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.

Paulins Kill Stream Corridor and Floodplain Restoration Project

Building off of the momentum generated at Lafayette Park, in 2012, the WRWMG initiated a streamside reforestation project in Lafayette and Frankford Townships to link commercial, private agricultural, and public state-owned lands into a 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 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. 

Tree Tube and Stake Recycling

Each tree and shrub that was planted within the Paulins Kill cooridor was covered with a 5' tree tube and 6' PVC stake to protect again herbivory by the deer and voles.  Now that parts of the reforestation buffer were planted more than a decade ago, the WRWMG staff and volunteers are working to remove the plastic tree shelters off of each tree that was planted.  Efforts are underway to properly recycle the tree tubes and stakes.  If you are interested in assisting with this phase of the project, please contact Kristine Rogers at krogers@scmua.org to volunteer.