Hello, I am wondering if anyone here has current contact information for the individual/board who are responsible for management of Webbs Mill?
Contact info for Manager of Webbs Mill?
- Thread starter Jason Ksepka
- Start date
Thank you very much! I will take some time and organize my old and new photos of the site. I live in Trenton so I hope to be able to sit down and show the comparison shots. I have re-opened the dam about every week for a few months and I destroyed the lodge last week. My old job may be willing to bring a backhoe to remove the dam. But that will require a lot of paperwork and negotiations, if it will ever happen.
Borrowed this info from Piney Power page
Thats the sign I put up at Webb's, either last year or the year before(was put up in May 2009). It didn't work.
One of those contacts is NO longer valid. Bob Martin is now the DEP Comish.
Jason; I hope you get rid of those flat tailed devils. Many have tried, none were successful
Go to the Unexpected wildlife refuge website. There is info under Beaver solutions on how to baffle a beaver.
Jason, one of the infamous Webbs Mill Beaver threads is at the link. The beaver part begins about half way down the first page.
http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/pigs-in-greenwood.5415/
http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/pigs-in-greenwood.5415/
I happened to be there on my bike tonite. You did a hell of a lot of work. Good job. The piles are now taller than me.
I think German started the work some time ago, my initial ripping was done about 3 months ago, and there were three old channels in the dam that had been pretty well repaired, and the water was quite high. I believe was the work of German originally, but anyone can please correct me if I am wrong. I have been pretty faithful about getting out there and keeping it open and I am glad that you posted this pic so that I can see repairs have not been done since last Sunday. I had a friend with me and we went well out into the bog and found two lodges that we ripped open. I know none of this is permanent, but hopefully it helps relieve the bog plants of some of their flood stress. I hope the sphagnum and other plants begin to make a return before the beaver do. They also had a small, but very effective dam on the downstream side of the culvert, once I got that out of there, the water really flowed.
No Promises about my next statement, but I used to work for a company that has some nice equipment such as back hoes and dump trucks. My best friend is running things there and I asked if it would be possible to get their stuff there to rip out and remove the dam materials and debris. But, this will require a LOT of IF'S, and a lot of coordination and permitting and such. And I haven't even contacted the folks that would be responsible for giving us permission, so right now it is a dream, but one that may come true. But at least my buddy is willing to bring out the equipment, if I get all the ducks in a row. Then we just need to figure out how to either kill the beaver, or prevent them from rebuilding the dam. My favorit eoption is to remove that stupid, useless road, but my guess is that will never happen.
I've got a lot of work to do yet, with or without machines. Anyone willing to help can email me at jasonksepka at gmail dot com.
No Promises about my next statement, but I used to work for a company that has some nice equipment such as back hoes and dump trucks. My best friend is running things there and I asked if it would be possible to get their stuff there to rip out and remove the dam materials and debris. But, this will require a LOT of IF'S, and a lot of coordination and permitting and such. And I haven't even contacted the folks that would be responsible for giving us permission, so right now it is a dream, but one that may come true. But at least my buddy is willing to bring out the equipment, if I get all the ducks in a row. Then we just need to figure out how to either kill the beaver, or prevent them from rebuilding the dam. My favorit eoption is to remove that stupid, useless road, but my guess is that will never happen.
I've got a lot of work to do yet, with or without machines. Anyone willing to help can email me at jasonksepka at gmail dot com.
I thought about that too....it would take a lot of digging to eliminate a backup of the pond water. The best thing is to move the beaver.
There were a number of folks that kept the water flowing, someone stopped by every other day, but without removing the beaver, it is just so much exercise and wasted time. Unless the state buys in, and they did make a small effort, the beavers will rule. The bog has been flooded since 2008, perhaps someone knows how long those plants can remain submerged before dying off.
Good luck with your effort and make sure you clear it with F&W. That 'stupid, useless road' gets a lot of traffic and odds are someone would call the state.
Far from it. I was not the first to start breaking up the dam and only picked away at it a few times to get more water flowing. Others did far more than me, and more often. I think Jason has done the most so far. But, as others have said, until the beaver are gone the problem will continue. In the larger scheme of things, this one site plays a minor role in the total amount of habitat for the species found there. Its main loss would be as a teaching tool. Few other similar sites are so accessible to the average person, who isn't prepared to slog through bogs to access them.
