Residents push for tract to be preserved.
By: Sharlee DiMenichi
Birdcalls and the occasional plop of a frog into a puddle punctuate the quiet in the 101-acre tract considered the last large parcel of open space in Kendall Park.
Nearby residents, who have petitioned the township and the county to preserve the land as open space, say they will miss the tranquility of the forest if the tract isn’t saved.
"It’s such a nice peaceful feeling to be in the woods because it seems everywhere else it’s so, everything is so busy," said Holly Sween, who lives on Wheeler Road, near the tract.
The Middlesex County Open Space Committee is expected to decide within two months whether to allocate funds from the county’s open space trust fund to help the township buy the residentially zoned property owned by Robert Stanton.
Mr. Stanton did not return calls requesting comment. According to the township Planning Office, there are no pending applications for the parcel.
Freeholder Director David Crabiel said the committee plans to borrow $80 million to purchase open space throughout the county and that members would determine within 60 days whether some of the money will go toward purchasing the property.
The parcel has been appraised at approximately $9 million, according to Bernie Hvozdovic, open space attorney for the township.
Advocates for the purchase say it is an important wildlife area at the edge of the township’s most densely populated neighborhood.
Loss of bird habitat is of particular concern to Ms. Sween, who described some birdcalls as "liquid music."
Ms. Sween said she has spotted orioles, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers and goldfinches, among others, in the tract.
The parcel is home to almost all of the bird species that are native to New Jersey, said Dante Dematteo, a retired Middlesex County Park police officer and tree surgeon who toured the property Tuesday with Ms. Sween.
The New Jersey Bird Records Committee at Princeton University lists about 450 native New Jersey species on its Web site.
Ms. Sween said the tract provides a refueling station for birds flying south for the winter.
"They need to have places all along the route where they can stop and eat," Ms. Sween said.
Mr. Dematteo said the hardwood forest, which has trees dating to the 1600s, provides habitat for wood thrushes, ruffled grouse, bobwhites, quails and whippoorwills that cannot live in younger forests.
Mr. Dematteo said the forest had undergone a maturation process during which successive species of trees had dominated it, each having its own impact on such habitat features as underbrush and food supply.
Mr. Dematteo said the forest is considered close to becoming a "finished" or "climax" forest, able to support wildlife diversity not found in forests with less history. Finished forests are not plentiful in the state because much wooded land has been farmed and reforested, leading to immature ecosystems, Mr. Dematteo said.
"Anywhere you go in New Jersey, almost anywhere you go, you won’t find what is called a climax forest," Mr. Dematteo said.
Mr. Dematteo said the forest also maintains the water table and prevents flooding by releasing rainwater gradually.
Mr. Dematteo said that trees filter air pollutants and taking the forest down might result in decreased air quality.
Township Health Officer Stephen Papenberg said it is difficult to gauge the impact losing one forest has on overall air quality.
"Air quality issues, as far as vegetation, are more regional than local," Mr. Papenberg said.
Mr. Papenberg said that, statewide, air quality is primarily affected by vehicle use.
The impact of removing a forest is only part of the air quality equation, Mr. Papenberg said. The car trips generated by whatever replaces the woods must also be considered, Mr. Papenberg said.
"A big question is will the use of the property result in the increase in the use of automobiles," Mr. Papenberg said.

