Over 10K trees planted in the Sourlands this year thanks to joint effort

The New Jersey Forest service alerted the Sourland Conservancy in March 2020 that the 90-square-mile Sourland Mountain region that straddles three counties was on track to lose more than 1 million trees within the next few years.

The villain was not rampant development, but an invasive insect, the emerald ash borer.

Approximately one of every five trees throughout the region, one of the few unspoiled areas between New York City and Philadelphia, was in danger.

That was a call of action to the Sourland Conservancy, a small nonprofit group dedicated to preserving and protecting the Sourland Mountain region that extends from Hillsborough and Montgomery in the east to West Amwell and Lambertville in the west.

The pandemic, which also hit in March 2020, wasn't going to stop the organization.

“We knew that ash decline was going to have a major impact in the region, but we were shocked by the number,” said Carolyn Klaube, the group's stewardship director. “The staff had just begun working remotely due to COVID, so we met via Zoom to explore the most effective way to address the crisis. We needed to act fast.”

The emerald ash borer was not the only threat to the heavily forested area.

In July, a tornado ripped through 230 acres of mature forest on Baldpate Mountain in Hopewell Township which had already suffered a significant loss of ash trees.

Two hurricanes, Henri and Ida, brought flooding that scoured streambeds and resulted in the loss of lives as well as serious damage to homes, farms, businesses and natural areas throughout the region.

READ: Feds recommend $25 million restoration along Raritan River from Califon to Monroe

The loss of 1 million trees is expected to exacerbate the effects of climate change and could result in more catastrophic flooding.

“The Sourland forest’s understory is already degraded. We need to give the forest a serious boost to help it regenerate,” said Roger Thorpe, a Sourland Conservancy trustee and chairman of its Stewardship Committee. “Humans and animals throughout the state rely on the services the forest provides: fresh air, clean water, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, and more. The Sourlands is home to 57 listed, threatened, and endangered species.”

The organization sprang into action, but it couldn't undertake the forest restoration on its own.

“The Conservancy is new to planting and this problem seemed so daunting. I immediately called on our partners for help,” said Laurie Cleveland, the organization's executive director. “Alex Rivera at Mercer County Park Commission was instrumental in helping our team select priority sites and develop a plan for coordinating with partner organizations. Dr. Jay Kelly of Raritan Valley Community College generously shared his extensive research in deer herbivory. Emile DeVito of New Jersey Conservation Foundation shared his advice and plans for building effective and relatively inexpensive deer exclosures. Mike Van Clef of Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space offered his expertise in invasive species management and community conservation. I wish I could acknowledge everyone here. We are so very grateful for the generosity, support, and trust that our partners have shown us.”

The team approached the forest restoration from all sides: engaging partners and volunteers in public planting events, hiring additional staff to plant in areas that were not appropriate for large groups and providing support for residents.

Volunteers planted 5,070 shrubs and trees with Sourland Conservancy and partner staff from the Mercer County Park Commission, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Delaware and Raritan Greenway, Montgomery Township and Montgomery Friends of Open Space.

Community groups including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Interact, Our Revolution Hillsborough, and Alliance of Youth Leaders in the United States worked alongside members of high school environmental clubs, AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors, corporate employees, students from The College of New Jersey, Raritan Valley Community College, Princeton University and Rutgers University.

Together they planted native trees and shrubs at the Folusiak Preserve, Rock Mill Preserve, Rainbow Hill Preserve, Sourlands Ecosystem Preserve and Baldpate Mountain.

“Somerset Conservancy's small staff has grown 30% this year to support the restoration effort,” Cleveland said. “We hired seasonal interns for the first time this spring, and again in the fall. We rented a truck for six months to move trees, supplies, and fencing. We are deeply grateful for the support of our donors and grantors.”

So far this year, the interns have planted 4,812 trees at 25 restoration sites throughout the region in Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough, Hillsborough, Montgomery and East Amwell. The Conservancy received a $10,000 grant from American Tower to purchase the trees and shrubs.

In all, more than 10,000 trees have been planted.

“This has been a tremendous community effort to deal with the devastating loss of trees,” said Dante DiPirro, president of Sourland Conservancy. “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank all of the members, volunteers, community partners, municipalities, and residents who donated and helped to plan, prepare sites, plant trees, and install fences and tree tubes.”

The 10,000th tree was planted earlier this month by Louise and Cliff Wilson. Ms. Wilson, former Montgomery Township mayor, and Mr. Wilson, former Sourland Conservancy board president, joined 38 volunteers at the Folusiak Preserve in Montgomery Township for the Conservancy’s last public event of 2021.

“We are thrilled to support this ambitious planting project,” Mr. Wilson said. “This is an outstanding achievement.”

But the work is not done.

“We hope to continue and expand the forest restoration effort in 2022.” Klaube said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

For more information or to donate, visit www.sourland.org.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: 10K trees planted in the Sourlands this year thanks to joint effort