achieve long term success, this needs to be a continuing program.

CONSERVATION PROPOSALS

The following are the major proposals related to the conservation of natural resources in Mountain Lakes.

Preservation of Park Lands, Open Space and Conservation Areas

The Borough should continue the long established policy of preserving and protecting the extensive Borough-owned areas dedicated for park, open space and conservation purposes.  The preservation of these areas is important for environmental reasons and to the character of the community.  Many of these areas were set aside from development because they contain environmentally sensitive lands including steep, erosion-prone sections, detention and water recharge areas, soils with high water table and most of the natural woods.  Most of these areas are located within the passive sections of dedicated parks or within other Borough-owned land.  The preservation of these lands constitutes a major protection of the resources providing safety against erosion and sedimentation in the surface waters.  As lands become available that are important to the Borough, the town should seek to acquire them (e.g. King of Kings property).

Lakes and Streams

Protecting the water quality of the Borough's lakes is centrally important to the character of the community and the way of life of its citizens.

The following measures should be carefully considered by the Borough:

Groundwater

The Borough should do what it can to protect groundwater resources in order to protect public health and safety and to avoid major public expense for remedial solutions to remove contamination or to develop alternative supplies.

The following measures are recommended:

Woodlands/Vegetation

Mature indigenous vegetation, in woodlands and in residential neighborhoods, has long been a central characteristic of Mountain Lakes.  Change in the extent and structure of this vegetation which is occurring as a result of the natural process of aging and because of changing individual preferences in landscaping will inevitably have important repercussions on both the character and environmental health of the Borough.  Residents should be educated to the importance of preservation of the natural flora of the Borough, especially the older growth vegetation and specimen trees.  An ordinance has been adopted restricting the cutting of trees.

Education will continue to be a priority for preserving the natural flora of the Borough, especially the older growth vegetation and specimen trees.  The primary objectives for the woodlands shall be:

Environmental Resource Inventory

An Environmental Resource Inventory, expected to be completed in 2011 will serve as a baseline.  In the future, a periodic review of this inventory should be performed to properly report the nature and character of the community.

Historical Background

Collectively, the Borough's surface waters are an important part of the headwaters of the Whippany watershed; 90 percent of the Borough's surface water drains to the Whippany River while the remaining 10 percent drains to the Rockaway River watershed.