Woodlands Committee Meeting Minutes
Attendees: Martha
Dwyer-Bergman, Linda Spencer-Green, Phil Notestine,
Jerry Uhrig
The minutes from the previous
meeting were approved.
We discussed the three NJAS
articles dubbed the "Forest Trilogy" in their spring magazine. They
provide a wealth of information about the current state of woodlands in
The second article in the
trilogy, "The Ghost Forest," discusses the major factors affecting
the health of our woodlands: fragmentation, deer overbrowsing,
invasive species, and earthworms. It then goes on to mention a host of other
factors, from Dutch elm disease and gypsy moths to acid rain and air pollution.
This article also gives a useful list of references, two of which were
discussed at the meeting. The third article, "The Field Marks of a
Two references that Jerry
managed to track down were "The Once and
2002 State of the
This symposium, held in
October 2002, was co-sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, New Jersey Audubon,
and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. Papers were presented by many of
the experts we have been quoting and contacting, Emile DeVito,
Leslie Sauer, Susan Martka, Mike Van Clef, and a
number of others. It is an excellent resource and required reading for all of
us. We wondered about plans for future symposia.
New Jersey Audubon is
conducting Wildlife Biologist in Training workshops to train volunteers to help
with a biodiversity inventory in
Vernal Pond Survey
Vernal ponds are ponds which
have no outlet and which contain water for only part of the year. Certain
species are critically dependent on such habitat in the completion of their
life cycle. NJDEP, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program is conducting an inventory of
vernal ponds in
Herptile Survey
The other project being
managed by the Endangered and Nongame Species Program
is a herptile survey of the entire state. Herptiles are reptiles and amphibians, many not dependent
on vernal ponds. The state has been subdivided into squares ten miles on a
side. Volunteers take responsibility for surveying a square. A training
workshop is scheduled for April 3 in Hackettstown. Jerry will attend. We had
copies of the Herp Survey survey
form. It is an example of the type of form that we might use. It was fairly
detailed.
Woodlands Sampling Strategy
Survey Forms need to be
designed for the data gathering for the woodlands study. Jerry showed us a marking stake sample that
is used for the naming of the flowers at the wildflower trail in the
Mike Van Clef of The Nature
Conservancy, Skylands Office, sent us two maps. One shows
Hemlocks
On Thursday morning following
the meeting, Martha received a phone call from the
that the
condition of the Hemlocks are in slow decline and in poor condition. However,
last year's (2002-3) harsh winter conditions did kill a large population of the
woolly adelgid.
He did give the name of the State Dept. of Agriculture person who is
studying the aldegid infestation of the Hemlocks,
Wayne Martin, Northern Regional Forester 973-827-1325. Martha will be contacting him this coming
month.
Deer
Phil updated us on the culling
of the deer. Between
63 and 66 adults have been culled to date. As for the sites, feedings
have halted; the reasons are not clear. It could be that the deer have
"learned" or it could be other factors. There will be no culling this week (
Publicity
To begin to educate the
community about the Woodlands committee, Martha and Linda suggested that we use
the opportunity of the annual Garden Club's plant sale to have information
regarding invasive plants and the damage that they do to the Woodlands. Jerry mentioned that
Previous Studies
Martha reported back on the
Woodlands work that was done in March 1995 by the Woodlands Management Task
Force. (This is an addendum to the meeting.) Mr. Jack Shuart
of the New Jersey Department of Forestry led the Task Force in two walk-throughs where he provided his input on the conditions of
the large tracts and building lots and identified opportunities for
improvements. Gary Webb was asked about any additional information regarding
this work. He mentioned that a John Linson did work
in the town in 1995 and that he presented data regarding the inventories of the
woodlands. Although, Martha looked though all the files that
Bird Surveys
We are gathering data on birds
that we can using as indicators of the health of our
woodlands. NJ Audubon recently completed a five-year survey of nesting birds.
John Knapp of Denville, president of Morris Highlands Audubon, agreed to
furnish us the relevant results of the study.
The