Summer 2016 - Middlesex County Improvement Authority

Middlesex County Improvement Authority
SUMMER 2016
Under the Open Space Preservation Program, with the assistance of the Middlesex County Open Space Advisory Committee and the Middlesex
County Improvement Authority, the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders acquires land to be preserved forever.
OPEN S.P.A.C.E.S is a quarterly report of the program’s progress.
Recreational Gems
on Preserved Land
Rock Climbing Playground Equipment at Crabiel Park in Milltown
Butterfly House at Davidson Mill Pond Park in South Brunswick
Pollinator Hotels
W
ho knew that Davidson Mill Pond Park is a
hotbed for hotels?
It’s all the buzz this summer, as an Eagle Scout
candidate recently constructed eight native pollinator
nesting areas on the open space parcel in South
Brunswick.
“It’s a hotel, but we’re not charging rent,” said Eric
Gehring, a naturalist with the Middlesex County
Office of Parks and Recreation. “They pay us back in
their ecological services.”
So far, two varieties of these “hotels” speckle the
property.
“They’re out in the middle of a field of tall grass, but
they are visible by the public,” Gehring explained.
In the first scenario, a 1-foot-tall log, with a series
of drilled holes, is mounted on a post. Covered by a
shingle, it provides solitude to an insect, like the bee,
which lays its egg within the shelter in the spring or
fall, Gehring said.
“Typically, a solitary bee will create a chamber in
the nest block, lay her egg along with a ball of pollen
and nectar that she creates called bee ‘bread,’” he said.
“When the egg hatches, the larvae eats the food its
mother left behind.”
The other type of hotel is a square structure with
a domed roof standing 4 feet tall and also taking
advantage of the shingle’s protective features.
“A variety of nesting grounds will bring in more
species,” Gehring said, adding that there are currently
4,000 species of native bees in North America.
As of late, the federal government has mobilized the
public to preserve pollinator habitats.
“Most bees are solitary nesters,” Gehring said. “In
modern yards, the desire for neatness has reduced the
number of nesting sites for native bees – bare ground,
dead trees, tall grass. About 30 percent of our native
bees nest in cavities: old logs, trees with empty beetle
tunnels, plants with hollow stems, like bamboo.”
From an Idea to Open Space Law
Thompson Park Dog Park in Monroe
There are a number of laws regarding preservation on
the books. Many of these bills start off with a simple
conversation. They evolve into something greater
when legislators get involved in the discussion. Here
is a soup-to-nuts breakdown on how an idea becomes
open space law.
STEP 1: A legislator submits the details of a
preservation-related idea for a new law to the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, where the bill is
drafted, assigned a number, titled and then returned
to the sponsor for review and possible modification.
STEP 2: The Senate President or Assembly Speaker
assigns the bill to the appropriate standing committee
for review, potential public hearings and possible
amendments. It is then scheduled for a vote by the
sponsoring legislative house.
STEP 3: If approved by a majority of the members,
present and voting, it is then forwarded to the
other legislative house for a similar procedure. If it
fails to receive a simple majority, it may return to
the committee for further consideration or to the
sponsoring legislator.
STEP 4: If the bill passes both legislative houses,
with amendments, if any, it is then forwarded to the
Governor’s desk.
STEP 5: The Governor may veto the bill, conditionally
veto the bill for further legislative action, pocket veto
the bill (to “kill it”) or sign it into law.
S
Pest Peak Time
ummertime cues people in, presenting a warmweathered window in which to wander into the
open spaces. The journeys, the pictures and the stories
make the trek far worthwhile; however, the pests are not
always a welcomed caveat. Here is a brief description
and some tips on how to avoid some of Mother Nature’s
local nuisances, while out in the wild:
Chiggers: The juvenile mite of this tiny arachnid is
found in forests, grassy fields, gardens, parks and in
moist and humid areas around lakes or rivers. Barely
seen with the naked eye and often attached to lowlying plants, the chigger larvae pack a little bite with
a powerful and itchy punch, often striking in spring,
summer and fall.
Ticks: These blood-feeding, miniature arachnids are
made up of more than 800 species and have scoured the
earth for some 90 million years. In recent times, their bites
have been linked to maladies like Lyme disease, Texas
fever and food allergies, which are typically transmitted
during warmer months, in as little as an hour’s time and
may be exacted on humans and animals alike.
