Woodlands Committee Meeting Minutes
Attendees: Jerry Uhrig, Phil Notestine,
Martha Dwyer-Bergman, Linda Spencer-Green
The minutes from the previous
meeting were approved.
Reports
Bamboo
Jerry mentioned that the
bamboo dumping problem off
Deer Management (Phil/Martha)
Culling: Phil reported that bow hunters have taken 9 deer. Bow hunters were hunting in the following
areas: Wilcox,
The
Tourne county park will have a deer hunt this year for the first time. There will likely be hunters not only in tree
stands but also on the ground. The park
will be closed during the hunt days, which will be in mid-December. They have posted the times at the entrances
to the roadways into the park but we are not sure if they have done it at all
the trails that enter the Tourne from
Contraception: Martha reported that she finally had a response from Jack Schrier regarding the Deer Sterilization. He requested that
our Borough adopt a resolution that calls on the federal government to allocate
$5M to the Department of the Interior to develop a formula for a safe and
effective single-inoculation of the deer.
Martha will contact Armen Melikian
of
Invasives (Jerry)
Jerry
and Lynn went to the Autumn Plant Symposium at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum. The
entire day was spent on invasive plants and deer and how to control them. One
expert from the National Park Service suggested that a “Hack and Squirt” method
can be effective in controlling ailanthus. That is, you hack the side of the
tree with an ax and then squirt pesticide into the cut. But a luncheon
discussion with
Rob
Jennings, Morris County Parks biologist, stated over
lunch that there are three major mechanisms changing the woodlands: earthworms,
deer, and invasive plant species.
Earthworms
are breaking down the duff, which then prevents the native plant seeds from
germinating and enabling the invasive plants to take root. Rob said that there
were no native species of earthworm anywhere in
According
to Emil DeVito, even if an area is protected by
fencing it may take 10 years for sufficient recovery to occur in the native
habitat so that one can see much difference. We should seriously plan on
fencing areas of the woodlands so that there will be control areas where the
recovery can be observed more clearly.
According
to a policy directive issued by the State DEP Commissioner on October 14, the
State of
Woodlands threats-
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: Jerry mentioned that there
was a report of some healthy hemlocks in the
Emerald ash borer:
Jerry
mentioned that the Wild Flower Trail at the Tourne has a white ash tree in
their enclosed area. It is their largest tree and should be helpful in identifying
other ash trees throughout our woodlands.
Bacterial Leaf Scorch: Northern red oaks in
Sudden Oak Death: Linda reported that there
has been one reported death in
Asian Longhorned
Beetle:
Linda said that this coming summer (2005)
Woodland Threat Priorities: Threat priorities were
updated from the list given in the June status report to Council. The update
was prompted by new threat information obtained in the months since June. The
new list is as follows:
Threat Priorities (revised
November 04)
(Highest
first)
Education/Publicity
Website: Jerry said that all the minutes are now up on
the site. Andy Bulfer said that a new
server is being installed that will enable the individual sites to be more
easily updated.
Martha
brought a magazine that has some websites that we might want to include in the
Woodlands site. For a list of Problem Plants go to http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxiousDriver
and www.nps.gov/plants/alien/ If you want to learn more about the birds,
butterflies or plants in the area, go to the FREE online Wildlife Guides. Merely enter your zip code and e-mail address
to access hundreds of photos and detailed information: www.birdsandblooms.com (This is from the magazine Birds and Blooms.)
Martha
has pictures of burning bush at
Linda
and Martha will walk the trail near the spring house to look for the spicebush
and maple leaf viburnim. Pictures will
be sent for inclusion on the website.
Shade Tree Ordinance
Jerry
and Linda discussed the draft ordinance that the Shade Tree committee presented
to the Borough. There was a concern by
the Mayor that there needed to be additional strength in the ordinance with
regard to the planting of trees to replace those that are being removed. Should
replanting be included in the current ordinance or as a separate ordinance? Should there be a list of specific trees that
choices can be made from and reasons why other trees are at risk and list the
concerns for the diseases that are pending.
Fencing
Jerry
said that there needs to be a fencing program to establish control areas to
study the progress in the woodlands regrowth.
Jerry pointed out that the fence at the Wildflower Trail is inspected
weekly for breaks. It is likely that we would have to do the same.
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