NEWS FROM THE FOREST RESTORATION SITE
PLANTING UPDATE
In 2020 volunteers helped to plant nearly 3,000 native trees and shrubs within the 18-acre Forest Restoration Project site located at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. We are happy to report an 85% bare root sapling survival rate (a good number!), determined by Rutgers Environmental Stewards Helen and George. This spring we will complete the project’s planting phase with the addition of 5,000 herbaceous plugs! (click on the photos below to see the full image)
Native wildflowers, grasses, and ferns will be planted in large clusters across the restoration site. Aggressive and quick-growing species such as mountain mint (Pycnanthemum incanum), purple giant hyssop (Agastache scrophulariifolia), and white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima var. altissima) will be planted in open weedy areas where they can help to reclaim ground from stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum) and other invasive species. Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron), and wavy hair grass (Deschampsia flexuosa) will be planted along drier steep slopes, helping to curb erosion as plants and their root systems slow and filter stormwater before it enters Mountain Brook. A total of 21 native herbaceous species have been selected and all plants were grown from open-pollinated seed of local origin, including seed collected from the Mountain Lakes Preserve.
These plantings will provide a layer of native ground cover that improves habitat quality for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife, and will also offer an improved aesthetic and educational experience for park visitors. The planting effort combined with invasive species management and deer control measures, over time, will help to restore the native soil seed bank of this important upland forest site.
Thank You for Supporting the Forest Restoration Project
Generous support for the forest restoration project has been provided by the NJDEP/Green Acres Stewardship Program, the George H. and Estelle M. Sands Foundation, the New Jersey Committee of the Garden Club of America and the Garden Club of Princeton, the Holden Grant Program of the Washington Crossing Audubon Society, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Franklin Parker Grant Program administered by New Jersey Conservation Foundation, and Investors Foundation. In-kind support has been provided by the Municipality of Princeton. Volunteers from Johnson & Johnson, Shiseido, Princeton University (PU) Staff Community and Regional Affairs department, PU Graduate School Student Life Team, and PU Graduate Economics Club helped with planting and other stewardship tasks in the site.
Drone image by Frank Sauer
The American Chestnut leaf sculpture by Susan Hoenig within the forest restoration project area, as well as her White Oak leaf sculpture near the Louise Sayen Meadow, were made possible, in part, by the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission through funding from the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Friends of Princeton Open Space gratefully thanks all of its donors and the many volunteers who have helped with this important conservation project.
UPCOMING PROJECTS: RIPARIAN ZONE
As we wrap up the planting phase of the Forest Restoration Project our focus shifts to the water’s edge: the riparian zone. The riparian areas at Mountain Lakes Preserve include wetland and wooded habitats that provide for a diversity of birds, fish, and other wildlife. These areas also contribute valuable ecosystem services including water filtration and flood control.
Volunteers have logged many hours removing invasive species from riparian areas at the preserve; target species for removal included porcelain berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata), burning bush (Euonymus alatus), and multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora). In the process we have discovered many native species which include eastern skunk cabbage, paw paw, swamp rose, bladdernut, witch hazel, mapleleaf viburnum, and shrubby St. John’s wort. (click on the photos below to see the full image)
Skunk Cabbage is one of the first signs of spring and is already popping out along the wet and boggy areas of the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. The flowers of this native perennial plant appear before its leaves, and are enclosed by a red spiked hood called a spathe. Skunk cabbage is an important early season pollen source for bees and other insects, and as the weather warms the spathe opens up to allow increased pollinator access. This plant can produce its own heat, which protects foraging insects from cold temperatures. It is also able to emit a variety of unpleasant musky scents ranging from apple to garlic to decay, hence the name ‘Skunk cabbage!’
Skunk Cabbage is one of the first signs of spring in the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve
Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) ambitiously seeks to restore the riparian zones along the entire shoreline of Mountain Lake and portions of Mountain Brook, a tributary to the Stony Brook. This project aims to protect local water quality and, like the forest restoration, will improve habitat and the experience of park visitors.
Progress along the Riparian Zone
(Pictured above left to right, click on the photos to see the full image) Freshwater wetland, before. Same wetland area following invasive removal, protective caging, and native plantings. Winter invasive removal efforts along the forested bank of Mountain Lake.
Highlights from the Preserve
(click on the photos above to see the full image)
Left to right: 1) Christmas fern fiddleheads emerged in early spring; 2) The bladder-like seed pods of American bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia), actually float! What a great seed dispersal strategy for this native shrub; 3) A snapping turtle skull was discovered by a volunteer during a winter volunteer stewardship session. How cool!; 4) We were happy to spot so many pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) plants, also called striped wintergreen, along the western bank of Mountain Lake. This native rhizomatous wildflower populates dry woods, is evergreen, and produces white fragrant flowers in the summer months that are pollinated by bumble bees, among others.
Dr. Patricia Shanley of the Ridgeview Conservancy
PROTECTING OLD WOODS IN PRINCETON
This past winter, FOPOS volunteers assisted climate scientist Dr. Randye Rutberg of Hunter College and Dr. Patricia Shanley (above) of the Ridgeview Conservancy in the collection of carbon sequestration data from Princeton forests. Volunteers worked on their winter tree identification skills while helping to take circumference measurements of large trees. Dr. Rutberg’s results show that John Witherspoon Woods, Mountain Lakes Preserve, and a few other forests have some of the highest numbers (average carbon Mg/ha) in Mercer County, demonstrating that “the preservation of old forests is an important means of storing carbon. Old trees store a lot more carbon than young trees.”
BECOME A LAND STEWARD
We rely on members and volunteers to complete our ambitious goals. If you would like to join us for an upcoming stewardship session, contact us to get involved. We are also accepting volunteer community, school, and corporate groups for help with Spring Planting April through early June. Simply email info@fopos.org with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.
Be a Friend. If you’re enjoying walks and hikes on the trails in the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, or other spaces FOPOS has preserved, consider supporting our mission by becoming a member. Questions? Email info@fopos.org with MEMBERSHIP in the subject line.
$25 single membership
$40 couple / family membership