New Jersey Boasts Largest WRP Project in the Northeast
 

NRCS Special Assistant to the Chief, Gary Mast stands before a large reproduction of the WRP check

NRCS in New Jersey can now boast the largest wetlands reserve project in the Northeast thanks to a Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement that will help protect 2,200 of 9,400 acres of the Franklin Parker Preserve. The $5.4 million WRP easement will permanently protect and maintain core wetlands  in the Pine Barrens area of the preserve. The New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) owns the 9,400-acre preserve, formerly part of the DeMarco cranberry operation, where 440 different plants have been catalogued, including 30 rare, threatened, or endangered species. On hand for the historic occasion were NRCS Special Assistant to the Chief Gary Mast and NJCF executive director Michele S. Beyers. “I’m honored to be here today to mark this historic event dedicating the largest WRP easement in the Northeast,” Mast said.

(left) NRCS biologist Betsy Clarke and NJCF executive director Michele Beyers

$4.4 million of the WRP funds will go towards preserving the land and the remaining $1 million will go toward restoring bogs to wetlands and forest. About half the easement land includes former cranberry bogs and blueberry fields. "Restoration will include plugging canals, 'roughing up' compact bog surfaces to allow drainage and new vegetation growth, and breaching dikes to allow natural water flow," said NRCS biologist, Betsy Clarke. About 200 acres a year will be restored over 10 years.

The foundation bought the land from the DeMarco family for $11.6 million in 2004 in the largest private conservation deal in State history.
Your contact is Barbara Phillips, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 732-537-6044.