BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
UPPER FREEHOLD — Representa-tives from the conservation group Pheasants Forever gave a presentation at the June 23 Township Committee meeting.
Municipal Clerk Barbara Bascom invited the group to speak to the governing body because, with the township’s cluster zoning option, there will be large areas of township land that could be wildlife habitat.
Richard Toaldo is president of Pheasants Forever’s Central New Jersey Chapter, which he said is one of 600 chapters in the U.S. Toaldo said his chapter’s goal is to develop habitat in the open lands of New Jersey to bring back the English ring-necked pheasant and other birds and have them flourish once again.
Toaldo said that Pheasants Forever prohibits hunting of the birds for several years so they may re-establish their population.
Shon Robbins, the Northeast regional biologist for Pheasants Forever, told the board that it is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, similar to Ducks Unlimited. He said his group works closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the farm bill programs. The conversation group also conducts a youth education and mentoring program called “Ringnecks” for kids ages 12-16, he said.
Betsy Clark works for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a branch of the USDA. She said the NRCS works with private landowners — primarily farmers — and provides technical assistance to them free of charge in matters such as soil conservation, water, and plant and animal conservation.
NRCS offers financial assistance to help pay for the conservation recommendations it makes to landowners. Clark said an NRCS representative will visit the property and put together an entire farm management plan.
Another USDA program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), will pay 75 percent of the costs to implement wildlife enhancement projects on a property. The landowner must provide the 25 percent match, which may come in the form of in-kind services, Clark said. If the township applied, it could qualify by using its equipment or employees for the match, according to Clark.
Clark said that New Jersey has one of the highest populations of bog turtles, a federally listed species, in the country, and that its wet meadow habitat is eligible for restoration. WHIP also works with riparian habitat, invasive species removal and the wild school site, which works with schools to create outdoor education areas.
She also spoke about the NRCS’ Wetlands Reserve Program, which could pay up to 100 percent of the cost for wetlands repair due to negative agricultural impact. Clark said this program may benefit landowners who have unproductive cropland and could provide supplemental income for them.
Bascom explained that Upper Freehold has 7,000 acres in farmland preservation. The county has generally taken conservation easements on stream corridors, and Clark said the NRCS program would not compete with the county’s interest.
Clark also said the NRCS program does not require public access, and that the landowner still has control of his or her property. In addition, she said her agency also partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
Township Attorney Granville Michael Magee asked if land already in the farmland preservation program would still be able to receive funding.
Township Committeeman David Horsnall asked that information about the NRCS and WHIP programs be passed on to the township’s Agricultural Advisory Board and its Open Space Committee.
Bascom said she would like to schedule an outreach program on the subject for larger landowners, including those already in the farmland preservation program.
For details, visit www.pheasantsforever.org.