Delaware River Greenway Partnership and D & R Canal State Park are working on a grassland restoration project in Hopewell.
Along with the grassland project, the organizations are leading an invasive species removal project in the state-designated Bulls Island Natural Area in Hunterdon County. Projects are funded by grants from National Park Service, Wild and Scenic Program, and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Delaware Bay Estuary Project.
In Hopewell, a 70 acre field — located between Route 29 and the river across from the Golden Nugget flea market — is being restored to native grasslands for the benefit of ground nesting birds such as meadowlarks, grasshopper sparrows, killdeer and bobolinks. Appropriate habitats for these grasslands species have become rare because of increasing urbanization.
Stands of invasive Black Locust trees and Autumn Olive were removed and the field was seeded with native warm season grasses.
The grasses will require three years to mature before becoming a fully functioning grassland meadow. In the meantime, occasional high mowing will remove unwanted volunteer shrub and tree growth, and any emerging invasive growth will be extracted by hand.
Local Boy Scout, Michael Gambino, is set to build, install and monitor bluebird boxes along the field to meet the requirements of his Eagle Scout Award. When Gambino’s work is finished, plant and bird populations will be monitored and compared to earlier censuses.
In Hunterdon County, the repeated flooding along the banks of the Delaware River washed away many of the native shrub and wildflowers found within the Bulls Island Natural Area. Japanese knotweed, an unwanted invasive species, became prolific within this ecologically significant area.
Funding was provided to remove the knotweed and replant with locally native plants. The organization is seeking volunteers to help with the replanting effort on Oct. 6 . Those interested can contact D&R Canal State Park naturalist Stephanie Fox at dnrnaturalist@verizon.net or 609-924-5705.
DRGP is a bi-state non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote cross river cooperation and protection of the multiple resources of the Lower Delaware River watershed.
