New Looks For Old Open Spaces

The borough's three major open spaces have existed as undeveloped areas for quite some time, according to consultants who attended a borough Environmental Commission meeting Wednesday night. But because they are so old, a fair amount of invasive plants and species have made their way into the land.

Now, the borough has decided it wants the invasives to get out. At Wednesday's meeting, the consultants gave three separate presentations detailing methods to remove them, and discussed ways to better help the public enjoy the areas.

The three areas include Wuhala Woods, which is located near North Passaic Ave and is bisected by Route 24; Milton Avenue Woods, which is behind Milton Avenue Elementary and Chatham Middle Schools and includes Kelly's Pond; and a parcel adjacent to the Passaic River accessible from St. James Street.

Consultants spoke excitedly about the land that they surveyed. Antonio Pasquini, who is the principal of Califon-based Heritage Tree and Plant Design, spent time working in Wuhala Woods. He said the borough has a gem on its hands.

"They are glorious woods," he said. "They really are such an exciting resource to have for Chatham Borough. They really deserve to be restored."

Jeremiah Bergstrom agreed. Bergstrom, a landscape architect and a senior project manager at Rutgers' Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program, spoke on behalf of Aecom, which surveyed Milton Avenue Woods. He said because some soil in the area drains differently than other areas of soil, the plant population in the area is diverse.

"It has those characteristics that really give it a unique flavor," he said.

Regardless, the consultants said, much work needs to be done in the areas to restore them to their natural states.

Invasive plants, some said, must in some cases be sprayed with Roundup in order for them to be eliminated. Others can simply be pulled out of the ground—poison ivy that wraps itself around trees in Wuhala Woods, for example, can be cut off from its roots in the ground so that it eventually deteriorates. (Poison ivy is not an invasive species.)

The consultants went through a laundry list of invasives that exist in the sites, such as Japanes stiltgrass, mugwort and tree-of-heaven. Native plants could be put in to replace them, and in some cases, trees can be grown nearby to provide a canopy over the area so that the invasives, which in many cases cannot live in shady areas, do not grow back.

Some in the audience questioned whether using herbicides is the best way to be environmentally friendly. But Amy S. Greene Environmental Consultants Senior Project Manager Curtis Helm, who spoke about the Passaic River site, said in small doses, using them to kill plants is OK.

The consultants also worked to come up with ways to make the areas more amenable for public use. In the Milton Avenue Woods, for example, Bergstrom proposed creating an outdoor learning center where students could come to learn with their teachers.

"Its proximity within the community provides a lot of opportunities for people coming to the site," Bergstrom said.

Helm said a boat launch could be established at the Passaic River site, and said deteriorated asphalt currently on the property could be remade into a small parking lot. New walking trails could be established there, he said, so people could better witness the wildlife on site—great blue herons, kingfishers and warm water fish have been spotted there.

Applied Services' Robert Oestreich, who also presented information on Wuhala Woods, said cars could potentially park nearby on Wilson Street, but said it is unlikely there will be parking on the site. Regardless, he said, new trails could also be established there.

If such recommendations are implemented, he said, "Wuhala Woods will be on its way back, and people will know that the town cares."

The sense among members of the environmental commission was that the consultants had completed step one in the process of revamping the areas. Now, they said, they had to work to consider what to do going forward.

Commission member and Councilman Bruce Harris assured the public that working to develop the borough's open space is a top priority.

"It's a long process ahead of us," he said. "But we'd like to save these properties."