Passaic River Mudflat Cleanup First Phase Completed

Over 16,000 cubic yards of toxic sediment have been removed from a 6 acre mudflat along the Passaic River near Lyndhurst.

Director of the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club, Jeff Tittel says that the cleanup“is an important step forward in finally getting the cleanup process going. It has taken far too long to start the cleanup, but at least it is beginning to happen. The Passaic River has been polluted for too many decades with this dioxin and other industrial discharges. It is good the cleanup is starting, however compared to what needs to be done it is like emptying a beach with a child’s pale and shovel. One day hopefully the whole river will be cleaned up, including the 17.5 miles which is not part of this first phase of the cleanup. For far too long polluters have robed the River that belongs to all of us and this is a start of one of those milestones to bring the River back to the community."

Free Fishing Days This Weekend June 14-15

In its annual weekend event to introduce freshwater fishing to families and novices across the state, the Christie Administration is holding Free Fishing Days on Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, June 15.

On these two special days, anglers have the opportunity to enjoy some of the finest freshwater fishing in the Northeast without needing to purchase a license or a trout stamp. The weekend event is designed to get families hooked on a new, exciting activity, while also giving out-of-state visitors a chance to sample New Jersey’s waters for fishing.

“This is a great opportunity for kids and families to learn about the pleasures of fishing and enjoy time together at some of the many great fishing spots we have in New Jersey’s state, county and local parks, and our vast natural areas,’’said DEP Commissioner Martin. “Free Fishing Days also gives us an opportunity to spread the word about the exceptional fishing here in New Jersey to out-of-state anglers, many of whom come here for their free fishing opportunity every June.’’

Free Fishing Days are held annually and compliments National Fishing and Boating Week, which also occurs each June. While no license or trout stamp is needed, other regulations, including size and daily catch limits remain in effect.

"New Jersey has some of the best freshwater fishing in the Northeast and Free Fishing Days are a great opportunity to sample it,” said New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Director David Chanda. “This is a weekend where fishing licenses are not required and an excellent way for first-timers and even entire families to kick back, relax, and take advantage of spending some quality time in the great outdoors.”

“Muskellunge, walleye, northern pike, channel catfish and hybrid striped bass fisheries are now thriving and New Jersey anglers routinely catch many world-class sized fish,” he added.

New Jersey offers every type of fishing for every level of angler. Outstanding statewide fisheries for largemouth and smallmouth bass, pickerel and numerous pan fish species round out the fishing choices available.

For more information on Free Fishing Days, visit: www.njfishandwildlife.com/ffd.htm

There you will also find three regional brochures to help you find lakes and ponds with public fishing access close to home. These “Great Fishing Close to Home” brochures contain information on each water body's acreage, the nearest town, site amenities, boat and shoreline fishing, the fish available and fishing tips for each species.

These brochures focus primarily on lakes and ponds with warm-water and cool-water fisheries. A comprehensive list of 'Where to' and 'how to' trout fishing information, including directions to more than 300 trout fishing access points, is also available on the Fish and Wildlife website at www.njfishandwildlife.com/fishing_fresh.htm

For those with mobile devices, the free Pocket Ranger® New Jersey Fish and Wildlife application is a cutting-edge mobile app that provides on-the-spot information on the state’s fish species and how and where to fish for them.

The app also has powerful GPS capabilities and is a comprehensive information source for all the state’s fish and wildlife species and provides extensive mapping of public open spaces and access points for hunting, fishing, boating and wildlife watching. Both Apple and Android versions of the app can be downloaded at www.pocketrangerexchange.com/apps/nj-fw/apps.php .

Anglers are urged to respect private landowners who allow fishing on their properties by obeying boundary signs and not littering. Fishing regulations can be obtained through the Pocket Ranger® New Jersey Fish and Wildlife application, online at www.njfishandwildlife.com, or the 2014 NJ Freshwater Fishing Digest available for free at Fish and Wildlife offices or where fishing licenses are sold.

SOURCE: http://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2014/14_0060.htm

A Moon Garden

Some people plant moon gardens. The idea is to grow plants with leaves and flowers of white, silvery and gray that will catch the moonlight - and look white and "lunar" white even in daylight or electric illumination.

Popular spring plants for a moon garden:

• Daffodil (Narcissus) ‘Mount Hood’, ‘Cheerfulness,’ or ‘Stainless’
• Tulip ‘String of Pearls’, ‘Maureen,’ or ‘Mount Tacoma’
• Hyacinth ‘White Pearl’ or ‘Carnegie’
• Bleeding Hearts ‘Alba’
• Candytuft
• Lilies of the Valley
• Sweet alyssum
• white snapdragons, 
• some iris, delphiniums, lupines, crocuses and snowdrops.

To keep going into summer:

• Coneflower ‘White Swan’
• Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ or ‘White Swan’
• Butterfly bush ‘White Profusion’
• Moonflowers (Ipomoea alba)
• ‘Alba’ four o’clocks (Mirabilis jalapa)
• White flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata)
• ‘Casa Blanca’ Oriental lilies
• Rose ‘Iceberg’, ‘Lace Cascade’,‘Sally Holmes Antique Climbing’ or ‘Lady Banks White’

Late Summer/ Fall Flowers:

• Clematis ‘Sweet Autumn’
• Dahlias ‘White Perfection’ ‘Eternal Snow’ and ‘Playa Blanca’

White Gardens - How to Make a Stunning Moon Garden



The Twilight Garden: Creating a Garden That Entrances by Day and Comes Alive at Night

Deer Ticks and Lyme Disease Season

We probably wish they were endangered, but as people in the Northeast, Midwest and mid-Atlantic know, deer ticks that carry Lyme and other diseases are growing their populations. Humans are the ones in danger.

Right now is the worst season (May & June). The adolescent “nymphal” ticks are out in force and looking for you.

They are about the size of a poppy seed but you won't spot them in the leaf litter and shady leaf borders where they are now.

Last summer, the Center for Disease Control adjusted upward its estimate of Lyme disease prevalence by a factor of 10, to about 300,000 American cases a year.

In most cases, the disease can be treated with antibiotics IF it is diagnosed and treated promptly. But 10 to 20 percent of cases are not discovered early or do not respond to to antibiotics.

The recommended prevention includes:

• Spray your shoes with repellent containing Permethrin because nymphal-stage deer ticks are in leaf litter, and so as your shoes move through the leaf litter, that’s where those ticks take hold.
• Spray your pant treating the inside as well as the outside.
• Use your dryer as soon as you come inside. 10 minutes on high heat should desiccate any ticks you might carry in.
• Make sure that your dog has effective quick kill product on it like Advantix II or Seresto collars 
• You don't have to out in the woods to encounter ticks. Suburban backyards are also breeding places. Take precautions and if you spray, killing black-legged ticks requires a synthetic pyrethroid. Greener alternatives are appearing but are not proven as effective yet.

Research has shown that days of low humidity will start to kill of populations.