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Grassland

 

The Mission of Team Habitat is to coordinate the creation, enhancement, and maintenance of habitat for all wildlife species that live in or migrate through New Jersey. 

Team Habitat is a group of dedicated conservationists working to provide habitat for all wildlife species by creating, enhancing and maintaining quality habitat throughout New Jersey.  Team Habitat will use wildlife and natural resource professionals to direct a paid and volunteer work force in performing habitat projects.

 

 

new Team Habitat NEWS — Fall 2007

Team Habitat continued creating wildlife habitat in South Jersey in 2007. Team Habitat completed three projects this spring. In each case we established warm season grasses to promote habitat for ground nesting birds.

We planted a warm season grass mix on a five acre property at the Willow Oak natural area for the City of Vineland.  We partnered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, who provided seed and technical oversight. The city of Vineland Public Works Department disked the field just prior to our planting the site using the no-till drill. Team Habitat Manager, Rick Parenteau, can be viewed planting grasses in the Willow Oak natural area in the left picture below.

Planting creates

Remember! — Planting creates grassland habitats for wildlife.

Warm Season Grasses

Two year old warm season
grasses in Somerset County.

We next traveled to a private farm in Somerset County. The owner has dedicated much of the farm to warm season grasses and habitat restoration and plans for additional plantings in 2008. The picture to the left shows warm season grasses in an adjacent field after just two growing seasons.
Our final warm season grass planting was for City of Cranberry on land adjacent to the Cranbury Elementary School. This township parkland will provide a convenient outdoor classroom as the students and teachers can walk out their classroom and experience high quality wildlife habitat. We partnered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Freehold, New Jersey to complete a Wildlife Habitat Incentive Plan (WHIP) project. As this park is located at the edge of Cranbury, local residents can also walk to this park.

Cranbury

Recently planted warm season
grass field in Cranbury, New Jersey

In addition, Team Habitat has applied for a National Fish and Wildlife Fund grant to hire a part time employee to initiate and complete habitat restoration projects. This individual will operate, transport, and maintain partner agencies equipment and perform outreach, marketing, and landowner contracting. Team Habitat members feel this grant will help us become self reliant.

You may contact Team Habitat at: South Jersey RC&D, Columbus USDA Service Center, 1971 Jacksonville-Jobstown Road, Columbus, NJ 08022 - 609-267-1639 x110

 


Buckshutem WMA Savannah Creation

a joint South Jersey RC&D Council and Southern New Jersey Quail Unlimited project

Buckshutem Savanna 2006There were hundreds of dairy farms in South Jersey in the 1960s. These farms were comprised of pastures for the cows which often contained trees and hedgerows. During the seventies, grain farming became more profitable, so farmers converted their old pastures to cropfields and removed the hedgerows to accommodate the large farm equipment. While this was happening farmland was being gobbled up for suburban housing tracts.  Grassland birds, such as vesper sparrow, northern bobwhite quail, eastern meadowlark, northern harrier, and bobolink have declined to one half their population of previous decades.

In 2002, the South Jersey RC&D Council partnered with Southern New Jersey Quail Unlimited to develop a plan to address the loss of open habitats or savannas from the New Jersey landscape. Loss of this habitat was due primarily to changes in farming practices and suburban development

Buckshutem Wildlife Management Area (WMA) required the scientific removal of designated trees to provide openings of various sizes and to reduce the canopy allowing more sunlight to reach the soil surface.  A carpet of warm and cool season grasses, forbs and weeds would then be allowed to grow.  This new carpet would provide grassland birds and butterflies with the habitat needed to find food, nest, and raise young. A 128 acre area was selected from the 3000 acre Wildlife Management Area.

Click here to read the complete description for the creation of the savanna.

Click here to read about the Groundbreaking in April 2002.


Turning Back Time

The New Jersey Savannas Reborn

by Kevin C. Shelly

"Turning Back Time" was printed in the January - February 2004 issue of Quail Unlimited Magazine. The article delivers both history and the people perspective for the Buckshutem WMA Savanna Creation project (above).

Click here to view the article. (pdf)

SJRCD would like to express its gratitude to Quail Unlimited for granting permission to distribute this article.


Team Habitat needs the following: 

    A person, with driver's license, able to drive a 60hp John Deere tractor, operate a disk, brush-hog, TruAx warm season grass drill, and be able to operate a herbicide spray rig. Be available for 6 to 10 jobs next spring and summer - in the South Jersey region.

    If you are that person, or know someone, please call Ken Taaffe at 609-267-1639 x110 or send him an e-mail at coordinator@sjrcd.org

     

 
 
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