Hooray for the New Fertilizer Bill

Our state has kicked off 2011 on a high note by passing the nation’s most far-ranging bill to regulate the content and use of lawn fertilizers. Fertilizers are packed full of nutrients, in particular phosphorus and nitrogen, which are a primary cause of pollution for our state’s rivers, lakes and bays.


Who doesn’t want a green lawn? We all do, but overuse and misuse of fertilizers cause way more harm than good, and this bill will go a long way towards improving water quality and restoring balance to our state’s delicate aquatic ecosystems.

Signed into law in the first week of this year, the bill bans phosphorus from lawn fertilizers while requiring that 20 percent of the nitrogen in them be slow release, so that more of the fertilizer stays on your lawn and out of local streams. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus, washed into streams through stormwater, produce algal blooms that reduce oxygen levels in water, threatening fish and other aquatic life. Throughout our nation, fertilizer runoff is causing dead zones - in the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, Peugeot Sound, Great Lakes and in New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay, there are areas where oxygen starved waters are virtually void of fish and other aquatic wildlife.

Application of fertilizers is also limited and regulated in the new bill, with homeowners banned from applying fertilizer before March 1st or after November 15th or at any time the ground is frozen. Professional lawn-care companies must now be trained and certified by the State if they want to apply fertilizer. Fertilizer cannot be applied, except under certain circumstances within 25 feet of a water body and never before or during a heavy rainfall.

While state retailers can continue to sell the existing fertilizer for the next two years, homeowners can start protecting New Jersey’s ecosystem right now by self-regulating their fertilizer use: Do bother to read the labels, don’t over-use fertilizer, and don’t apply it on frozen ground or near waterways.

Right here in the Upper Raritan Watershed region, stormwater runoff is our greatest threat to water quality. When URWA’s Staff and Volunteer Monitors come across a degraded waterway, it is typically caused by animal wastes, a failed septic system or overuse of fertilizer. We, as citizens of the watershed can each make a difference. Keep livestock and manure compost out of the stream buffer, clean up after your pet, maintain your septic system and please don’t abuse the use of fertilizers in your own yard. New Jersey’s new fertilizer bill presents a wonderful opportunity to protect our state’s most precious resource - WATER.

Road Salt: Helpful and Harmful

Are you disturbed by the whitish-gray coating on shrubs along our roadsides each winter? Does it bother you to come across heaps of road salt hovering over a stream bank?  Snow is in the forecast for later this week, so now is a good time to give some thoughtful consideration to how we clear it from roadways and sidewalks in order to allow everyone to move about safely after a winter storm.

Road salt, which is composed primarily of sodium chloride, degrades vegetation, aquatic ecosystems and water quality. There is no single solution to reducing road salt contamination of local waterways and groundwater. It will require a combination of approaches including:

• more efficient application of road salts using computerized trucks, driver training, and accurate weather information to more accurately time road salt applications
• better storage practices utilizing sheltered storage facilities with stormwater treatment and control
• management practices to reduce losses during transfers
• management of equipment washwater to minimize releases
• locating “snow dumps” away from rivers and groundwater recharge areas, and collecting and treating snow dump runoff
• use of environmentally friendly road salt alternatives, such as calcium magnesium acetate, in sensitive areas
• education of homeowners and business owners about the environmental impacts of road salt
• policy changes such as moving away from bare pavement policies for secondary roads
• lower speed limits on roadways immediately following snow storms
• renewed emphasis on plowing

Some communities within our watershed have taken significant steps to reduce the amount of road salt they use to clear roads.  Chester Township stands out as one example:  the community's Department of Public Works uses a pre-wetted rock salt application process, using beet juice to keep the salt from blowing and bouncing off roadways after it has been applied.  The salt stays on the road longer and therefore allows the community to use less of it, saving money and reducing the negative environmental impact of traditional road salt application methods.  Other communities in New Jersey have begun exploring ways to lessen the amount of salt they apply to roads, and we encourage everyone to support these efforts.  Find out what products and methods your local government uses to keep the roads clear and let us know if we can help you as you ask them to consider approaches that will prove to be less damaging to our environment.

