VOL. 58, NO. 3 Fall 2011 A publication of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, central New Jersey’s first environmental group.

Your water. Your environment. Your voice.

Inside 2... A Dam Comes Down!

6... Member Spotlight: Reserve Expands to 930 Acres Matt Wasserman After many years of hope and several years of negotiation, completes a “conservation corri- the Watershed Association has purchased nearly 70 acres dor” between Hopewell Borough 8... of forest, wetlands, and meadow from Thompson Realty and Pennington (see map p. 11). Calendar Company, boosting the organization’s Watershed Reserve of Events to 930 acres. The acquisition unites the two previously The land, at the southwest corner of unconnected portions of the Watershed Reserve and Wargo and Moore’s Mill-Mt. Rose Roads, was purchased with funds that the Watershed Association secured from the state’s Green Acres Program. Mercer County and Hopewell Township provided matching funds through their respective open space programs and additional funds were provided by Conservation Resources, Inc. and individual donors.

Prior to the purchase of the Thompson tract, the Watershed Reserve consisted of two nearby but separate pieces of land. The Thompson property consolidates the Reserve and protects a diversity of wildlife habitat. Approximately 70 percent of the land is forested with meadows and shrubland comprising the balance.

The Thompson property now affords protection to a 1,000-foot section of the Honey Brook and its associated wetlands. The Honey Brook is a significant tributary to the Thompson Tract, looking north toward the Mt. Rose Ridge Category 1 waters of the Stony Brook, and provides source Continued on page 11

Conservation Advocacy Science Education FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Trucks and Fish When my son was little, he was obsessed with trucks. Dump trucks, fire trucks, garbage trucks, these were his passion. He could spend hours at a time playing with Tonkas or watching David Sidoni and his “Theregoesa ­videos” (There goes a bulldozer, There goes a snowplow, etc.)

I would wince a little with each reading of “Building a Road,” a large format picture book that described the complete process of transforming a verdant forest into Workers demolish the Calco Dam a glistening new road, but admit that I enjoyed making noises with Jimmy to simulate the bulldozing, grading, and he’d caught in the Millstone River, just a few miles from the paving taking place on the pages in front of us. At the time former dam site. I was working for the Wilderness Society and spending most of my days fighting against proposed roads through Over the coming years, we hope to celebrate the removal wilderness areas in Alaska and elsewhere only to spend a of the Blackwells Mills and Weston Causeway Dams on the part of each night celebrating the monster machines that Millstone River and the return of shad and other fish that carry out such deeds. (I’m pleased to report that despite once graced these waters in great numbers. I look forward to his early fascination, my son is now a budding naturalist keeping you informed of our progress. and environmentalist.) VVVVRRRRRROOOOOMMMMM. Those memories came rushing back to me this summer as I gazed at the three large machines dismantling the Calco Dam in the Raritan River. One truck with an enormous jackhammer-like appendage hammered away at the ­concrete and steel dam, reducing it to rubble. A second ­vehicle gathered up the debris with its giant claw and ­deposited the wreckage into an enormous dump truck.

In addition to freeing the river from its shackles, the big Lighting trucks in the river released my inner two-year old. the Scene In an effort to save It was thrilling to witness the demolition of this energy and demonstrate dam, which had been the only impediment to fish another emerging technology, migration between the Atlantic Ocean and the the Watershed Association has Millstone River (the Millstone joins the Raritan decided to install LED light fixtures just a few miles upstream from the former for outdoor lighting. Light emitting Calco Dam site.) As the dam crumbled and the diodes (LEDs) are much more energy river rushed through, the water level upstream efficient and live much longer than the of the obliterated structure quickly dropped halogen floodlights they are replacing. to meet the water level below it. Mild rapids An average LED uses only 44 watts of appeared and long-hidden pools revealed power and lasts 50,000 hours while an themselves spontaneously in the river. average halogen floodlight uses 300 watts and lasts only about 3,000 hours. In Within hours, I saw great blue herons and addition, LEDs are mercury-free egrets fishing these pools. Later that afternoon, and lead-free! a friend e-mailed me a photo of a striped bass

2 Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org StreamWatching Focus on Heathcote Brook scientists are conducting extensive sampling at two sites on Heathcote Brook in South Brunswick, NJ. This stream has been noted to have high bacteria concentrations. Staff members have been sampling Heathcote Brook on a monthly basis to determine if there are patterns linked with the contamination (e.g. high pathogen levels following storms). We anticipate finishing our data collection later this year. After analyzing the data, we hope to identify the sources of con- tamination to the Brook and then work to repair or remove these pollutants to improve the Brook’s water quality.