Though I would certainly consider the very short "short cut" not worth anything, and so, the road is useless for what people actually gain from it. The drive around using 539 is a very short ride, and makes the road unnecessary. That being said, I would like to stop any idea that I have plans to destroy that road before some kind of wild rumor is floating around. I have no intention of destroying the road, nor do I have any means. My opinion is simply that the road is not needed because it affords almost no savings in distance or time, and does a huge amount of damage to the bog. In a perfect world, I would like to see the road as it is removed, and people either use 539 to cut around, or have an elevated bridge put in where the road is, allowing unfettered water flow to be maintained.
I did not mean to imply you were considering destruction of the road, and don't think I did. I was referring to your plans to use equipment to mitigate the beaver issue.
I really don't see the reason for your dislike of the road. It is not contributing to the problem at Webbs. The road has been there as long as I can remember, and that's a pretty long time. Saving time is not the only reason folks use it. Getting onto 539 and off again is not the safest thing in the world during the week, at commuter time and during the weekend shore traffic. Those sand trucks have a pretty difficult time stopping. In any casae, our opinions really don't matter; I don't think the road will disappear any time soon.
I really don't see the reason for your dislike of the road. It is not contributing to the problem at Webbs. The road has been there as long as I can remember, and that's a pretty long time. Saving time is not the only reason folks use it. Getting onto 539 and off again is not the safest thing in the world during the week, at commuter time and during the weekend shore traffic. Those sand trucks have a pretty difficult time stopping. In any casae, our opinions really don't matter; I don't think the road will disappear any time soon.
Agreed
Sorry to misread your comment, and I assure you I am NOT looking to argue with you or anyone. I would much rather make friends here. I already mentioned the need to get lots of paperwork and "ducks lined up" which I was hoping was sufficient to indicate that I would not just drive machines in there and rip things up, that it would only be done with cooperation and permission from the folks responsible for managing the site, if it can get done at all. I apologize if there was any confusion. I'm not looking to draw unfriendly attention to this site or any of it's members from either any of it's members or outsiders such as the state. I haven't been a member of this forum long, but so far it seems pretty great and I don't want to piss anyone off.
As far as my opinion on the road, you are right, as long as the culvert stays open, the road doesn't seem to harm Webbs Mill, but it forces the whole flow of the wetland to pass through one small point....which allows for the beaver to easily do, what comes naturally at a site that would likely not have been a target for their activities otherwise. I can just see them scratching their little heads wondering why we would go through all the trouble to build such a great dam, just to leave two small holes in it.
But, as you mentioned, my opinion is irrelevant, the road isn't going anywhere.
Lets be honest ..... the state has stopped acting so this is a loosing battle. The general public does not have the legal right to do what is needed to end this problem. It just seems so easy to solve by catching and relocating them to the wilds of the Sleeper Branch where the beavers reign and always will.
Guy
Guy
Well, I was at webbs mill this weekend, the front half, not the dam, and there appears to be good news! The water level is still down and looking around at the plants there seems to be a slight greening up of the sphagnum Many of the previously stressed plants like the Drosera and Pogonia have nice foliage that is standing upright and looking healthier than early in the year. I saw very few Calopogon blooming this year and the foliage isn't something I can pick out to assess for health, so we will have to wait for subsequent years to determine if they will recover. I saw no Arethusa this or last year, so I hope they weren't lost to stress. The thick black algae that covered everything below the high water mark left a blanket of dried algae over everything when the water level went down, but that dried layer is breaking up and the original sand/gravel bottom is again visible in some areas, as well as lycopodium and other plants poking holes in the algae and breaking it up. It seems that the algae will break up and wash away rather easily over the season, and the plants appear eager to recover from the flood stress. I hope the white cedars will recover, the little tussocks just wouldn't be the same without those little bonsai.
Anyway, just curious if anyone else has any observations of the site, good or bad?
Anyway, just curious if anyone else has any observations of the site, good or bad?