First phase of reforestation project
By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE The 1,929 trees being planted this spring at township parks, schools and other public properties are ready to be delivered starting next week in the first phase of a reforestation project being paid for by the NJ Turnpike Authority under a $1.2 million legal settlement.
The spring phase of the planting project includes 1,199 new trees for Blakely and Tantum parks; 478 trees for the township’s four public school buildings; 192 flowering cherry blossom trees for the public walking path around the lake in Town Center; and 60 trees along township land on Allens Road.
The second phase of the project is scheduled later this year when the township will go out to bid for another 2,237 trees and plant as many of those as possible this fall on public land located near the Turnpike widening project, Township Administrator Tim McGough said Monday.
The fall planting is being done to better coordinate the town’s efforts with the Turnpike Authority’s own reforestation plan for the land in its right-of-way along the highway, Mr. McGough said. Waiting until fall to plant in areas of town near the Turnpike also was deemed best because replacement trees are more likely to die if they are planted now while the construction still is going on, he said.
”We have not forgotten about those living close to the Turnpike,” Mr. McGough said Monday. “More than half the trees are held in reserve for the fall.”
Robbinsville, Hamilton and East Windsor sued the state last year after discovering $15 million for reforestation projects in seven towns affected by the Turnpike widening project had been diverted in the state Department of Environmental Protection’s budget for state parks. The settlement reached in October called for giving Robbinsville $1.2 million this year for 4,166 trees.
The state’s No Net Loss Reforestation Act requires that whenever it is not possible to plant trees next to a deforested site, the replacement trees must be planted on other publicly owned land in town.
The township’s ability to help residents living near the deforested areas by the Turnpike has been limited, however, by the law’s prohibition on planting any of the trees on privately owned land. Mr. McGough said he is working to get DEP approval of a plan that would have the private homeowners associations in residential developments near the Turnpike, and possibly individual landowners, create easements dedicated to the township.
The HOAs would agree to maintain the land, but the easements would provide a way for the municipality to use Turnpike tree replacement money for reforestation efforts in neighborhoods most affected by the highway project, Mr. McGough said. If approved by DEP, this plan could help reduce the visibility and noise issues for residents living near the Turnpike, including homes in the Woods at Washington, Washington Greene, Washington Hunt, Fox Runne, Sandlewood, Washington Leas and Country Gate as well as homeowners on Sharon Road, he said.
Robbinsville received the $1.2 million check from the NJ Turnpike Authority in March. Mr. McGough said the municipality is permitted to use the tree money for the purchase and installation of replacement trees as well as for irrigation and equipment needed to maintain the trees.
The Township Council on April 14 authorized the awarding of a $333,571 tree contract to Andy Matt Inc., of Mine Hill, the lowest bidder of the 15 landscaping companies that submitted proposals for phase one. The contractor will do the actual planting of the trees, not township employees, Mr. McGough said.
Rick Lyons, of Andy Matt, said Monday that the first trees could be planted as soon as next week, starting at the two township parks on Meadowbrook Road. Tantum Park is getting 129 trees, including evergreens that will screen the baseball fields from view and bur oaks that will extend oak plantings to the property line along Meadowbrook Road.
At the new 26-acre Blakely Park, 550 trees are being planted near the football fields, including two rows of evergreens to screen the fields from the street; ornamental and shade trees for the parking lot area; and trees to reforest a grassy section of the park to reduce the need for mowing. Another 550 trees will be planted in a wetland area at the park’s rear to create a riparian forest buffer along the Assunpink Creek in areas that were previously cleared for agricultural use.
At Robbinsville High School, 257 trees are going to be planted throughout the campus, including maples whose leaves in autumn will display the school’s official color, red. London plane trees, chosen for their imposing canopy and unusual bark, will line the road that links RHS to the middle school property.
At Pond Road Middle School, 106 trees will be planted, including species with yellow, red and orange fall foliage in the front of the building; ornamental shade trees along the sides of the building; and native wetland ornamentals for the rear. Sharon Elementary School is getting 87 trees, including oak trees chosen because their acorns are the favorite food of the blue jay, the school mascot. The smaller Windsor school will be getting 28 compact shade trees.
In Town Center, 192 flowering cherry trees will be planted along the lake’s walking path. The four species of cherry trees that are being used lakeside are the most prominent varieties found in the Tidal Basin area of Washington, D.C., where the nation’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival is held every April.

