Upper Wallkill River Watershed Riparian Restoration and Floodplain Reforestation Corridor Initiative

As part of the corridor project, the SCMUA-WRWMG will secure the necessary approvals from the owners and/or land managers of the state-owned public lands, adjoining USDA-NRCS federal easement site, and other adjacent properties owned by Sparta Township and Sparta Township Board of Education to implement restoration activities along the Wallkill River. Significant progress has already been made towards obtaining these approvals with the WRWMG already organizing two restoration field days with students from Sparta High School that resulted in the planting and protection of 125 native, containerized trees and 250 black willow live stakes, donated by USFWS, on a 4-acre parcel owned by Sparta Township. With a project nucleus now in place, the WRWMG’s goal is to continue planting and protecting a combination of native, containerized trees, bare root whips, and locally-harvested livestakes throughout targeted areas of the corridor in accordance with the USDA-NRCS standard of 200 stems per acre.

News of this project progress has recently spurred representatives of the Fred S. Burroughs North Jersey Chapter of Trout Unlimited to contact the WRWMG to request technical guidance and assistance with the riparian restoration and tree planting component of their Sparta Glen Brook Restoration Project, scheduled to begin in spring 2016. Recognizing that the Sparta Glen Brook is an important tributary to the Wallkill River, the confluence of which is located just upstream of the proposed Wallkill River reforestation corridor, a tremendous opportunity is unfolding to uniquely bring together two separate restoration projects in Sparta Township in a way that will greatly benefit the watershed health and water quality of the headwaters area of the Wallkill River watershed. Additionally, both 2 projects will utilize Sparta students and volunteers in the planting work, providing an educational opportunity to raise awareness among community members about the importance of watershed stewardship.

Resource Values/Project Outputs:
This project aims to improve water quality and restore areas that have been similarly compromised by deforestation, agriculture, and historic flooding, and are now suppressed from succession by dense infestations of invasive reed canary grass and phragmites. Scientific studies conducted by Stroud Water Research Center show reforesting stream corridors helps stabilize the banks, reduce erosion, and increase the river’s ability to process pollutants while providing habitat for native species by adding large woody debris into the water. Since the Wallkill River has been identified on the NJDEP 303(d) list as impaired for aquatic life due to temperature, the shade produced over time from the tree canopy will help lower the temperature throughout this river reach, improving in-stream habitat for aquatic life, most notably native trout populations. Additionally, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service have also expressed their support for the project based upon the benefits it will provide to water quality, critical wildlife habitat, and the health of the floodplain. The WRWMG also feels strongly that one of the greatest outcomes of the Wallkill River Reforestation Project is the educational platform that will be generated for Sparta Township students and community volunteers. The close proximity of both Sparta High School and Sparta Middle School to the proposed project corridor will allow it to serve as a long-term, hands-on outdoor classroom for the students. By directly assisting with the implementation, maintenance, and monitoring of the restoration effort, the students will be provided a unique opportunity to develop a life-long appreciation for protecting the health of their local watershed.