Bulls Island Recreation Area Trail

Bulls Island Recreation Area
Credit: Erica Vavrence, D&R Canal Commission

New Jersey recently opened a new 1.3 mile trail along the Delaware River at the Bulls Island Recreation Area, according to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Located along the Delaware River, the trail overlooks one of the most scenic and historic portions of the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park. 

The Delaware River was once a critical transportation route. Currently, the river provides 100 million gallons of drinking water daily for 1 million residents in Central New Jersey.

More than 400 native trees and shrub species, as well as 250 native wildflowers, have been planted along the trail to help reforest the area with native flora.

The plantings were done with assistance from a variety of partners including the Delaware Township Environmental Commission, Kingwood Township Environmental Commission, Lower Wild and Scenic Delaware River Committee, AmeriCorps New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program, Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission, and the New Jersey Forest Service.

From the trail in the northern section of the island, park patrons will be able to see white-capped water as it rushes over the Delaware River wing dam, diverting river water into the nearby feeder canal, and view the original towpath of the 188-year-old canal.

The Delaware and Raritan Canal, listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places, is valued for its natural beauty, recreational opportunities and the reliable supply of drinking water it provides to more than 1 million people per day. The canal region also is home to hundreds of species of wildlife, birds and plants.

The canal is the heart of the 7,131-acre Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, which is widely regarded as the second most popular among the more than 50 parks, forests and recreation areas within the State Park Service.

The 79-acre Bulls Island Recreation Area is approximately three miles north of Stockton, within Delaware Township.

In 2019, the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission convened a working group of colleagues within the DEP’s Division of State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites to devise a plan that would allow the northern section of the island, previously a campground, to revert to its natural state while also giving visitors access to the canal’s priceless history and enhancing recreational opportunities.

The new trail, shaped like a lollipop, was achieved with minimal tree cutting and encompasses an existing paved road.

To further enhance the new trail, the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission directed mitigation funds from other state tree-removal projects toward planting new trees including sugar maples, red maples, tulip poplar, white oak, flowering dogwood, Common hackberry and witch hazel.

These new trees help provide a lush understory, supporting wildlife that migrate through or reside in the area.

In March, the DEP in partnership with the Trails Task Force of the New Jersey Geospatial Forum announced the release of a first phase of  a statewide inventory of public trails in New Jersey.

The inventory uses information provided by government agencies and nonprofits to improve, expand and better connect the state’s expansive network of trails, thereby improving trails access for all New Jersey residents.

Additionally, the inventory’s data will help planners and advocates identify areas of focus in the state, prioritizing projects and acquisitions that will link to larger trails and advance goals of the New Jersey Trails Plan.

For more about New Jersey state parks, forests and historic sites, visit www.njparksandforests.org.

source: NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Passaic River Waterfront Park - Newark NJ

In Newark, New Jersey, public access along the Passaic River will be improved by a waterfront construction project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District is restoring the Passaic River shoreline with a new bulkhead wall designed to prevent the shoreline from eroding.

The banks of the river had been largely abandoned because the shoreline was eroding and the river was filled with trash. The Passaic carried contaminates from one of the state’s largest toxic waste sites.

The community has shown interest in a riverfront park to revitalize the waterfront area and the work the Army Corps is doing is laying the foundation for their plans.

The Army Corps of Engineers in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Newark is performing The Joseph G. Minish Passaic River Waterfront Park and Historic Area Project.

The project encompasses almost 2-miles and over 30-acres of land along the west bank of the Passaic River between Bridge and Brill Streets in New Jersey's largest city.

The Army Corps is overseeing the construction of 6,000 feet of new bulkhead along the river, which entails restoring 3,200 feet of riverbank, constructing a 9,200-foot waterfront walkway, and creating landscaping using native plants.

In addition, it’s also establishing park facilities, plazas, walking and biking paths, playgrounds, and baseball and soccer fields.

