Preserving history, protecting habitats: a U.S. Corps of Engineers project restores wetlands to create a public park.In the summer of 2006, a volunteer from the Somerset County Somerset County is the name of four counties in the United States and one in England. See:
The Corps visitors were there to perform the Finderne Wetlands Mitigation Project on the house's property. It was evident to the team that the state is proud of the property's history--something that was taken into account when the Corps' New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of District decided to collaborate with the state in 2000 to enhance and restore the land around the house to create wildlife habitats and a public park. The Corps often deals with projects concerning waterways and land use. The goal of land management helps to keep water where it belongs and maintain the sanctity of ecologically valuable locations. This particular wetlands mitigation project is part of the Green Brook Green Brook is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States. The Green Brook rises in the Watchung Mountains at an elevation of 410 feet (125 m) in Free Acres, (the border of Berkeley Heights and Watchung) and flows east forming the Flood Damage Reduction Project designed to reduce flood damage in New Jersey's Raritan River The Raritan River is a major river of central New Jersey in the United States. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. Basin in north central New Jersey--in Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties. The Finderne project is located on 130 acres of land along the Raritan River. "Flood damage reduction is one of our major missions at the New York District," says John O'Connor John O'Connor can refer to a number of people:
tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. , flood damage. In 1999, floodwaters from Tropical Storm Floyd The name Floyd was used for four tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean.
Another major New York District flood damage reduction project preserving historical property and the environment is the Ramapo River The Ramapo River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately 30 mi (48 km) long, in southern New York and northern New Jersey in the United States. at the Oakland, N.J. Flood Damage Reduction Project. The Ramapo River, from Pompton Lake upstream to West Oakland Avenue, frequently floods. In 1999, Tropical Storm Floyd caused approximately $5.3 million in damages. The Oakland project involves the construction of features for flood damage reduction along the Ramapo River from Pompton Lake in Wayne Township Wayne Township can refer to multiple places:
Megan Grubb, biologist and coordinator for the Corps district says that the Finderne project has a similar mission. "The project is enhancing existing wetlands, forested land and grassland habitats on the site and creating more than 20 acres of man-made wetlands to sustain wildlife and create an educational public park." she says. The land was used for farming crops and livestock from the late 1600s to just a few years ago when Somerset County purchased it for open space preservation and park development. Years of farming had caused erosion problems on the land. One of these farms is the historic Van Veghten House. By 1699, the Van Veghten family farmed a huge tract of land that included all of the property now under construction at the mitigation site. The 18th-century red brick Dutch farmhouse still stands on the bluff above the floodplain floodplain, level land along the course of a river formed by the deposition of sediment during periodic floods. Floodplains contain such features as levees, backswamps, delta plains, and oxbow lakes. with a view to the Raritan River. The house that's presently occupied by the Somerset County Historical Society has a rich history that includes sheltering Gen. George Washington's Quartermaster General Noun 1. quartermaster general - a staff officer in charge of supplies for a whole army staff officer - a commissioned officer assigned to a military commander's staff , Gen. Nathaniel Greene, during the Revolutionary War, while his soldiers camped nearby. "Corps projects all have the potential to encounter historic resources such as archeological sites, but it is not often that they involve working with such a great historic structure as the Van Veghten House," says Lynn Rakos, archaeologist, New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "The historic preservation Historic preservation is the act of maintaining and repairing existing historic materials and the retention of a property's form as it has evolved over time. When considering the United States Department of Interior's interpretation: "Preservation calls for the existing form, aspects of the project had to be carefully balanced with the wetland mitigation needs. It was an interesting challenge for the project team." As with all Corps projects, the environment is the primary concern during construction. The land was graded for approximately two months around-the-clock, to prepare it for spring seeding. Grading sets the stage of the mitigation work by achieving a soil elevation that supports the water needs required for wetland plant growth. The soil in the wetland creation areas was then tilled to create mounds and depressions, mimicking the uneven surface of a natural wetland. The soil was then fertilized fer·til·ize v. fer·til·ized, fer·til·iz·ing, fer·til·iz·es v.tr. 1. To cause the fertilization of (an ovum, for example). 2. and limed to prepare for the planting of 100,000 trees and shrubs this spring. Habitat mitigation areas were also seeded with a mixture of native grasses and wild flowers. Several wetland habitats, forested land and grassland habitats were enhanced or created to provide nesting and foraging habitats for a variety of birds, amphibians amphibians members of the animal class Amphibia. Includes frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and cecilians all capable of living on land or in water. , reptiles reptiles terrestrial or aquatic vertebrates which breathe air through lungs and have a skin covering of horny scales. They are poikilothermic, oviparous or ovoviviparous, and, if they have legs they are short and constructed solely for crawling. , aquatic invertebrates, butterflies and mammals. The public will be able to view these habitats by walking along a two-mile nature trail created by the Corps. The trail meanders throughout the site and has signs that educate the public about the habitats and the wildlife they are supporting, as well as provide facts about the nearby Van Veghten House. Also on the site are two playing fields with parking lots and access roads, making the site a part of the Raritan River Greenway The Raritan River Greenway is a proposed path in Somerset County, New Jersey that would link Branchburg Township to the East Coast Greenway with the Delaware and Raritan Canal trail in South Bound Brook. . "Most of the mitigation work was completed in the summer of 2006. Twelve acres of recreational area, such as the trail and playing fields, will be opened to the public in the spring of 2007 after the grasses and plants have had a chance to grow," adds Grubb. RELATED ARTICLE: Planning a mitigation project: Grubb provides these suggestions for others planning a mitigation project. Contact plant nurseries early. Do this to find out what species are available and to see if you can get the quantity and plant size you need for your project. Plan ahead when using native plants. If you plan on growing native species in your project using seeds and cuttings collected directly from the area, it is recommended that propagation activities be initiated at least two years in advance of project construction. Consider practical storing of plant material on the site. Have a plan in mind for storing large quantities of plant material, especially bare root trees and shrubs on the site. The Corps' construction contractor used an on-site refrigerator truck A refrigerator truck is a van truck designed to carry perishable freight at specific low temperatures. Like Refrigerator cars, refrigerated trucks differ from simple insulated and ventilated vans (commonly used for transporting fruit), neither of which are fitted with for storing. Having the truck, which mimics a greenhouse by maintaining temperature and humidity levels similar to a nursery, allows you to store large quantities of plants and it extends the window of time cuttings can be stored on site for planting. Without the truck, the storing and planting of bare root material would have been limited to just one to two days for each delivery of plants. Have project designers make repeated site visits. Project designers should visit the project site several times during the design process because site conditions can change. Incorporating any necessary design changes prior to the construction helps to minimize construction time delays and costly modifications. They should also be involved team members during the construction process. Collaborate with property stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. . For example, the Corps reached an agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office to plant grassland rather then trees near the Van Veghten House in order to maintain the historic view from the house to the Raritan River. The Corps also reached an agreement with a local utility to plant un-obstructive vegetation in areas of the site to provide them continued access to overhead power lines on the site. Grubb said that the success of this mitigation project has encouraged her to seek out other sites in the area to perform similar work. "We are already observing wildlife on the site, including Red-tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, Painted Turtles, Northern Water Snakes The Northern Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon, is a large, well-known snake in the Colubridae family that is native to North America. They are active during the day and at night. They are most often seen basking on rocks, stumps, or brush. , freshwater clams and a resident Red Fox." For more information about the Veghten House, please call the Somerset County Historical Society at (908) 218-1281. |
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