State Forester Wants to Plant Trees on Turnpike

COURT HOUSE – The work session for Middle Township Committee Feb. 18 was dominated by a lengthy question and answer session with three witnesses, Alex McCartney of the State Forestry Service, Joseph Bennett of the State Department of Environmental Protection and Peter Lomax. They were there to explain how the No Net Loss Reforestation law was going to be put into effect to mitigate the loss of trees from the Garden State Parkway construction project.
Lomax told committee that the original plan never anticipated the extent of the tree loss. “In building the overpass that will eliminate the traffic lights, 26 acres of trees were destroyed,” Alex McCartney explained. 19.78 acres would be replanted on site. Another 6.25 acres, the equivalent of 1,275 trees would go elsewhere.
Mike Grant is the senior engineer on the construction project and will have input as to when the planting will begin. It is tentatively scheduled for spring 2014. The township allowance per tree will be $300. Mayor Timothy Donohue asked McCartney, “How does this compare to other projects you have worked on?”
The state forester told him that there is a project on the turnpike “between exits six and nine that is 400 acres. This is a good project for a good reason. I heard there have been some fatalities due to the lights.” Grant said that Lomax will be in charge of overseeing the planting and that his office will monitor the seedlings for two years. “We will check at the end of the first year and by the end of Year Two we are looking for a 95 percent survival rate.” That’s when his agency’s involvement ends.
Committeeman Daniel Lockwood asked what kind of trees would be planted. McCartney told him that they try to match the species with the area but added there would be a variety of trees, both deciduous and coniferous.
The Department of Transportation is responsible for the planting in some areas and sometimes they make missteps, such as planting the tree ball in a wire basket. This can cut into survivability rates. McCartney encouraged for “resident monitors. If you can just be our eyes.”
Joseph Bennett told committee, “54 months is our time frame from time of planning through planting, maintenance and protection.”
That is how long the township has to fulfill the terms of the grant. It includes the 2-year survivability rate. While expounding on the terms of the grant program, Bennett mentioned that Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky had made the most of those tree grant funds. He was in fact “our largest grant recipient.” As for where the trees will be obtained, Bennett advised committee to “consider the credentials of who you are using.” There is also a geographical restriction as to purchasing. “There is a 250 mile radius for acquiring,” said Bennett.
The next item on the agenda was the Property Maintenance Code. In reworking the existing ordinance, some tweaking of language was done, such as the use of the words “unregistered or inoperable” as it applies to RVs, trailers and boats. And while you may, under specific conditions, park your trailer in the driveway, you may not live in it, sleep in it or use it as an office.
Donohue announced that there was a lot of interest in the establishment of an advisory board to deal with issues of animal welfare. Rick DeFrasio, who has a keen interest in animal protection, said that he has been researching what sort of sheltering works best for which dogs and what appropriate standards are.
To contact Helen McCaffrey, email hmccaffrey@cmcherald.com.