Dec. 2010/Jan. 2011 Volume18 Number 2 Meet the New Rancocas Watershed Ambassador..............2 Russell Juelg off to NJCF’s Parker Preserve................. ........3 Credit: Richard Stockton College of NJ Winter Ecology in Solar carport above parking lot at The Richard Stockton College of NJ. This is an example of a feasible alternative option for the Stafford Landfill project. the Pine Barrens ....4 Diversion Without Compensation: PPA DEP and Pinelands Commission Approve MEMBERandum..6 Solar Facility on Preserved Parkland by Carleton Montgomery & Theresa Lettman Pinelands Solar power is a good thing, since it is and Stafford isn’t volunteering any. The Calendar .............. 7 infinitely renewable and solar panels gen - State House Commission, a committee of erate no direct carbon or other harmful legislators and executive branch officials, emissions. But industrial solar arrays has to give its final approval, which it Upcoming should not be built everywhere. may have done by the time this goes to PPA Events Specifically, they should not be built on press. land that has been preserved for natural In 2006, the Stafford Township Landfill habitat. But that is what the Department Sunday, December 5 was officially closed, and the Pinelands of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Commission approved construction of a Green Trading Post the Pinelands Commission have just shopping mall and houses on threatened endorsed. In mid-November, they and endangered species habitats at what 1:00 - 5:00pm approved Stafford Township’s plan to is now called Stafford Park, through a lease the top of the closed Stafford land - Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). As Bishop Farmstead, fill, which has been designated as pre - Pinelands partial mitigation for the loss of T&E served open space and maintained as habitat, which is supposed to be protect - Preservation Alliance grassland habitat since 2006 , to a private ed by the Pinelands rules, the Township developer to construct a large solar ener - agreed to protect the landfill portion of gy facility . Critically, the agencies are not the site as open space “unmolested” and 17 P EMBERTON ROAD requiring Stafford to provide any com - SOUTHAMPTON , NJ 08068 “in perpetuity.” The land used to be a T - 609.859.8860 pensatory conservation of other land – F - 609.859.8804 landfill; then it was capped; and now it is WWW .PINELANDSALLIANCE .ORG continued on page 5 Inside The Introducing the Rancocas Pinelands Creek Watershed Ambassador Published six times a year by the Pinelands My name is Caroline as an Ambassador I was able to educate Preservation Alliance DiGiovanni. I am the over 1,000 people about watersheds 2010-2011 AmeriCorps and related issues, train 130 volunteers New Jersey Watershed in stream monitoring, perform 50 Executive Editor Ambassador for the stream assessments, and organize and Carleton Montgomery Rancocas Creek Watershed participate in cleanups and rain barrel Management Area. AmeriCorps is a building workshops. Through all these national service program started in efforts I was able to recruit over 800 Editor 1993 under the Clinton administration. volunteer hours in the Mullica River Mike Hunninghake It is sometimes referred to as the Watershed Community. domestic Peace Corps. The New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program has PPA Staff been hosted in the state by the New Richard Bizub Jersey Department of Environmental Tom Dunn Protection since 2000. Through this program an ambassador is stationed at Becky Free a host agency in each of New Jersey’s Theresa Lettman 20 watershed management areas. The Jaclyn Rhoads objective of each ambassador is to engage the local communities and edu - Jane Wiltshire cate them about water and watershed- related issues. The result is better edu - Credit: Caroline DiGiovanni Distributed to cated citizens able to make more Caroline DiGiovanni informed decisions that will help to PPA members & volunteers, protect our waterways. I have high hopes and expectations for state legislators, my second year of service in the NJ The Rancocas Creek area is 360 square Watershed Ambassador Program. As an Pinelands municipalities, miles and includes all or part of 33 dif - Ambassador, my mission is to educate elected officials, ferent municipalities. The majority of the public about the waterways in our selected officials, the area falls within the western half of area and what they can do to protect Burlington County, with small parts in this precious natural resource. Consider and planning boards Camden and Ocean Counties. The me a FREE resource to our community. major waterways in the area are the I am available to do presentations for North Branch, South Branch and the schools and community groups. I can Mainstem of the Rancocas Creek, which also train volunteers to assess the drains to the Delaware River. Other health of our streams through visual smaller tributaries to the Rancocas and biological assessments. and am Creek include Greenwood Branch, available to help out