Riparian Restoration Project along the Paulins Kill at Lafayette Township Park

The Wallkill River Watershed Management Group and North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council (NJRC&D), in partnership with Lafayette Township worked to successfully coordinate a riparian restoration project along the banks of the Paulins Kill within Lafayette Township Park. Native trees and shrubs were planted along the riverbank to help stabilize the streambanks, slow stormwater runoff, and trap sediment, fertilizers, pesticides and other non-point source pollutants in order to improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat over time.

Paulins Kill Stream Corridor and Floodplain Restoration Project

In 2012, building off of the momentum generated at Lafayette Park, the WRWMG initiated a streamside reforestation project in Lafayette and Frankford Townships that is successfully linking commercial, private agricultural, and public state-owned lands into a unique collaborative effort to stabilize the streambanks, improve water quality, and enhance habitat along a contiguous four-mile section of the Paulins Kill River. To implement the project, the WRWMG has successfully generated cooperative partnerships with entities such as the NJDEP, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy, the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to maximize available funding resources, share technical expertise, and coordinate the restoration activities. Not to be overlooked is the fact that the project corridor runs parallel to the Sussex Branch Trail and therefore serves as a tremendous demonstration site to educate the community about the importance of protecting the watersheds where they live, work, and recreate.