6 Mile RUN ProJect
6 Mile Run ProJect Minutes:
Meeting attendees; Sub-Chairman Ken Sass; Central Jersey Pheasants Forever
...Jerry Natale; NJFSC Upland Committee chair, NJFSC board member, NJOA Secretary.
Andrew Burnett; NJDF&W Biologist, upland wildlife and furbearer research.
Gylla A. MacGregor; Conservation ecologist NJ Audubon.
John Zampini; Somerset County Chapter Federation of
Sportsmen’s Clubs liaison. Bird location and trapping.
Ken Dematteo; NJ sportsman volunteer, bird location and trapping.
First meeting of sub-committee was a basic introduction of parties involved, and a review of goals, which are as follows;
“ The purpose of this sub-committee shall be to increase public awareness of the efforts to create upland wildlife habitat on some 3,000 acres of State, and 2,000 acres of municipally owned land in the area of Six Mile run, Franklin Twp., Somerset County. The committee shall also seek out sources of funding and contributions to aid these efforts and will seek to enlist volunteers to assist in the trapping of wild pheasants from other parts of the State for transfer to the project site.” (*Note; these areas designated for transplant are “not” open to hunting).Motion to accept this mission statement was Made by Jerry Natale and Second by John Zampini.A show of hands approved motion.
The NJ Audubon Society is basically the lead org. for this project. They identify the land suitable for potential habitat restoration and bird re-introduction. They then acquire funding (approx. 15K to date for this project alone) to clear the land properly to allow planting of the warm season grasses that become suitable habitat for pheasants and other species of ground nesting birds.
They have received some Federal grants to date but will need additional grants or funding from other organizations.
The involvement of Pheasants Forever and the NJ Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs will be to assist in providing partial funding, insurance coverage, and manpower for bird location, trapping and transfer.
Division of Fish & Wildlife will be issuing any needed permits for this project and advising in regards to trap and transfer operation.
Progress to date is as follows;
To date, approx. 300 acres of suitable pheasant nesting habitat has been re-established through this program. Some of the native grassland bird species have been observed nesting in this new habitat, and it is also ready to accept “wild” pheasants this winter if location and trapping/transfer is successful.
It is necessary to trap and transfer “wild” birds due to the predator avoidance characteristics that are inherent in wild birds only.
Importing wild birds from other states is a cost prohibitive proposition due to trapping costs, quarantine regulations and other red-tape considerations.Ken Sass stated that the primary goals of this sub committee should be # 1 Habitat and # 2 Stocking birds.Money and volunteers will be needed for both.
Results of today’s meeting are as follows;A formal letter of introduction and request for access will be drawn up for any private land owners where access is necessary. By Ken Sass
A written plan will be drawn up for submission to F&W so a trap and transfer permit may be issued. By Ken Sass
Insurance issues will be addressed by the Federation. By Jerry Natale
Additional sources of funding grants will be explored along with the possibility of utilizing the services of a professional grant writer. By All
Email list of the sub-committee will be established. By Ken Sass
I will report to the Somerset County Chapter of the Federation and try to enlist additional volunteers for the trap and transfer phase of this project.
We will look for additional volunteers work projects. By Ken DeMatteo
Ken DeMatteo stated that there are many areas in Hudson County that have native birds.
The Division will provide the traps and training for trapping and releasing transplanted birds. I was assumed that Len Wolgast has some traps and will be contacted by Ken Sass.
We will look for a grant writer to work on commission only.
Meeting attendees; Sub-Chairman Ken Sass; Central Jersey Pheasants Forever
...Jerry Natale; NJFSC Upland Committee chair, NJFSC board member, NJOA Secretary.
Andrew Burnett; NJDF&W Biologist, upland wildlife and furbearer research.
Gylla A. MacGregor; Conservation ecologist NJ Audubon.
John Zampini; Somerset County Chapter Federation of
Sportsmen’s Clubs liaison. Bird location and trapping.
Ken Dematteo; NJ sportsman volunteer, bird location and trapping.
First meeting of sub-committee was a basic introduction of parties involved, and a review of goals, which are as follows;
“ The purpose of this sub-committee shall be to increase public awareness of the efforts to create upland wildlife habitat on some 3,000 acres of State, and 2,000 acres of municipally owned land in the area of Six Mile run, Franklin Twp., Somerset County. The committee shall also seek out sources of funding and contributions to aid these efforts and will seek to enlist volunteers to assist in the trapping of wild pheasants from other parts of the State for transfer to the project site.” (*Note; these areas designated for transplant are “not” open to hunting).Motion to accept this mission statement was Made by Jerry Natale and Second by John Zampini.A show of hands approved motion.
The NJ Audubon Society is basically the lead org. for this project. They identify the land suitable for potential habitat restoration and bird re-introduction. They then acquire funding (approx. 15K to date for this project alone) to clear the land properly to allow planting of the warm season grasses that become suitable habitat for pheasants and other species of ground nesting birds.
They have received some Federal grants to date but will need additional grants or funding from other organizations.
The involvement of Pheasants Forever and the NJ Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs will be to assist in providing partial funding, insurance coverage, and manpower for bird location, trapping and transfer.
Division of Fish & Wildlife will be issuing any needed permits for this project and advising in regards to trap and transfer operation.
Progress to date is as follows;
To date, approx. 300 acres of suitable pheasant nesting habitat has been re-established through this program. Some of the native grassland bird species have been observed nesting in this new habitat, and it is also ready to accept “wild” pheasants this winter if location and trapping/transfer is successful.
It is necessary to trap and transfer “wild” birds due to the predator avoidance characteristics that are inherent in wild birds only.