with various McDonald’s Branch, Haynes Creek and watershed-related activities and festi - Our newsletter is available at: Friendship Creek. My host agencies in vals. Through my efforts I hope to the area are the Rancocas Conservancy encourage everyone in our community www.pinelandsalliance.org and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. to be a good steward of the environ - ment and our watershed. Printed on 100% recycled I graduated from The Richard Stockton paper (made from post-con - College of New Jersey in May of 2009 Feel free to contact me at this email sumer pulp produced in a with a Bachelors of Science in address: chlorine-free pulping and bleaching process) Environmental Science. My first year out of college I served in the NJ [email protected] Circulation: 550 0 Watershed Ambassador Program as the Mullica River Watershed Management or call (609) 859-8860 x56. Area Ambassador. During my first year 2 Russell Juelg Off to Manage Public Programs at Parker Preserve New at the for NJ Conservation Foundation PPA Store Russell Juelg, our staff naturalist, advocacy before the Pinelands Posters: Fine Art botanical expert, and story-teller Commission and other agencies Pinelands Scenes par excellence, is leaving PPA to know he is a persistent and force - take on a new challenge. Don’t ful advocate for protecting the Beautifully reproduced fine worry, he is not leaving the Pines! Pine Barrens’ rare wildlife and flora. And those of us who have art Pinelands images by followed him into the woods at Albert Horner, on high quality night, with no flashlights, looking for the Jersey Devil know Russell’s poster paper ready to frame. talent for turning a scary tale – Size: 20 ” x 30 ” . Four images and bringing us all back to the to choose from: Wading campfire alive. River Reflections, Martha All of us working and volunteering Pond, Half Moon Bog, and at PPA are grateful for Russell’s Credit: PPA dedication and companionship Sunrise at Apple Pie Hill . over the last ten years. Thank goodness he is staying in the Price: $29.95 Russell entertaining folks on an Pines, and we can all continue to Overnight Canoe Trip in 2005 learn about the beauties and mys - Shop the online PPA store or stop Russell will be designing and lead - teries of the Pine Barrens in his by the Pinelands Visitor Center ing public programs for the capable hands. Franklin Parker Preserve of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF). The Parker Preserve is the ATTENTION BOY 9,600-acre nature preserve around SCOUTS! Green Trading Post the village of Chatsworth that used to be the DeMarco cranberry farm December 5, 15 pm Starting in January 2011, until the DeMarcos placed it in preservation through a conserva - PPA will be offering at PPA ’ s Bishop Farmstead tion sale to NJCF. Shop for “ green ” gifts Workshops for the for the holidays! All those thousands of children following Merit Badges: and adults who have explored the Participating organizations Pine Barrens with Russell know will include: Environmental Science, what a great impact he has had on Pinelands Preservation Alliance Pinelands conservation since com - Soil and Water Conserve Wild Foundation of NJ ing to this region more than a Conservation, NJ Audubon Society decade ago. Those who attended Geology and Weather . PPA’s Special Pinelands Plants Whitesbog Preservation Trust Course know the depth of knowl - edge Russell developed, and com - For more information Woodford Cedar Run municated, about the Pinelands’ contact Wildlife Refuge unique botanical heritage. Those [email protected] who have been the object of his Profits help support the missions of the various conservation groups. 3 Winter Ecology in the Pine Barrens by Tony Geiger, New Jersey Audubon Society Kurt Vonnegut wrote that the sea - Consequently the best places to Remember not to become discour - sons should be renamed – “sum - find birds are places that offer food aged. Unless you frequent the mer, locking, lockdown, unlocking.” - places with seeds, berries and woods, you simply won’t see many I sometimes think about the winter hibernating insects. Running water mammals. That being said, some as “lockdown”. ‘Why would I want or otherwise open water is another interesting winter mammals to seek to go out and look for animals good cue. Finally, a place with shel - out in the pines are: red squirrel, now?’ I think. What I often forget is ter from the elements, which is flying squirrel, river otter, mink, that, although we often remain pretty much any place in the Pine raccoon, red fox, gray fox, and coy - indoors, nature is not locked down Barrens offers a good chance to ote. Black bear have been sighted in in the winter, especially not in the spot birds. the Pines on occasion, but the odds Pine Barrens. Don’t ignore a flock of Yellow- of seeing one in winter are slim. Winter brings a different light to rumped Warblers or Tufted Titmice the “big woods” of Southern New – in winter, less common species Credit: Tony Geiger Jersey and a changing of the guard mix with common ones.