A hike at the Parker Preserve

[ecampbell]

Friday I went to the Parker Preserve with Marianne, Gloria and our two dogs, Bella and Buffy. We entered at the North Gate on 532 across from Chatsworth Lake. We parked outside the gate and walked in, there are go arounds. We then crossed the RR tracks with the only Locomotive sign I know of in the area.

We walked the West End Road.

Here are direct links to the map and directions for printing.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5181/5680480879_25b9ee156f_b.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/5680434023_1f5cb3ec1f_b.jpg

We then came upon an observation tower which is a platform built on top of a pump house, and well built at that. All around are drained bogs.

A bench with not much of a view.

A duck house without water.

Giant chairs.

Many of the bogs were deliberately pock marked, holes dug and the dirt piled up.

Catch basins between bogs.

A curious mosaic.

There was lots of construction material about.

Now this trip wasn't pretty, it smelled and there were turtles walking around muddy bog bottoms with little water. Upon leaving we had a chat with a Land Steward from the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and he explained what they were trying to accomplish. They are trying to create a wetland which is autonomous, unlike a normal bog which has men going around adjusting the gates to control water with the changing seasons. The pocked bogs are an attempt to increase plant diversity by providing varied water depth. The rock and mosaic are to prevent wash outs. He explained the work was paid for with a Federal grant and they had a lot of say about how it was done. The work is expected to be completed this year and the system will be flooded.

It was interesting to see it in its construction stage, and we will go back to follow it's progress. I'm sure it will work in some fashion, but this is a manufactured wetland, not the incidental one created by farming. We are used to the dynamics of the Friendship Bogs where a bog one year is dry and filling with trees, later the beavers move in and flood it, killing the trees, then a dam breaks and the process repeats. I'm not trying to be negative but it gives me thoughts.

If you go the staff are very welcoming and I was told a suspension bridge was just completed at the east end. I'm sure the place will ammuse.

Ed

 

[Teegate]

Very nice Ed! That suspension bridge sounds interesting.

As I have said before about the Parker Preserve, if you have not been there now is the time to see it. Changes are already occurring and in 20 years you will not get the views you can today.

Guy

 

[dragoncjo]

As some may know I volunteer out on the Parker Preserve doing work with reptiles and amphibians and help police the land for illegal wildlife collection. I have a lot of confidence in the two folks I know well out there. With that said I haven't gone out to that stretch of land since they started the work this year. I tend to worry about the species that use the area and me going out there will cause me stress when I see water draining out of the bogs and large equipment moving earth. I'm just going to have faith in the folks I know that everything will turn out great. I will say that the area you are in has been void of significant wildlife that I'm familiar with for at least the last five years. The amount of amphibians out there has been fairly low in comparison to other cranberry bog systems I've seen. I don't see that many ducks, hawks and other birds either. If you go over to the bogs off of 532 Barnegat heading towards 72 those bogs are tremendously more healthy in terms of wildlife. I've been told those bogs you were at are poor in wildlife because they were built mostly out of uplands, whether that is actually the case I don't know. From what I could see before many of those bogs were super dry before with hard hard soil that didn't seem to be taking vegetation too well. Personally I found those bogs to be a little unsightly in there present state and really void of the species I seek that should be there. I've seen glimpses of some of the bogs they've fixed and re - flooded and they really are nice looking and the habitat is really phenomenal for some rare species I know of. The spots I've seen look like the portion of the Wading across from speedwell road a little further upstream(100 yards or so), nice sedge growing up with water flowing in small amounts at various depths. I'm willing to wait on these changes and see how they look 10 years from now, if they go how I think they will be loaded with life. Time will tell I suppose but for now if you see a turtle crossing 563 between the two areas getting worked on help the little guy across the road because the water level change is resulting in ALOT getting smooshed in that section. I drove by last monday and literally watched three painted turtles and one snapper getting run over by two cars. I've never seen so much road mortality there then this year and have to think it has to do with water level change. I'm sure some skunks and raccoons are having a field day picking off turtles in a couple inches of water.

 

[Teegate]

The one area in the Parker Preserve near the concrete blocks I was at on Friday had quite a few turtles and Rob and I were happy to see them. Unfortuanly, they did not like us and were gone in a second.

Guy