Importing wild birds from other states is a cost prohibitive proposition due to trapping costs, quarantine regulations and other red-tape considerations.Ken Sass stated that the primary goals of this sub committee should be # 1 Habitat and # 2 Stocking birds.Money and volunteers will be needed for both.
Results of today’s meeting are as follows;A formal letter of introduction and request for access will be drawn up for any private land owners where access is necessary. By Ken Sass
A written plan will be drawn up for submission to F&W so a trap and transfer permit may be issued. By Ken Sass
Insurance issues will be addressed by the Federation. By Jerry Natale
Additional sources of funding grants will be explored along with the possibility of utilizing the services of a professional grant writer. By All
Email list of the sub-committee will be established. By Ken Sass
I will report to the Somerset County Chapter of the Federation and try to enlist additional volunteers for the trap and transfer phase of this project.
We will look for additional volunteers work projects. By Ken DeMatteo
Ken DeMatteo stated that there are many areas in Hudson County that have native birds.
The Division will provide the traps and training for trapping and releasing transplanted birds. I was assumed that Len Wolgast has some traps and will be contacted by Ken Sass.
We will look for a grant writer to work on commission only.
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Comment
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Comment by Kenneth DeMatteo on September 23, 2010 at 4:00pm -
For those of you on this list who I have not met, I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Chris Chibbaro and I recently attended my first meeting on the Six Mile Run Project. After sitting with Ken and Ken at the meeting, I have chosen to take on a few of the responsibilities. Here is what I plan to do, if anyone has any experience or think they can help please send me an email.
1. Permission for flush and cackle counting on Six Mile Run
I will contact D&R park authority, and Franklin Twnsp to obtain permission to access the property with trained dogs in late February for flush counts, and in the early spring for cackle counts.
I will also look into any private residences that will border the property as to let them know our intentions, and hopefully find some local residents sympathetic to the project.
2. Gun Clubs
There are two clubs that I know of right now (Manville Rod and Gun Club and Briar Patch Club), that border Six Mile Run who hunt pheasant as well as other game species. While these can be excellent allies in our project, it will take a small amount of cooperation from these clubs. After speaking with Shon at the meeting, it will not be necessary for these clubs to limit the amount of time or birds they hunt. However it will be necessary for the clubs to adopt a "cockbird only" policy. Since I am a member of of Manville, I will start to speak about the project at the October meeting. I will also attempt to make contact with Briar Patch. While these "cockbird only" policies are far off at this time (they need not be in place until we are relocating wild birds) I feel it is important to get these two clubs on board as soon as possible.
3. Princeton University
While Ken will be contacting Rutgers university, I will be attempting to find a program within Princeton that might be able to assist us with the project. My main focus at this time will be trying to contact a person at the research facility "Princeton Environmental Institute"
After attending the meeting I now realize this is a very large task to accomplish, and I realize it is in the infant stages and there is still a ton of work to be done. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will Six Mile. However the more people we can get involved, the better our chances of success are.
If anyone has any advice, or feel they can help with any of the items listed above feel free to contact me.
Thanks again,
Christopher Chibbaro
Chibbaro Brothers Insurance Inc
Serving the community for over 60 years
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Comment by Kenneth DeMatteo on September 23, 2010 at 3:53pm
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Six Mile Run Sub-committee
Meeting Minutes
September 21, 2010
Attendees- Ken Sass, Chairman, Ken DeMatteo, Chris Chibbaro, Shon Robbins, Regional Biologist Pheasants Forever
Traps and Wild Pheasant Location
Ken DeMatteo brought the surviving trap used by the State in the 1980’s. He is building a smaller model and so far has about $90.00 into the project. He reports that commercial traps can be purchased at about $125.00.
Ken De Matteo also reports that he has found a number of places in the Hackensack meadowlands area that currently have wild birds. Among them are NJ Transit property near Secacus Station, and a Waste Management landfill near Kearny. He has recently flushed many birds at these places with his dog.
Ken Sass will check with Joe Matter of the NJ Quail Project regarding who to contact at Waste Management regarding access.
Shon Robbins discussed methods of surveying 6 Mile Run for any existing pheasants. He recommended a flushing survey in February and a call count in the Spring. Chris will look into gaining permission to use dogs on the site with the park staff.
Hunting Clubs near 6 Mile Run
Chris Chibbaro stated that he knows people in two clubs that adjoin 6 Mile Run and will reach out to them regarding our proposed project to elicit their support.
Farmer Participation
Ken Sass reported that he and Shon met with a Mr. Ryck Suydam before their field inspection of the project area. Mr. Suydam has a farm in the area and has offered to host a meeting of local farmers at his office where we could talk to them about enrolling some of their acreage into WHIP or CRP programs. We will have to set this up with NRCS well in advance.
Land Use Goals
Shon discussed the ideal land use targets for the project area. They are as follows: 10-20% secure nesting cover, which could be warm season grasses, cool season grasses, wildflowers and winter wheat as long as it is harvested after July 4th; less than 20% forested; less than 10% developed.
We will need a GIS map from DEP to make these determinations. Ken Sass will contact Andy Burnett of NJ FG&W.
Post Release Surveys and Monitoring
There was a general discussion of the need for post release monitoring via banding and radio collars. Ken DeMatteo volunteered to contact Rutgers University regarding getting them involved.
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Comment by Kenneth DeMatteo on August 7, 2010 at 11:51pm
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I Picked up in SOMERSET one of the LAST traps the state of NJ use in the 70's for relocating WILD birds @ Newark airport. I tell you Its a BIG Mother 3'X4' and not that bad of shape, now I have to Start down sizing it and make @least 10 More. PIC Will follow.....
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