Activities

Annual Musky clean up

·          What?  TU and the Musconetcong Watershed Association are spearheading our annual river clean up around Earth Day celebrations.

·          Who?  TU volunteers, friends, neighbors, Scouts, church groups, all are welcome to help out!  We had more than 400 volunteers last year and aim for 500 this year.

·          When?  Saturday, April 17^th 9am – noon

·          Where?  1) North/upper watershed: San Bar Park/Alumni Field in Hackettstown which is off Willow Ave. about 250 yards north on Willow from main street/route 46.  Turn off rt. 46 onto Willow just before the intersection of routes 46 and 182 (if traveling East) and just after that intersection if traveling West.    2) Middle river: Hampton Boro Park and please contact either Brian Cowden (brianmag@optonline.net) or our Central Jersey TU chapter which oversees efforts in this section of the watershed along with the MWA.   3) Lower River: Warren Glen Paper Mill at junction of routes 519 and 627/639.  TU volunteers work down to the main Delaware River from this meeting location.  Contact Brian Cowden as above and you will be coordinated with members of our E. Schwiebert chapter.

·          What do I need to do to get involved?  Just show up with old clothes and waders (if you have them) along with a pair of gloves and we will supply the garbage bags.  Email Brian Cowden (brianmag@optonline.net) or sign up at the March chapter meeting.  Or just show up on the 17^th of April.

Thanks – Brian Cowden

Conservation Projects:

The Fred Burroughs/North Chapter has a lot of conservation opportunities to work on Musconetcong tributaries in the upper watershed under the Home Rivers Initiative.  If you are interested in learning more or to sign up to help in one of the following areas, please contact chapter conservation chair Glen Zeeck (gzeeck@yahoo.com) or the Musconetcong Home Rivers Coordinator, Brian Cowden (brianmag@optonline.net).  

Musconetcong Tributaries Project

 ·          Become trained in visual stream assessments and water quality testing and help to locate and map all tributaries of the main river, perform an initial water quality test using equipment to be provided, and perform a visual assessment using DEP protocols (volunteers needed throughout the watershed, our chapter members would work up north).  This will allow TU and the Musconetcong Watershed Association (MWA) who have partnered on this project to name each tributary, assess it for protection and/or restoration and to perform additional mapping of each trib and electro fishing with NJ Fish & Wildlife biologists to determine the native trout populations in each tributary.  TU and MWA to train all volunteers.

Kurtenbach's Brook Habitat Improvement Project

·          This Musky trib is well protected and intact in most of its length.  It has an excellent wild brook trout population in the upper reaches, but suffers in the lower stretch of this stream due to being channelized and “hard armored” when Interstate 80 was built in its path.  TU plans to design and implement habitat improvements to the lower stretch of this stream in Mount Olive Twp. (in Stephens State Park) to create undercut banks, pools and woody debris to add habitat.  Our goal is to increase the brook trout populations in this stretch to more closely match the populations upstream in the unaffected areas of this tributary.

Wills Brook Restoration Project

Wills Brook Restoration Project

·          This 3 pronged tributary lies in Mount Olive Twp. and mostly within the International Trade Zone or ITC Crossings where the Lowes and Wal-Mart are located.  It should have wild brook trout in it, but it suffers from a variety of thermal issues that warm the water and make it impossible for trout to survive.  The Hacklebarney TU chapter is planning to assist in temperature and water quality data collection as well as visual assessments of the more than 5 miles of this stream to help determine the various negative impacts affecting this tributary and to prioritize restoration efforts to one day re-establish brook trout from nearby populations such as those in Kurtenbachs Brook.  TU and NJ F&W have electrofished many stretches of this tributary and have found good aquatic life, but water temps too warm for trout year round.  We know that the former Morris Canal has had a lasting, negative impact on portions of this trib, but these problems can be corrected through targeted restoration projects over time.

These are just some of the projects that are planned for the upper watershed near our FSB/North Jersey chapter where our volunteers can get involved.  There are 2 more tributary projects which will likely provide additional conservation opportunities on South of Schooley’s Mountain Tributary in Washington Twp. and on Mine Brook which is located in Mount Olive Twp.

Brian

2010 Calendar of Activities