When it comes to clearing your own driveway and sidewalk, the old-fashioned shoveling method is the most benign way to move snow from your pathways.  If you feel you must use rock salt, please apply it sparingly -- a little bit goes a long way -- and be sure it does not run off into nearby wetlands or streams!

Holiday Fun That's For the Birds!

Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter
to makea festive energy bar
for the birds in your backyard.

So... the children are home all week on their holiday break, the wind is whipping up all the snow that fell yesterday so it feels too cold to play outside for long and you want to do something with your family that makes the spirit of the season last through this entire week.  We've got just the activity for you! 

You can stay indoors where it is warm and whip up some treats to share with the birds that are searching out nutritious food now that the insects that remained in our region for the winter are in hiding and the berries left on trees and bushes are buried under drifting snow.  You'll have a great time making these treats, and it will be even more fun to watch the birds flock to them once you've put the treats outside in a spot you can view from your windows.  Over the last several days we've spotted cardinals, juncos, chickadees, blue jays, mourning doves, various finches and sparrows and even bluebirds at feeding stations we've set up around our house.

Use half a hollowed-out orange
to hold your energy bar mixture. 
It makes a very attractive bird feeder!

You don't have to go out and purchase lots of fancy ingredients for these treats.  Chances are good that you've got the necessary supplies right in your kitchen.  Energy bars are all the rage for humans these days, and it turns out that birds love them too.  To make a batch, combine 1 cup chunky peanut butter, 1 cup vegetable shortening, 2 ½ cups coarse yellow corn meal, seeds, raisins or other dried fruit, and roasted peanuts. Mix the peanut butter and shortening, then add cornmeal to thicken the mixture. Stir in seeds, raisins or roasted peanuts. Make energy bar "muffins" by placing your mixture in muffin tins. Sprinkle seeds on top. Place a pipe cleaner in each muffin to act as a hanger and place the tin in the freezer. Once hardened, hang the muffins or place in feeding stations. Hang the cakes from the tree with string, in a suet cage, or in mesh bags like those in which oranges and grapefruit are sold. You can use orange grapefruit or even coconut halves to create a feeder by stuffing your mixture into half of a hollowed-out rind. Poke three holes in the edge of the rind and run string through the holes. Sprinkle seeds on top. Place in the freezer to harden. Once hardened, knot the strings at the top and the bottom to secure and hang outside near a window. You can also gather cones from evergreen trees like pines and spruce, stuff shortening and peanut butter into the crevices, and then roll them in seeds.

For more recipes to make this week and throughout the winter, please visit URWA's Creature Feature web page at http://urwa.org/education/creatures.html.



Appointments to Council: Some Good, Some Not

The Highlands legislation was created to protect the water of the Highlands region. The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council, made up of both elected officials and public members is the body responsible for implementing the protection.

The members are appointed by the governor, and in the past have all demonstrated, for the most part, an understanding of their role as protectors of our water supply. Governor Christie recently appointed seven new members to the Council to fill vacant seats. Two of these appointees Michael Sebetich, an aquatic biologist and Professor at William Paterson University, and Tim Dougherty, the Mayor of Morristown, have backgrounds advocating for the protection of Highlands resources.

We are concerned that the remaining appointees have in the past called for the repeal of the Highlands Act and/or the disbanding of the Council. These are not the characteristics that we want in Council members charged with protecting the water supply of 5.5 million New Jersey residents. The Governor makes it clear by these appointments that he does not appreciate the work of the Council, and wants to cripple its effectiveness.

Take a stand with URWA. The Senate Judiciary Committee must approve all of these nominations to the Council. We urge you to reach out to the Committee Chairperson Senator Nick Scutari at senscutari@njleg.org 908 587 0404 or the Vice Chair, Senator John Girgenti at sengirgenti@njleg.org 973 427 1229. Urge them to oppose the appointments of Highlands Act opponents Roxbury Mayor James Rilee, former West Milford Planning Board Chair Michael Tfank, Sussex County Freeholder-elect Richard Vohden, and White Township Committeeman. Tell them that you want people who will honor the intent of the Highlands Act and who will protect our water supply appointed to the Council.

