Seed Storage Facility at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

Project Purpose:

The goal of the project is to provide a seed storage unit to store wetland seed mix and grassland seed mix to support wetland restoration and grassland creation projects throughout New Jersey.  Specifically this facility will support restoration of over 40 acres of wetland restoration and 500 acres of grassland creation per year throughout New Jersey. 

 

Brief Description:

The proposed seed storage unit would be located at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), which is a facility owned and operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in Oceanville, New Jersey.  The Service and its partners through an existing Memorandum of Understanding will use the proposed seed storage unit to store wetland seed, native warm season grass, and wildflower mix prior to use at restoration projects on private and public land throughout NJ. Without appropriate storage prior to use, seed germination rates decline significantly while being stored.  Currently the only facility in South Jersey is at the Cape May Plant Material Center (CMPMC) facility, which has become excessively crowded with seed material and the potential of improper seed storage is increased.  As a result, there is a need and the opportunity to construct an additional seed storage unit beyond what is available at the CMPMC.



The CMPMC has offered to provide a $60,000.00 seed storage unit, if the Service and its partners can provide $27,500.00 to construct and assemble the seed storage unit.  Approximately $20,000.00 is needed to purchase and install a dehumidifier that maintains optimal humidity within the unit.  Approximately $7,500.00 is needed to construct a concrete floor for the unit, provide electric hook-up, and assembly of the unit.  The existing seed storage unit was used to support 40 acres of wetland restoration per year throughout New Jersey.  In addition, the storage unit will support over 500 acres of grassland creation per year primarily in northern New Jersey.  In 2005, the existing storage unit supported over 650 acres of upland grassland projects in Hunterdon, Somerset, Warren, Morris, and Sussex counties and 35 acres of wetland creation in Salem and Gloucester counties.  Attached is a spreadsheet file of recently completed projects that directly and indirectly benefited from the subject unit.  The seed storage unit would be available to the Service and its partners, particularly those agencies or groups providing funding for the construction of the unit. 



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