Natural Resources Inventory Borough of Hawthorne Passaic County, New Jersey
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Natural Resources Inventory Borough of Hawthorne Passaic County, New Jersey Borough of Hawthorne Environmental Commission - April 2001 - - Natural Resources Inventory Borough of Hawthorne ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Borough of Hawthorne Environmental Commission Brad Lakefield, Chairperson Helen Semmler, Vice Chairperson Hon. Fred Criscitelli, Mayor Hon. Bruce Bennett, Councilman Raymond Guernic Rayna Laoisa Richard Pardi, Ph.D Brenna Rooney Michael Sebetich, Ph.D. - Viola Sweeney Rosanne Zagatta Department of Public Works Ron Tatham, Superintendent, Water Department Ken Sowa, Municipal Forester - William Paterson University Students Jennifer R. Baston Michael F. Lukach Barbara Malcame Valerie J. McHugh Carissa D. Moncavage Amy B. Mundhenk - Janet Thevenin Jason S. Touw - April2001 - This Document was funded in part by a grant from the NJDEP Environmental Commission Grants Program - and the Borough of Hawthorne Natural Resources Inventory - Borough of Hawthorne Passaic River Coalition A Nonprofrt Watershed Association and Land Trust Angelo C. Morresi Chairman Ella F. Filippone Executive Administrator - PROJECT STAFF Peter D. Ter Louw - Anne L. Kruger Andrew J. Baumgartner James Bride Patricia Chinn-Sweeney Pat Rector - The Passaic River Coalition is a nonprofit watershed association created in 1969 to serve as an advisor to the citizens, governments, and businesses of the Passaic River - Basin on land and water resource management and public health. - - - - - Natural Resources Inventory - Borough of Hawthorne PREFACE A number of years ago, the Hawthorne Environmental Committee, chaired at the time by Fred Criscitelli, decided that the Borough of Hawthorne should create a document that could serve as a baseline to describe the environmental status of the community. A grant proposal was written in hopes that state funding would help defray the cost of such an undertaking. Although the grant proposal was well-written by a group of committee members led by myself, the Borough of Hawthorne was initially denied funding for this project because the group submitting the proposal was only a committee instead of being an official Environmental Commission. The members of the Hawthorne Environmental Committee petitioned the governing body of the community to change the group's committee status and create an Environmental Commission. The committee realized that once a commission was formed, Hawthorne would then become eligible for grant funds that could be used to create a Natural - Resources Inventory for the borough. After many years, our goal was finally achieved in 1998 as the town council encouraged by Mayor Fred Criscitelli, voted YES to create Hawthorne's first Environmental Commission. Once established, the commission set out to prove to its supporters within the community that it now could obtain State grant funds for the borough. A proposal to create a Natural Resources Inventory was written and accepted for State funding. The - Environmental Commission had proven to the community that it could obtain State money to fund projects that would help to preserve and protect the environmental resources of the town. - Once the grant was awarded, the Hawthorne Environmental Commission began the monumental task of putting together this Natural Resources Inventory. I would like to personally thank all the members of the Commission for their volunteer efforts in - contributing to this project. Without their interest, and dedication, this project could not have been completed. I would also like to thank Dr. Richard Pardi's students from William Paterson University and the Passaic River Coalition, especially Peter Ter Louw, - for their assistance in compiling all the information herein contained. Without their input, a document of this quality could not have been achieved. Lastly, I would like to thank two special people who believed that we could complete a project of this magnitude. First and foremost, a special thank you to Mayor Fred Criscitelli, who has attended each Environmental Commission meeting and supported us in all the projects the Commission has selected to pursue. Without his assistance in - many capacities, this project would have never come to fruition. Secondly, I would like to thank former Commission Vice Chairperson, Helen Semmler, for her support and commitment in championing environmental causes within our community. Helen - passed away during completion of this project, but her special spirit of volunteerism and community service transcended into all members of the Commission to help make this - Natural Resources Inventory a reality. - Brad Lakefield, Chairperson - Hawthorne Environmental Commission - Natural Resources Inventory Borough of Hawthorne TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Preface 1. Introduction 2. Land Resources • Geology • Soils - 3. Air Resources • Climate • Air Quality 4. Biological Resources • Vegetation • Wildlife 5. Water Resources - • Ground Water • Surface Water - 6. Natural Resource Use - • Land Use and Open Space • Transportation - 7. Literature Cited - 8. Appendices '"" Natural Resources Inventory Borough of Hawthorne Figures and Tables NAME OF FIGURE LABEL Geologic Map of New Jersey Bedrock Geology Fig. 1 Physiographic Provinces of New Jersey Fig. 2 Map of Bedrock Geology Fig. 3 Map of Sedimentary Deposits Fig. 4 Map of Soil Types Fig. 5 Sketch of Soil Horizons Fig. 6 Distribution of Soils in Hawthorne Fig. 7 Average Monthly Temperature Fig. 8 Mean Annual Temperatures Fig. 9 Mean Annual Precipitation Fig. 10 Average Monthly Precipitation Fig. 11 Circular Graph Plot of Wind Direction Fig. 12 Shade Tree Condition Fig. 13 Shade Tree Diameter Fig. 14 Shade Tree Species Fig. 15 Hydrologic Cycle Fig. 16 Map of Public Community Wells in Hawthorne Fig. 17 - Average Monthly Water Pumped from Municipal Wells Fig. 18 Ground Water Recharge Fig. 19 Map of Known Contaminated Sites in Hawthorne and Goffle Brook Watershed Fig. 20 Map of Watersheds and Streams in Hawthorne Fig. 21 Map of Passaic River Watershed Fig. 22 Diagram of Floodplain Areas Fig. 23 Map of Floodplains and Wetlands Fig. 24 Map of Open Space and Recreation Fig. 25 Map of Transportation Fig. 26 NAME OF TABLE LABEL Health Cautions for Pollutant Standard Index Table 1 Air Quality Index (US Environmental Protection Agency) Table 2 - Air Quality Measurements for Passaic County Table 3 Potential Species of Wildlife in Hawthorne Table4 Animal Species of the Piedmont Geologic Province Table 5 - Rare Invertebrate Species of Passaic County Table 6 Rare Vertebrate Species of Passaic County Table 7 Christmas Bird Count for Hackensack-Ridgewood 1983 Table 8 Fish Sampled from Goffle Brook, 2001 Table 9 - Fish Reported in the Passaic River Table 10 Public Community Wells in Hawthorne Table 11 Known Contaminated Sites in Hawthorne Table 12 - Underground Storage Tanks in Hawthorne Table 13 NJPDES Records for Hawthorne Table 14 Linear Morphometry of Goffle Brook and Deep Brook Table 15 Goffle Brook Water Chemistry Table 16 - Deep Brook Water Chemistry Table 17 The number of taxonomic orders of macroinvertebrates sampled at Deep Brook, Goffle Brook, and Molly Ann Brook Table 18 - List of organisms and number of individuals arranged by taxa and sampling site for Deep Brook, and Goffle Brook Table 19 - - - Natural Resources Inventory Borough of Hawthorne NAME OF TABLE LABEL Fish sampling of lower Goffle Brook using a seine Table 20 Fish sampling using electro-fishing methods of Goffle Brook and Molly Ann Table21 Brook USGS Water Quality Data for the Passaic River Table 22 Fish Sampling of Passaic River, Lackawanna Bridge Paterson Table 23 Fish Sampling of Passaic River Elmwood Park Marina Park Table24 - - - - - - .... - - - - Natural Resources Inventory Borough of Hawthorne INTRODUCTION Diverse landscapes of water, mountains, residential neighborhoods, bustling commercial districts and older industrial sections define the Bor-ough of Hawthorne as a northern New Jersey suburb. Hawthorne is a mature community that is almost fully built out. Fortunately for its residents, however, as the municipality developed, efforts were made to protect much of ttle natural resources that provide f·or the communitY's character and high quality of life. But in the future, Hawthorne will be faced with new conservation and environmental challenges that will require measured and thoughtful environmental planning. The Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) will provide this guidance by providing information and insight on the environmental conditions and limitations of the natural resources that comprise this community. This NRI is produced to increase the public's awareness of natural resouroes in the community and to emphasize the value of protecting environmentally sensitive areas. Developing a Natural Resource Inventory is an ongoing and continuing process, and the NRI ·s a living document that should be periodically updated to address changes in the community. View or the Passaic River and The terrain of Hawtlhome is Lincoln Ave. Bridge. extremely varied. Much of the municipality is located in a shallow valley through which flows the picturesque Goffle Brook. The valley is predominantly flat increasing slowly in elevation to the north, but also containing llocalized high points. At the s·outhem end of town, Goffle Brook flows into the :Passaic River as it winds ls way to Newark Bay and the Hudson Harbor estuary. Along the western edge of Hawthorne, the First Watchung Ridge, a volcanic extrusion of basalt, rises abruptly creating precipitous cliffs and steep slopes. Pnor to European settlement,