2008 NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY UPDATED 2012 & 2015 West Amwell Township HUNTERDON CO NEW JERSEY 2008 NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY UPDATED 2012 & 2015 West Amwell Township DEDICATIONS TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP for providing unique beauty and healthful resources for our community TO THE RESIDENTS OF WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP who depend on and enjoy these precious resources ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE HUNTERDON COUNTY PLANNING BOARD for assistance with maps and data interpretation TO THE STONYBROOK MILLSTONE WATERSHED ASSOCIATION for review of the Natural Resource Inventory and assistance with maps TO THE DELAWARE TOWNSHIP ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION for permission to use their Natural Resource Inventory TO THE ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS — ANJEC for providing model Natural Resource Inventories TO THE MEMBERS OF THE WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION who have volunteered hundreds of hours to research, write and assemble this document Original NRI July 2008, updated December 2012 and July 2015 2008 NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY UPDATED 2012 & 2015 West Amwell Township TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables, Figures and Appendices.......................……1 Section 1 Introduction ...........................................…. 2 Section 2 Climate ……………………………………...………..… 3 Section 3 Land Use / Land Cover ………………………………………..4 Section 4 Hydrogeology ..........................…………........7.……6 Section 5 Well Head Protection Areas ……………………………..9 Section 6 Soils ...................................……………………….....…..10 Section 7 Known Contaminated Sites …………………………..12 Section 8 Streams and Subwatersheds …..……………............14 Section 9 Surface Water Quality ………………………………………..16 Section 10 Special Protection Waters Designation for the Lower Delaware River ………….....................18 Section 11 AMNET Biological Monitoring and Water Quality .......................................20 Section 12 Vernal Pools …….............……………………............…..21 Section 13 Wetlands …………………………………............….......…..22 Section 14 Floodplains ……..........................……………………..24 Section 15 Steep Slopes ……....................………………………..26 Section 16 Forested Areas ...............…………………………………..26 Section 17 Riparian Areas ………...................…………………..31 Section 18 Agriculture ……..........................…………………………..33 Section 19 Wildlife and Critical Habitiat …………………………..35 Section 20 The Sourland Region ………………………………………..37 Section 21 Natural Heritage Priority Site ………………………………39 References and Credits ...................................……………40 Map Data Sources ...................................……………………42 2008 NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY OF WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP 1 List of Tables Tables are located throughout the main body of the 2008 West Amwell Township Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) on the pages indicated below. Table 1 West Amwell Population Change, 1970-2000...….5 Table 2 Septic Limitations …...........…………………..............….12 Table 3 Known Contaminated Sites …...........……..................….13 Table 4 Subwatersheds …...........…………………..................….16 Table 5 AMNET Monitoring, 1997 …...........…………............21.20 Table 6 AMNET Monitoring, 2003 …...........………..............….21 Table 7 Wetland Types …...........…………………...................….23 Table 8 Forest Types …...........…………………......................….27 List of Figures Figures are located in a separate section or folder entitled “2008 WEST AMWELL TWP NRI - FIGURES.” Figure 1 Land Use, NJDEP, 1995 Figure 2 Land Use, NJDEP, 2007 (replaces 2002 map) Figure 3 Sole Source Aquifers Figure 4 Bedrock Geology Figure 5 Well Head Protection Areas Figure 6a Highly Erodable Soils Figure 6b Soil Classification Figure 7 Known Contaminated Sites Figure 8a Streams and Waterbodies Figure 8b Subwatersheds Figure 9 Surface Water Quality Figure 10 AMNET Monitoring Stations Figure 11 FEMA, Hunterdon County Flood Map Figure 12 Steep Slopes Figure 13 Farmland Assessed Figure 14 Agricultural Soils Figure 15 Critical Habitat for Threatened and Endangered Species Figure 16 The Sourland Region Figure 17 Natural Heritage Priority Site List of Appendices Appendices are located in a separate section or folder entitled “2008 WEST AMWELL TWP NRI - APPENDICES” Appendix 1 Build-Out Analysis Appendix 2 Evaluation of Groundwater Resources Appendix 3 Category 1 Guidelines, January 2008 Appendix 4 FEMA Critical Areas Appendix 5 Woodlands Ordinance Appendix 6 Stream Corridor Ordinance Appendix 7 New Jersey Threatened and Endangered Wildlife Appendix 8 Sourland Mountain Smart Growth Planning Project Appendix 9 Alexauken Creek Wildlife Management Area Biological Inventory Report Appendix 10 Exotic and Invasive Plants To Avoid and Do Not Plant List Appendix 11 Invasive Species and Native