Woodlands Management Committee Meeting Minutes
Attendees: Phil
Notestine, Josh Bingham, Charlie Gormally, Jerry Uhrig
Administrative
Minutes from the previous
meeting are on the website.
Special Reports
Report on Rob Jennings' Talk to the NJ Native Plant Society,
Rob Jennings was the Park
Naturalist for the Morris County Park System until last fall when he joined the
US National Park Service, serving on the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management
Team (EPMT). Rob gave a talk recently at a meeting of the NJ Native Plant
Society. Until his departure last fall, Rob served as president of the North
Jersey Section of NJNPS.
Background on EPMTs
A general description of EPMTs and how they work can be found at http://www.npca.org/magazine/2004/spring/greenmenace.html
Our own regional EPMT for the
Northeast Region is based at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (
Highlights of Rob's Talk
1.
EPMTs make
extensive use of herbicides in their work. They find this to be essential. They
are licensed applicators (~$70 for a license) and prefer backpack sprayers.
2.
Beech Bark Disease has been discovered in
3.
Mile-a-minute vine Polygonum perfoliatum is moving toward our area.
This troublesome vine from the
4.
The good news is that the Mid-Atlantic EPMT has
eliminated kudzu from the national parks in their area. They have done this by
very aggressive application of herbicides from helicopters.
Status Reports
Deer
Phil organized a meeting
attended by Marc Weiss of UBNJ, Joe Tempesta, Phil, Richard Uranker as Council Liaison to the Environmental
Commission, Bob Tovo, and Jerry Uhrig. The purpose
was to introduce Marc and Joe, to review the progress made this year, and to
plan next year’s activities. It was agreed that the hunters will continue to
inform the police about hunting activities as well as any problems that may
arise. Joe agreed to write a letter of support to Marc and inviting UBNJ to
return next season.
Woodlands Health Monitoring
Jerry reported that one of the
problems with the monitoring protocol had been solved by getting a newer, more
sensitive GPS unit that can easily detect satellites under tree cover. We found
that it actually worked quite well indoors in the meeting room. This will
enable us to locate the seedling monitoring plots and other points of interest
at any time of year.
Ailanthus Street Trees
Three ailanthus trees
identified for removal in the street tree removal program have been removed. We
discussed how best to minimize the likelihood of root sprouts from the stumps.
Charlie suggested that we might want to try drilling holes in the stumps and
filling them with rock salt. He has used this method successfully in the past.
Jerry agreed that it would be worth trying. We will do this in a few weeks when
the weather is a little more agreeable.
Topics for
discussion
Deer Exclosures
Jerry ordered materials for
two additional deer exclosures at the discounted price negotiated by Josh. The
discount enabled us to purchase the supplies without exceeding the funds
available from Town Club grants. The materials will be shipped in Late March or
early April. At that time Jerry will receive an invoice so that he can be
reimbursed from Woodlands funds. Charlie advised that Joe Tempesta
has instituted a new voucher process. Jerry will check with Joe to be sure that
he understands the procedure.
Invasives Field Work Plans
Invasives field work for March
will take place on Saturday, March 29 at the access road to the sled run part
way up
Invasives field work for April
has not been planned yet but it is likely to be a continuation of the work in
Halsey Frederick Park.
Other topics
A schedule seems to be forthcoming
for removal of the three piles of junk bricks dumped in the Borough woodlands
adjacent to the