Download Stewardship at the Plainsboro Preserve

Stewardship at the Plainsboro Preserve
What is Stewardship? Stewardship is the planned process of revitalizing habitats through best
land management practices. Our goal is to bring the landscape back to a natural state. The
preserve is a mosaic of habitats that begin with the underlying soil structure and hydrology
creating suitable homes for plant communities. These varied plant communities in turn provide
food resources and shelter to a host of animal species.
Partners in Stewardship: Many of our stewardship initiatives are completed by dedicated
volunteers and partner organizations from our local community. We work with a host of civic
organizations, corporations, individuals, and a dynamic partnership with the Township of
Plainsboro. These dedicated citizen stewards have installed nest boxes and mapped their locations,
bat boxes, removed invasive plants, and installed native gardens. See our Volunteer link and get
involved!
Stewardship in Action
At the Plainsboro Preserve we employ best stewardship practices and are reinvigorating the
landscape and habitats that make up this important ecologic legacy that was set aside for current
and future generations by the Township of Plainsboro and the County of Middlsex. New Jersey
Audubon actively managing the 1,000 acre Plainsboro Preserve to bring the landscape and plant
and animal communities back to a more natural state.
Native Plants and Native Pollinators: At the Plainsboro Preserve we have installed nine native
plant gardens and reintroduced native plants as food and or pollination resources for wildlife on the
preserve. Long term restoration goals will continue to evolve. All activities are designed to
restore and maintain the integrity of the native ecosystem and to enhance and improve habitat for
target management species.
Nest Boxes: On the Plainsboro Preserve we have installed over 100 nest boxes to provide safe
nesting locations for Eastern Blue Birds, Wood Ducks, Purple Martins, Eastern Screech Owls, and
American Kestrels. Often our nest boxes are utilized by a range of other bird species.
Our nest boxes attract a whole host of nesting birds. Over 90 of our boxes are numbered and
monitored. Through our monitoring program we have learned that we have successfully fledged
American Kestrels and Eastern Blue Birds along with a whole host of other species. We have also
found a few surprises including roosting bats, screech owls, and flying squirrels.
Habitat Types: At the Plainsboro Preserve we have a variety of habitats and some familiar types
include our 53 acre lake, wet meadows, several stream corridors or riparian zones, mature beech
woods, and wooded swamp. Some of the habitats you can expect to see by accessing our trail
system include:
Lake McCormack is a center piece for the Plainsboro Preserve with sixteen species of fish two
colonies of Beavers, and River Otters that are sighted on an annual basis. Lakes have a “thermocline” and in the summer months there is a marked temperature difference, becoming colder in its
depths. The Lake averages 45 feet deep and is one of the deepest bodies of water in the area. The
lake, which is off limits to recreation activities like boating, acts as a magnet for wildlife. On any
given day you may see an eagle hunt for fish or a whole host of waterfowl utilize this ecological
treasure.
Wooded Swamp Habitat
Much of the habitat along the blue trail is considered wooded wetlands or swamp. Some of the
plants here, including red maple trees, blueberry bushes, and skunk cabbage, can tolerate moist
soils or standing water for periods of time. Skunk cabbage emits heat to attract pollinating flies
and can melt surrounding snow! Some of our earliest flowers, called spring ephemerals, thrive in
wooded wetlands and bloom before the trees leaf out in the spring. Many species of wildlife are
also dependent on wooded wetlands, including wood ducks, barred owls, red-shouldered hawks,
salamanders, and wood frogs. Even if there is no standing water now, some trees can give you a
clue that they spend part of the year flooded. Trees that are buttressed and flare out at the bottom
are a good indicator of a wetland.
Vernal Pools
Vernal pools are seasonal pools of water and are often filled in the spring and fall. They may dry
up periodically during the summer and are usually devoid of fish and act as safe nurseries for
amphibian and insect larvae. Despite their seasonality they teem with life. Some species of
amphibians are considered vernal pool obligate, such as wood frogs and spotted salamanders, and
rely on vernal pools to breed. Vernal pool habitats are critical for amphibian reproduction. Other
wildlife, including turtles, frogs, snakes, herons, raccoons, and owls, will visit vernal pools for
food and water.
Field Habitat and Grasslands
Grassland habitats are considered critically endangered habitat and less than one percent of the
original grasslands habitats remain in the United States. Fields typically contain many kinds of
plants, grasses, and herbaceous plants which provide key habitat components for a variety of
wildlife species. A whole host of species utilize fields for nesting, feeding, and shelter like
cottontail rabbits, voles, red foxes, American Woodcocks, Field Sparrows, and Bobolinks. Insects
include dragonflies, praying mantises, grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies, and moths. Fields are
often associated with disturbance that includes abandoned pastureland, retired crop fields, fires, or
floods and storms. Some large grass-lands are created by limiting environmental factors such as
rainfall or soil quality.
Invasive Plants: Invasive plant species are not native to a habitat and can create a host of
problems including: out-competing native plants, changing the soil characteristics, reducing food
availability for native animals and pollinators, and displacing rare plant species. We have been
actively removing invasive plant species including Autumn Olive, Mutiflora Rose, Japanese Stiltgrass, and Japanese Barberry. Invasive plants often proliferate over time but these changes can go
unnoticed and manifest in a lack of food availability or preferred nesting habitat for birds and food
resources for mammals. This can have a profound impact and alter the kinds of species found in
an ecosystem.