Alternatives 2008 NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY OF WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP 2 SECTION 1 Introduction “We are starting to see that our energy and environmental ills stem, essentially, from the same source: from patterns of growth and development that waste our energy resources just as liberally as they lay waste our natural environment. We no longer live in a time when we were few and the land was wide and waiting for us. We have reached a point where we can no longer insulate ourselves from the punishment and pollution we visit upon the earth and the atmosphere, and where the natural resources we once regarded as so endlessly available and expendable are becoming increasingly hard to get.” — EXCERPTED FROM 1977 NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY OF WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP This Natural Resource Inventory documents the natural resource base of West Amwell Township and presents considerations for public policy and land use. All maps and data presented here represent the most up-to-date information available. Our valuable natural resources merit consideration during the planning process and may be indicators of larger issues that require further study. This NRI is not intended to produce original research and is not meant to replace the primary data sources upon which it is based. It is intended for preliminary assessments of projects and cannot substi- tute for on-site testing and evaluations. Some components of the environment have been studied or presented in detail, while other important factors may have been minimally addressed. When new or Map of updated information becomes available New Jersey Political Subdivisions or new issues emerge, updates will be appended to the NRI. Existing map sources provided the basis for establishing the location of natural resources presented in this NRI. Since the maps were not field verified, the resource mapping is intended for general planning purposes and should not substitute for LOCATION OF site-specific surveys. WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP 2008 NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY OF WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP 3 SECTION NEW JERSEY CLIMATE ZONES 2 Climate Viewed on a global scale, West Amwell Township is situated in the North Temperate Zone, the part of the Earth’s surface between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer. Temperate forested areas occur in eastern North America and central Europe. This forest biome has well-defined seasons with distinct winters but also has a moderate climate and a growing season of 140-200 days during four to six frost-free months. Fertile soils support temperate forests and moderately dense forest canopy, which allows light penetration and promotes well-developed NORTH CENTRAL and richly diversified understory and animal life. SOUTHWEST PINE BARRENS At the local level, West Amwell Township is in the northern COASTAL climate zone of New Jersey. Hunterdon County is generally not influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and therefore has a continental type of climate. Prevailing winds are from the southwest in summer and from the northwest in winter. The average low temperature is 32 degrees and the average high temperature is 78 degrees. The annual average temperature is 53 degrees. Compared with central and southern New Jersey, West Amwell Township generally has colder temperatures and greater snowfall in winter, with a greater average annual precipitation overall. Precipitation amounts (rain- fall and rainfall equivalent of snowfall) average 48.8 inches annually. Spring and summer months tend to experience temperatures consistent with those found in the rest of the state, averaging between 51 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit. The difference between the continental and coastal climate types has a profound effect on length of growing season, characterized by the dates of first and last killing frost. Varying within the region as well as from year to year, the growing season averages 155 days. The average date of the last killing frost is May 4 and the average date of the first killing frost is October 7. Areas within the northern climate zone have, however, experienced killing frosts as early as mid-September and as late as mid-June. Another climate indicator is the hardiness zones established by the United States Department of Agriculture. NEW JERSEY HARDINESS ZONES As depicted on the adjacent map, West Amwell Township falls within Zone 6b, with an average annual minimum temperature range of 0 to -5 degrees Fahrenheit. The Indicator Plant Examples 5b -10 TO -15 6a -5 TO -10 for Zone 6b that are native to the region include: 6b 0 TO -5 • Red Maple (Acer rubrum) 7a 0 TO 5 • Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) 7b 5 TO 10 • Dogwood (Cornus spp.) • Red Oak (Quercus rubra) • Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) • Viburnum (Viburnum spp.) Hardiness zones are critical for successful cultivation or mainte-