Mosquitoes: This small midge-like fly feeds on the blood
of animals and humans. Not only are their bites irritating,
but they have also been associated with a number of
illnesses, such as the West Nile Virus. Usually found in
the vicinity of standing water during the warmer months,
the mosquito is also an integral and important part of the
food chain, acting as a reliable source of nourishment for
bats, birds, dragonflies and frogs.
Deterrents and Preventive Tips:
-Wear long sleeves
-Pair long pants with overlapping long socks
-Stay on marked trails and avoid overgrowth of
vegetation or close proximity with stagnant water
-Keep a hat on your head
-Wear lighter colored clothing for better visibility
-Use a repellant spray or device
-Avoid walking and hiking at dusk or dawn
-Limit perfumes, fabric softeners or hairspray
FACTOID
New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the
nation, has a land mass that totals 4.49 million acres. With
more than 1.4 million of those acres labeled as preserved
farmland and open space, 31 percent of the state falls into
this category.
D
Beach Sweep
ozens huddled around a playground at the Old
Bridge Waterfront Park in the late morning hours
of April 30 – some toting galoshes, others strapped
with gloves and most armed with trash bags.
Local officials, like Middlesex County Freeholder
Charles Tomaro, commended the crowd’s efforts,
ramping up enthusiasm, before signaling the group to
kick-off the 2016 “Beach Sweep” at Pirate’s Cove.
This biannual litter clean-up is tethered to the Clean
Ocean Action’s Beach Sweep initiative, which marked
its 30th year in 2016. The organization is on a mission
to protect waterways via science, law, research,
education and citizen action.
Like dandelion seeds unhinged from their stem,
participants dispersed deep into the park, out into
the ebbing inlet, among the sandy, wooded and
sometimes hilly terrain.
With a glove acting as a barrier, one woman plunged
her hands into the muddy soil, fishing out a red cup.
Her adolescent partner looked at her with a curious
stare and pondered aloud, “Plastic cup?”
“Yes,” the laborer confirmed.
With that, the young girl began a tally under “cup”
on the paper she gripped.
Still, there were plenty of options to choose from,
everything from food wrappers to cigar tips to
building material to foam plates, along with a litany
of other trash.
As the day wore on, each team in Old Bridge
catalogued the type of trash it was disposing of for a
much broader purpose – so that this data might be
catalogued, compiled and later studied.
“It turns a one-day event into a legacy of information
to combat litter and other sources of pollution by
identifying and monitoring trends,” Clean Ocean
Action’s website states. “Indeed, the data has been
used to help create federal, state and local programs
and laws to reduce litter in the environment.”
While the Beach Sweep forms have an extensive
roster of items, most volunteers run into what COA
activists refer to as the “dirty dozen.”
“The No. 1 type of debris continued to be plastics,
making up 70 percent of the total debris,” COA’s
website reported of the 2015 figures. “Of that, nearly
70 percent of the plastics were single-use plastics, such
as plastic water bottles, plastic cutlery and straws.”
Once collected, the statistics are then distributed to
the Ocean Conservancy in Washington, D.C., to be
used in an international database on marine debris
and within a worldwide campaign against ocean
pollution.
“The Beach Sweeps are more than people picking up
trash from beaches,” the website goes on to say. “The
program builds community support for solutions, as
well as raises awareness about the negative impacts
of the litter on wildlife and the ocean. Citizens learn
about the types and quantities of debris found along
the coast and the shorelines of rivers, lakes and
streams.”
For more information regarding open S.P.A.C.E.S, please contact the Middlesex County Improvement Authority’s
Public Information Officer Maria Prato at mp@mciauth.com or by calling 609-655-5141.
Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders
Ronald G. Rios, Freeholder Director
Carol Bellante, Freeholder Deputy Director
Kenneth Armwood
Charles Kenny
H. James Polos
Charles E. Tomaro
Blanquita B. Valenti
MCIA Board
Leonard J. Roseman, Chairman
Robert J. Mantz
Jacque Eaker
Camille Fernicola
Anthony Raczynski
Carol Bellante, Freeholder & MCIA Liaison