Green Jersey

Proposed expansion at Sussex refuge

Above: A lovely photo by J. Reid/USFWS

Two public comment sessions were scheduled to take place this week on proposed changes to the 5,100-acre Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge in Sussex County.

A draft conservation plan for the refuge outlines three different options for the next 15 years, only two of which involve real change (the first would maintain the status quo). The other two options on the table are: Add a 9,500-acre sister refuge along the Papakating Creek tributary, or add 7,600 acres along the Papakating, according to the Star-Ledger. The United States Fish & Wildlife Service is backing the 9,500-acre sister refuge.

Some residents are concerned that an expansion could cost them their land, according to this story in the New Jersey Herald. Fish & Wildlife officials’ response was that preserved property is taken only from willing sellers.

Here are the options for Walkill in more detail, from the Star-Ledger:

• Alternative A: Maintain the status quo; continue to fill out the refuge to its 7,500-acre allowable boundary; continue to protect bog turtles, a federally threatened species, and allow hunting of deer, turkey, migratory birds, woodcock and resident Canada geese; continue to maintain trails and fishing and boating access.
• Alternative B: Expand the refuge by acquiring 9,550 acres (either as purchase or easements from willing sellers) along a 15-mile-long Papakating Creek tributary; take a more proactive approach to restoring wetlands; establish a 100-meter-wide forest on both sides of the Wallkill; open the refuge to bear hunting; increase funding and staffing to support expanded programs.
• Alternative C: Add 7,609 acres along the Papakating; restore the “natural hydrologic regimen” of the Wallkill and its tributaries by removing man-made impediments; establish a hardwood forest on 70 percent of the current refuge; allow flood-prone sites to become marsh and shrublands; allow hunting for deer and resident Canada geese only; keep other public uses as stated in Alternative A the same.