The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023.

source: New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Philadelphia Named Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership City

Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), William Penn Foundation, National Audubon Society, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation recently dedicated Philadelphia as an Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership city.

The special designation is part of the USFWS Urban Wildlife Conservation Program, which has provided more than $1.1 million since 2013 to partnerships across the nation to connect city residents with nature.

With this designation, Audubon Pennsylvania will receive $49,000 this year to support the partnership through the Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program, which is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and supported by the Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Fed Ex and Bank of America. This builds upon a $30,000 grant to support the partnership in 2014, which was from the same program.

The funding will support efforts in Southwest Philadelphia to create neighborhood green spaces and parks, provide environmental education programs in schools, improve access and transportation to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, connect the refuge to the Circuit trail network and provide jobs to young people throughout the year.

Other partners are contributing technical and financial support, including the school district of Philadelphia, Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition, Friends of Heinz Refuge, City Lights, Student Conservation Association, TreePhilly, City of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, and many others.

The William Penn Foundation also awarded a $146,000 grant to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge to support their environmental education efforts, further bolstering the partnership. This funding will support low-cost and free kayak tours to residents living adjacent to the refuge in Eastwick and Kingsessing. The tours, which will be operating in cooperation with L.L. Bean, will educate residents about the Tinicum Marsh, one of the largest fresh-water tidal marshes in the Delaware River watershed.

Philadelphia is one of 17 urban wildlife refuge partnerships across the country.

Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier 2015

In September, DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation announced that the historic Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier in Cape Henlopen State Park will reopen just in time for the fall fishing season.

The pier and surrounding surf-fishing opportunities make Cape Henlopen State Park the most popular fishing destination in Delaware, and after a spring and summer closure for repairs, DNREC worked to get the pier reopened ahead of its projected construction schedule.

The pier was closed late last year due to engineering concerns about the structural integrity of the pilings that it sits on. In April, the piling repair project was awarded through competitive bid to Commerce Construction of Bridgeport, N.J.

Recently, the contractor completed $400,000 of repairs to approximately 108 pilings, wrapping up the first phase of the pier’s latest renovation project. The second phase entails decking replacement and various repairs to the pier’s superstructure and fencing. It will again be competitively bid, with work done over the winter to minimize impact on recreational fishing.

The Cape Henlopen Fishing pier was originally built by the Army to serve Fort Miles during World War II. The pier is now over 70 years old and, according to DNREC’s consulting engineers, has long outlived it useful life expectancy. The pier has had repairs made in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2012.

The latest renovation project is expected to extend the life span of the pier for two to five years and is the largest repair to date undertaken by Delaware State Parks.

Anglers using the pier from the Labor Day weekend forward are reminded that the privately-operated park concession Lighthouse View Bait & Tackle Shop will be closed in the spring of 2016.

 source: DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation

Anacostia River - Watt's Branch Restoration

The Anacostia watershed is one of the most urbanized watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin. Because of its cultural importance, the watershed has been identified as a priority area for interagency cooperation in both President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative and the Urban Waters Federal Partnership.

In 2010, a group of federal agencies, local organizations, and others formed a partnership to restore a section of Watts Branch, a tributary of the Anacostia.

Completed in 2011, the restoration project was funded largely by the District of Columbia's Department of Environment and also carried out by the Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with the National Park Service, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington Water and Sewer and several local organizations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners restored eroded stream channel while nearby sewer lines were relocated and improved.

After the restoration, a local nonprofit, Washington Parks and People, has begun using Watts Branch as an outdoor classroom to prepare an emerging workforce for jobs in urban and community forestry.

A follow-up analysis of the Watts Branch restoration by the U.S. Geological Survey found that the effort has had a substantial impact on the local economy, directly or indirectly. The study estimates that the project added 45 jobs, $2.6 million in local labor income and $3.4 million in value to the local D.C. metropolitan area in 2011. 

source: U.S. Geological Survey