Deer Fence Installed
Chatham Township and Scout volunteers have installed a deer fence along a municipal hiking trail so that residents can see a one-acre portion of forest regenerate, free from the heavy overbrowsing by deer populations.
The newly-enclosed area can be seen while hiking along Chatham Township’s half-mile Shunpike Trail, which is accessible from the second gravel overflow parking lot of Shunpike Fields (along Shunpike Road between Castle Park and Long Hill Chapel). The family-friendly trail is marked at the back of the gravel lot by a brown welcome sign and white-diamond blazes.
White tailed deer populations are known to be approximately 7-10 times the land’s carrying capacity in parts of northern and central New Jersey, according to Dr. Jay F. Kelly, Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Raritan Valley Community College. They lack natural predators nowadays, and they thrive on the “edge habitat” created by development.
As a result of excessive deer herbivory, native trees and shrubs struggle to regenerate, leaving large gaps and invasive plant species in many of our forests, where there used to be a lush forest understory. Without the essential native plants, hundreds of species of birds, butterflies, moths, bees and other animals are now absent, so forests can’t purify water, store carbon, clean the air or help our gardens pollinate as effectively.
Utilizing its Open Space Fund, Chatham Township purchased fence posts and 800 feet of eight-foot steel fencing. Fourteen Boy Scouts from Troop 8 and four BSA Scouts from Troop 280 worked as a team to unroll and install the fence on January 16th, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. They were advised by Dr. Emile DeVito, Manager of Science and Stewardship at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. The Chatham Township Open Space Committee also advised on the project.
Scouts titled the volunteer project, “Regrow a Forest.” “I loved working on this project,” said Troop 8 Scout Koen Vonderahe of Chatham Township. “Maybe we can come back with more fencing one day to make the protected area even bigger!”
“The deer-fenced area is yet another way that families and residents of all ages can enjoy our very special town,” added Mark Lois, a member of the Chatham Township Committee.
Hikers along the trail will be able to see many species of native trees and shrubs regenerate in the coming years. Oak trees, for instance, have been shown to support over 500 species of moth and butterfly caterpillars, which most native birds desperately need to feed their young. Research by Dr. Douglas Tallamy of the University of Delaware found that a single pair of birds usually needs over 5,000 caterpillars to raise one clutch of eggs into fledgelings. Without the oaks and other native trees, bird populations will continue to decline across the world, he says.
You can learn more about the trail by emailing jbbasralian@gmail.com (Joe Basralian, chair of Chatham Township’s Open Space Advisory Committee). You may also follow the Facebook Page titled, “Shunpike Trail, Chatham, NJ.”
Courtesy photos
