Forest stewardship study looks at Closter Nature Center

CLOSTER — A forest stewardship study was conducted by the Audubon Society to assess the health of the Closter Nature Center’s forest.

Environmental stressors, such as climate change, and biological factors like pathogens, deer browsing and invasive species could affect some areas of the nature center's 136 acres, said Beth Ravit, the nature center's treasurer and an assistant research professor at Rutgers University’s Department of Environmental Sciences.

“As we recognize the problem, we need to take steps to make sure to preserve the forest decades from now,” said Ravit. “We don’t want to lose our forest.”

While the study outlines the issues that may face the forest going forward, Closter Nature Center trustees will sit down now to discuss what steps to take to preserve the land. The topic will be discussed in depth at the nature center's annual meeting on May 4 at 7 p.m. based on the results of the report.

Overall, the study found the nature center has “a lot of mature trees that have done really well,” said Ravit. She said one potential threat to be addressed is the emerald ash borer, an invasive species of beetle that is moving north and decimating ash trees.

Infestations have killed tens of millions of ash trees in the U.S. since 2002, according to the state Department of Agriculture. The beetle, native to Asia, has been seen in limited numbers in New Jersey since first appearing three years ago.

The trustees must decide how to prepare for the arrival of the beetle, Ravit said. Among the possibilities are preemptively replacing ash trees with other species before the beetle arrive; leaving the ash trees and hoping the beetle bypasses the nature center; or leaving some ash trees in the hope a few develop resistance to the beetles.

Deer feeding on saplings and forest understory is another issue affecting not only Closter Nature Center, but nature organizations around the area, said Lori Spechler, president of the Closter Nature Center. Although discussions are ongoing, Spechler believes fencing off large portions of the center is not “practical” and comes at a “very high cost with high maintenance.”

Instead, the nature center may consider fencing off smaller sections around saplings to fend off deer, said Spechler.

“We want to make sure the forest is changing for the right reasons,” she said.

Other issues identified in the study that will need more immediate action are the presence of invasive species and the possibility of native plants getting crowded out, said Ravit. She said certain areas of the forest canopy will need to be looked at, as areas that are too dense make it hard for some plants to grow in the forest’s understory.

“We need to decide where we think new planting should go and to determine how we do that without them becoming a buffet for the deer,” said Ravit.

The Borough Council authorized $1,700 to pay the outstanding balance for the report during its March 22 meeting. The nature center also received about $1,300 in grant funds from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the federal Department of Agriculture, to help pay for the study.

“We’re very supportive of the nature center and the board [of trustees] has done a good job,” said Mayor John Glidden. “The nature center is a jewel of our community.”

Staff at the Closter Nature Center decided to partner with the Audubon Society, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation, after a meeting in 2014 at the Nature Program Cooperative, a group which brings together nature centers, parks, and environmental educators in north New Jersey. Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood had the Audubon Society conduct a study of their land the same year.

Since Flat Rock Brook Nature Center was undertaking the study and other local nature organizations were considering it, Closter Nature Center decided to join to help get a better sense “locally and regionally what the issues and how to manage local forests,” said Spechler. She said the nature center received a first draft of the document in mid-January and reviewed it before sending it to the New Jersey State Forestry Services to sign off on.