Heathcote Brook

Two years ago, the Watershed Association initiated a monitoring program for fecal pathogens. Our StreamWatch volunteers monitor nine sites in our watershed for E. coli, bacteria used as an indicator of fecal pathogen contamina- tion. Pathogens enter surface waters in a number of ways, including leaking septic tanks or fields, runoff from farms, and runoff of wildlife waste. After the water samples are collected, they are incubated on a Petri dish and the number of bacterial colonies is counted. The results are compared to the NJ Surface Water Quality Standards to determine if a stream is impaired (notably contaminated) for bacterial quality. If a stream is found to be impaired, interested What’s Bugging You? parties can identify ways to prevent further contamination from these pathogens. How does the Watershed Association use GIS? GIS (geographic information system) is a system that In addition to the volunteer monitoring combines hardware (computers and gps units), soft- program, Watershed Association ware, and data to better visually analyze information using maps. GIS provides a means to combine­ multiple sources of data (such as land use and water quality)­ that are integrated into maps. For example,­ to determine Like us on where potential pollutants may be entering our streams, Visit www.thewatershed.org and we map and analyze water quality data, land use data, click the Facebook link. Click the and information on the location of industrial and “like” button to join our network. stormwater discharges. This information provides us with a critical first step to cleaning up our streams.

Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org 3 CONSERVATION BEGINS AT HOME Stormwater Runoff in Harry’s Brook The Watershed Association was pleased to welcome Daniel Fletcher as our 2011 Princeton Environmental Institute summer intern. Daniel is a rising senior at Princeton University in the department of civil and environmental engineering. The focus of Daniel’s internship is modeling stormwater runoff and management in the Harry’s Brook watershed. While the Harry’s Brook headwaters are, at least in part, within the relatively undeveloped Princeton Ridge, large portions of the stream are highly urbanized. In fact, a large section of Harry’s Brook in Princeton Borough is contained entirely in underground pipes that are fed by storm sewers.

As a result, Harry’s Brook tends to carry large amounts of water and can overflow its banks, even during smaller rainfall events. The large volume of water, and the energy associated with the flow, results in localized flooding, stream bank erosion, and downstream transportation of sediment. Some landowners have complained that their properties are literally being washed downstream. Habitat

Daniel Fletcher and Amy Soli

What is fracking? quality for organisms including fish and macroinvertebrates Fracking, a short-hand term for hydraulic fracturing, (insects, crayfish, and mussels) is also compromised. is a process that uses water and a variety of chemicals to create­ cracks in underground rocks and force natural Daniel is working on a model to predict how much gas towards the surface so that it can be harvested stormwater infiltrates the soil and how much moves into for energy. The ­process has increased natural gas the stream through runoff. The goal is to determine the production but has led to the contamination of extent to which various small scale stormwater manage- ground and surface water in a ­number of areas. The ment practices, such as rain barrels and rain gardens, Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a can reduce stormwater flow and flooding. If the study study to assess the impacts of fracking on determines these practices can make a discernible water resources. difference, we hope to work with homeowners and small businesses in the Harry’s Brook watershed to Pennsylvania and New York currently allow fracking help reduce flooding, improve water quality, and but the New Jersey State Legislature approved legis­ restore habitat. lation to ban fracking for natural gas drilling, which could become a concern in the northwest corner our state. Governor Christie had yet to sign the fracking Our Apologies ban into law before the deadline for this publication. In the previous issue of Wellspring we wrote “The CEO Foundation” rather than Read more: “The Rita Allen Foundation” in President http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/class2/ & CEO Elizabeth Christopherson’s quote about the Foundation’s $100,000 gift to hydraulicfracturing/index.cfm the Watershed Association.

4 Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org SUMMER FUN Summer at the Watershed 2011

Nature & Environmental Summer Day Camp “My son loved exploring in the woods and finding ants and spiders and frogs.” “My children really enjoyed being able to learn hands on and get dirty.”

Fairy Festival

Butterfly Festival and Green Fair Paddle on Lake Carnegie

Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org 5 MEMBER spotlight Matt Wasserman: Green on Many Fronts and encourages developers there “to be as green as possible,” he says.