Learn more about this issue and other Highlands news at http://www.njhighlandscoalition.org/

Food for Thought as We Approach the New Year

An interesting Op-Ed piece appeared in The Boston Globe a few days ago.  Written by John P. DeVillars, who served as the New England administrator of the EPA from 1993 to 2000, it reminds us that we’ve come a long way as a society in terms of environmental protection, that as a country full of people with many different viewpoints and opinions it is possible for us to work together to resolve problems and that it is everyone’s job to protect the natural environment.

We encourage you to follow this link to read Mr. DeVillars' comments.  He offers some valuable food for thought and hope for a brighter future!

It's Time to Treat the Birds

As autumn winds down and Mother Nature makes the transition into winter, wild birds that have been successfully foraging in the woods, fields and suburban areas will begin to scout out locations where they’ll be able to find a source of food through the colder months. If you enjoy attracting birds to your yard by putting out birdfeeders, now is the time to make sure that they are ready!

Before you set your feeders out, wash them thoroughly. It is important to start the season with clean feeders, and to keep them uncontaminated by washing them every three weeks or so. This is because birds can get sick if they eat moldy or decomposing seeds and hulls that accumulate on feeder trays and in the base of tube feeders. In addition, bird droppings that land on feeders can spread infectious avian diseases. To clean your seed feeders, wash them in hot, soapy water and then soak or rinse them in a solution of one part white vinegar to nine parts water. Be sure to give them a final rinse and let them dry completely before you fill them with seeds!

As the bird feeding season progresses, be sure to clean the ground below your feeders each week. This will prevent uneaten seeds, hulls and other waste from accumulating and becoming moldy. Left on the ground, this debris is quite appealing to pets such as dogs, which can become ill if they consume it. The debris is also likely to attract unwanted rodents to the area.

With your bird feeders in place (try to spread them apart so the birds aren’t all crowded into one small space), you will see more and more birds using them as the weather cools down and their food sources diminish. If there is not a natural water source nearby (a pond or small stream), your feathered friends will appreciate a birdbath or other water feature that you keep clean and filled with fresh water throughout the winter.

Next week, we'll offer some tips and recipes for making special treats for the birds as the holidays approach!

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A Salute to Heather Gracie-Petty

It was a privilege to participate in the Somerset Hills YMCA Volunteer Recognition Event last Thursday evening. It was so incredibly inspiring to understand the level of volunteerism that is thriving in our community. The stories and experiences shared by recipients literally left you teary-eyed. URWA was proud to be there and even prouder of our “volunteer of the year” - Heather Gracie-Petty.

Heather is the Chair of our Stewardship Committee. As a certified forester, she brings sound science and professional expertise to a key component of good conservation. When you understand that Heather is a wife, mother, champion marathon runner and that she and her firm are responsible for the sustainable health of over 34 thousand acres of New Jersey’s woodlands…you might wonder…how and when does she find the time to volunteer for URWA? Well she does…all year round!

Some of Heather’s contributions to URWA include:

• She runs our annual Winter Tree Identification program 
• She assists with countless high school and community volunteer events – working just this last year with Bernards High and Pingry students, numerous boy and girl scout troops, corporate “days of caring”  
• Heather has completed surveys and created forest stewardship plans for URWA’s Preserves  
• She spends countless hours helping with the details of implementing our stewardship initiatives; resourcing plant materials and coordinating hands-on projects including the removal of thousands of invasive shrubs from public preserves around the watershed region, followed by the planting of native species  
• Heather has created experimental projects like deer exclosures for the long term study of forest health  

Most importantly, Heather is a strong advocate for sound policies that protect natural resources – she is an effective voice in New Jersey.  In summary, you can understand why we were proud to honor Heather Gracie-Petty as our Volunteer of the Year.

If we didn’t say it enough that evening…THANK YOU to the YMCA for putting together such a special evening and to Recorder Newspapers for giving hard working non-profits an opportunity to showcase their important missions and contributions to the community.