The Commission is currently developing an environmental check list that it hopes builders will adhere to. Currently, they ask developers to create buildings that are LEED- (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, to limit impervious cover, to build away from stream cor- ridors, to put natural storm water systems in place, and to take other measures to mediate their effect on Princeton’s environment. “Sometimes (builders) listen, sometimes they don’t,” Matt says.

Matt’s “day job” as Director of Global Product and Portfolio Stewardship for Church & Dwight in Princeton also allows him to exert some environmental influence. In his position, he can ensure that Church & Dwight products and practices are “as green as they can be.” For example, Church & Dwight recently built a LEED-certified plant in When Watershed Association member Matt Wasserman York, Pa., that uses geo-thermal heating and cooling and was growing up in Philadelphia, he spent almost all of his other cutting edge technologies. Additionally, the Church free time outside. Now, at 40, he’s a dad and he wants to & Dwight employee fund has supported the Watershed make sure his kids get the same chance. “You start to ask, Association with a $10,000 grant each of the last six years. will all these amazing resources be here for my son and daughter throughout their lifetimes?” says Matt, who lives Matt says he supports the Watershed Association to ensure in Princeton Township with his wife Suki, 10-year-old son, that clean water will be here for years to come. “Water Eli, and 8-year-old daughter, Molly. is the next gold or oil, the next scarce thing,” he says. “If we don’t take care of what we’ve got, we’ll lose it. You just A member of the Watershed Association for nine years, hope, as someone who loves the outdoors, that you can do Matt is also chair of the Princeton Environmental Com- something to stem the degradation of natural resources. mission, which reviews and makes recommendations on You just want it all to be here for your kids,” he says. proposed developments and environmental ordinances,

Conservation Crew For a second year, the Association hired a team of seasonal employees to keep pace with work on the Reserve during the busy growing season. Both David and Gemma returned for the 2011 season and were instrumental in helping with property management and conservation tasks on the Reserve.

2011 Conservation Crew David Hopkins and Gemma Milly

6 6Summer Fall 2011 2009 www.thewatershed.org www.thewatershed.org Speaking of nature Out There After School by Jeff Hoagland The calendar may still say summer but with the onset of school, summer is clearly over. The dragonflies are ­gathering over the golden meadows on bejeweled wings; and crawling across the landscape and the seat was the the green foliage of our trees is turning crimson or gold or dull red of Brunswick shale where I felt so at home. All of some other shade of delight; fat old pumpkins are ­ripening these additions to my clothing, the result of productive out in the farm field; and Monarch butterflies are winging playtime, resulted in colorful reprimands from my mother their fragile bodies south to an evergreen resort in the and ­certainly spawned a competitive era in the laundry mountains of Mexico. School is again in session but there detergent industry. is so much to experience and learn out there in the outdoors. We now understand that free play is an important part of The shift back to the school year is a challenge for parent child development. Children belong outdoors doing, well, and child alike. Don’t try to share that notion with the stuff. Research illuminated in Richard Louv’s landmark kids—they won’t buy it—but there are lots of adjustments book Last Child in the Woods indicates that spending time for all to be made in the return to familiar routines and outdoors in nature can enhance creativity and improve regimented schedules. Luckily, in my household, the new self-esteem. It can improve problem solving skills and school year brings a measurable amount of excitement. cognitive ability. It improves health and reduces stress. There can be joy in new challenges and deep satisfaction Outdoors, the seeds of wonder are most deftly sown. in learning. I remember welcoming each school year in my youth but I also remember missing the freedom and the I know where I will be after school this year. I will be out thrill of exploration that came with summer. I did my best, there out in the woods, searching the meadows, following each school year, to hold onto that in the afterschool hours. a stream, sharing the natural world with students at This led, inevitably, to regular battles between my parents in the spruce tree and me regarding what comes first—play or homework. Well, homework may have its place in the scholastic sense the calls of chickadees of learning but it really wasn’t possible for me to tackle below me without some playtime, or free time, first. Like most youth, I needed to use my body, every lean little muscle if possible, Hopewell Elementary School. Our Teacher Naturalists to remedy the act of sitting through another long school will be doing likewise at other nearby schools. This is our day. I also needed to unhitch my mind, maybe focus on second year of implementing our Nature and Ecology important things like the greenness of frogs, or let it wander Afterschool Enrichment series, a carefully crafted set of a bit taking me with it. programs that offer a well-calculated mix of exploration, hands-on learning, inquiry-based science and old fashioned After school, the play clothes went on—my license to get free-play. Students will make “fossils” and plaster animal dirty, muddy or bloody as I saw fit. They were marked with tracks; create paint from nature; discover joy in autumn the crusty old sap from climbing the fragrant, ladder-like foliage; visit local animal homes; adopt bush houses; dissect spruce trees. They were torn from trying to find a new owl pellets; and much more. passage from a communal bush house through a tangle of multiflora rose. There was the bloodstain from catching my Don’t let nature and the outdoors slip away now that neighbor’s errant rock skipping shot right on the knee-cap. school is here. To learn more about our after school The knees of my pants were also grass green from sliding ­programs, please contact us at the Nature Center.

Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org 7 Fall Snapshot 2011!

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 3 september

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Offices closed So Many Species, Crazy about Crayfish,* School-age Program, 10:30a.m.–12p.m. 4–5:30p.m. Look for us at the Mercer County Insect Festival @ The Mercer Educational Gardens*, 1–4p.m.

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Tiny Tot Walk, Monarch Madness, Lost and Found, Creepy Spider Hunt, Bon Voyage Birds 10–11a.m. Preschool Program, School-age Program, 7:30–9p.m. 10–11a.m. 1–2:30p.m. 4–5:30p.m. Monarch Madness, Itty Bitty Book Club, Preschool Program, 11–11:45a.m. 10–11:30a.m.

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Taste of Place Goodbye Summer… Goodbye Summer… Coyotes Are Cool, BSA Nature Merit Badge @ Eno Terra Restaurant, Hello Fall! Hello Fall! School-age Program, Workshop, 9a.m.–1p.m. Kingston,* Preschool Program, Preschool Program, 4–5:30p.m. Canoe Trip/Canal Clean Up 2–6p.m. 10–11:30a.m. 1–2:30p.m. @ Turning Basin Park, Princeton,* 10a.m.–12p.m. Bon Voyage Monarchs, 10:30–11:30a.m. Invasive Plant Removal/ Clean Up*1–4p.m.

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Oh Deer! Preschool Oh Deer! Inspired by Nature: ART! Program, Preschool Program, School-age Program, 10–11:30a.m. 1–2:30p.m. 4–5:30p.m.

Visit www.thewatershed.org/news-and-events/ or call (609) 737-7592 for details!

8 Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org Registration is required for all programs. * = Co-sponsored Event Co-sponsors include: Eno Terra • Space is limited. • All programs meet at the Buttinger Restaurant, Master Gardeners of Nature Center unless stated • Visit thewatershed.org for details Mercer County, National Public Lands otherwise. & call (609) 737-7592 to sign up! Day, Sourland Planning Council, • Payment methods: Cash, Check, Washington Crossing Audubon, VISA, MasterCard or Discover.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1

Watershed FEST, FEST forward, 6:30p.m. octoberTeacher–Naturalist Volunteer Training Do you enjoy sharing the natural world and science with students or adults? Learn how you can join our Education team, which delivers nearly 400 programs annually to over 10,000 participants through school field trips, scout trips and public programs. Please contact the Buttinger Nature Center for more information. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Fall Star Party, October 3–18 7–8:30p.m. Hopewell Valley Schools visit for two-and-a-half weeks of environmental education lessons. Buttinger Nature Center will remain open to the public.

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Offices closed Bon Voyage Leaves, 10:30–11:30a.m. Itty Bitty Book Club, 11–11:45a.m. ‘Back to Camp’ Summer Camper Reunion, 1–3p.m. ROCK-tober Hike in the Sourlands,* 1:30–3:30p.m.

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Colors of Autumn, Tiny Tot Walk, Apples Abound, School-age Program, 10–11a.m. 10a.m.–12p.m. 4–5:30p.m. Nature of the Night Halloween Hike and campfire, 6:30–8p.m.

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Skeletons, Skeletons, Creepy Critters, Hike w/Dr. Henry Horn Preschool Program, Preschool Program, School-age Program, @ Princeton Institute Woods* 30 31 10–11:30a.m. 1–2:30p.m. 4–5:30p.m. 9a.m.–12p.m. Tree-mendous Adventure, Geocache Event, 10a.m.–1p.m. Visit www.thewatershed.org/news-and-events/ or call (609) 737-7592 for details!

Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org 9 Refund Policy A full refund will be made if notice of cancellation is received at least 48 hours before a program. Call 609-737-7592 to cancel. No refunds or credits will be given after that time. All returned checks incur a bank fee. Watershed membership is not refundable.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 3 4 5

Fall’s Harvest, Mission Migration, Focus on… Preschool Program, School-age Program, Nature Photography* 1–2:30p.m. 4–5:30p.m. 2–4p.m.

novemberFall’s Harvest, Preschool Program, 10–11:30a.m.

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Star Gazers, Star Gazers, Autumn Adventure Autumn Adventure Fall Field Day, Preschool Program, Preschool Program, Mini Camp, Mini Camp, 9a.m.–1p.m. 10–11:30a.m. 1–2:30p.m. 9:30a.m.–4p.m. 9:30a.m.–4p.m. Itty Bitty Book Club, 11–11:45a.m.

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Tiny Tot Walk, Snakes, Snakes, Inspired by Autumn Hike & 10–11a.m. Preschool Program, Preschool Program, Nature II: Invention! Natural Decorations, 10–11:30a.m. 1–2:30p.m. School-age Program, 1–3:30p.m. 4–5:30p.m.

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Nuts to You, Nuts to You, Offices closed Offices closed Preschool Program, Preschool Program, 10–11:30a.m. 1–2:30p.m.

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Who? Owls! Who? Owls! Preschool Program, Preschool Program, 10–11:30a.m. 1–2:30p.m.

decemberHoliday Open House Winter Bird Walk,* 5–7p.m. 8:30–11:30a.m.

Visit www.thewatershed.org/news-and-events/ or call (609) 737-7592 for details!

10 Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org Board of Trustees Lorraine A. Sciarra, Chair Reserve Expands Margaret Gorrie, Vice Chair continued from page 1 Margaret Sieck, Secretary Scot D. Pannepacker, Treasurer Dr. William M. Ayers Kathleen Biggins Elizabeth Bromley Bill Carmean Elliot Cohen Barbara Griffin Cole Daniel J. Dart Jonathan L. Erickson Marylou Millard Ferrara Peter E. Gibson Sophie Glovier Robert H. Harris, Ph.D. Katharine P. Heins Annarie Lyles, Ph.D. Brian J. McDonald Nelson Obus Thomas O’Neill Richard O. Scribner Gregory Vafis Tee Williams

Staff Jim Waltman, Executive Director Rich Cavallaro, Controller Jennifer Coffey, Policy Director Jeff Hoagland, Education Director Gwen McNamara, Communications Director Map depicts the Hopewell to Pennington Conservation Corridor Amy Soli, Ph.D., Science Director completed with the acquisition of the Thompson property Bay Weber, Conservation Director Nancy Anderson water for the Watershed Reserve pond, which the Association Nancy Apple has long used for educational purposes. Leslie Brecknell Shannon Brockway This purchase also completes a “conservation corridor” Alyse Greenberg between Hopewell Borough and Pennington. To the south Nicholas Ho of the Watershed Reserve are private lands over which conser- Allison Jackson vation and trail easements have been granted, the state owned Molly Jones Baldwin Lake Wildlife Management Area, and Kunkel Park, Lisa Jordan Tammy Love which is owned and managed by Pennington Borough. Darlis Maksymovich The Watershed Association plans to locate a hiking trail Joan McGee through the newly purchased land and eventually complete a Emma McLaughlin Maryann Polefka regional pedestrian trail that will connect Hopewell Borough Amy Weaver and Pennington through the conservation corridor (see map).

For more information visit: thewatershed.org * EMAIL: To contact staff by email, use the first letter of the person’s first name, followed by the last name: for example, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association [email protected] 31 Titus Mill Road, Pennington NJ 08534 Main office phone: (609) 737-3735 Fax: (609) 737-3075

Fall 2011 www.thewatershed.org 11 NON-PROFIT ORG. 31 Titus Mill Road U.S. POSTAGE Pennington, NJ 08534 PAID NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ PERMIT NO. 1818 Your water. Your environment. Your voice.

Printed on recycled E content paper with soy inks

Join us for the 36th annual Watershed FEST as we put our best

An evening of bold plans and tented elegance under the stars

Saturday, October 1, 2011 LEARN HOW At six-thirty in the evening IT ALL on the Watershed Reserve FITS TOGETHER!

Cocktails • Hors D’oeuvres • Silent Auction • Dinner • Live Auction Join us on October 1st for an exciting Black Tie & Wellies Optional announcement about how For more information, the Stony Brook-Millstone please call Nancy Apple at Watershed Association 609-737-3735, ext. 28 or go to is moving forward! www.thewatershed.org/ news-and-events/watershedfest/