NATURE NEWS
Our Wildlife
Bat Conservation InternationalNJ Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1973
Beavers of Lake Swannanoa
Have you seen them swimming across the lake? Have you heard them do their tail slap when your boat gets close? Have they taken out some trees or branches from the lakefront near you? Click the link to go to Beavers of Lake Swannanoa where you can see pictures of the beaver dams and lodges on Lake Swannanoa, and learn all about beavers and their activities.
Black Bear
North American Bear Center
Our focus is to improve the understanding and appreciation of North American Bears, their role in the ecosystem, and their relationship to humans through education, research and rehabilitation.NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife - Bear Facts for New Jersey
Black bears are the largest land mammal in the Garden State and live in forested areas throughout northern New Jersey. Here in the most densely populated state in the nation black bears are thriving in close proximity to people.The American Bear Association
Promoting the welfare of the black bear through a better understandingGet Bear Smart Society
Mission: To provide a safe environment in which people and bears can co-exist in harmonyBirds
Male Red-winged Blackbird, Lake Swannanoa resident
You see (and hear!) them on the lake & the surrounding marsh/inlet area. For more info, photos and songs: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
North American Bluebird Society (NABS)
birding.com Where to Bird New Jersey
Two swans in love! photo of "A pair of swans creating a 'lovers' heart'" (Wikipedia Mute Swan [Cygnus olor] page)
(Click for full-size image)
A regular visitor for some un-licensed fishing at our lake. You'll also see them holding out their wings to dry between dives.
Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus Order PELECANIFORMES - Family PHALACROCORACIDAE
Bryozoa
(Moss Animals those blob things)
Preservation of rare species - The lake provides an ideal environment for bryozoa - fresh water jellyfish. In the world, there are only 50 of these species that inhabit freshwater. We are one of a few lakes located east of the Mississippi that where this species thrives. The species we have in Lake Swannanoa is Pectinatella magnifica. This variety is an indicator of water purity. It thrives in our lake and cleanses the water.
Moss Animals Invade Lake Cochituate (enter the bryozoan, Pectinatella magnifica)
Bugs
What's this caterpillar.. Identifying caterpillars made easy.
Butterflies and Moths
HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants (UK Natural History Museum)
Fish
NJ Wildlife Fish ID NJ Fish id chart digfsh24-33.pdf
Muskrats
They're the ones who are leaving all the empty mussel shells under your rowboat, because beavers are strictly vegetarian.
Common Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
Muskrat Love: sung by Captain & Tennille
"Muskrat Susie, Muskrat Sam
Do the jitterbug out in muskrat land"Virginia Opossum - North America's only marsupial
It has thumbs on its hind feet! � The National Opossum Society
Opossum Society of the United States The name "opossum" is derived from an Algonquian Indian word "apasum", meaning white animal. If opossums were eliminated from an area, the population of roof rats and other pests would proliferate.
NatureWorks Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana
Identify Animal Tracks - Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
Animal Diversity Web Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum)
Wildlife Habitat
Backyard Wildlife Habitat Homepage National Wildlife Federation
OUR FLORA
Native Plant Society of New Jersey
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Native Plants & Wildflowers
Butterfly Gardening and Conservation
Rose Franklin's Perennials – Hummingbird and Butterfly Host Plants
What Tree is That? Tree Identification Guide from The National Arbor Day Foundation
LessLawn: landscaping for gardeners and nature lovers ... shrink your lawn and grow your pleasure!
Planet Jersey: Gardening and Lawn Care in New Jersey
Beyond Pesticides: national coalition against the misuse of pesticides
Lake-Friendly Fertilizer
Your yard maintenance has a direct impact on the water quality of our lake. Excess nutrients lead to algae blooms and weed growth. If you feel you must use lawn fertilizer, you may not use fertilizer containing any phosphorous. This applies to all of Jefferson Township, NOT only to Lake Hopatcong. Please be aware that any runoff into the lake has an effect.
Jefferson Township Code Book, Chapter 240: FERTILIZERS, APPLICATION OF
240-3. Regulations for fertilizer application.
A. Fertilizer. Within the Township of Jefferson, no person, firm, corporation or franchise shall apply liquid or granular fertilizer which contains phosphorous.
B. Time of application. Lawn fertilizer application shall not be applied when the ground is frozen.
C. Disposal of leaves and other vegetative material. No person shall deposit leaves or other vegetative materials on roads or within any lake or stormwater drainage system.
D. Buffer zone. Fertilizer applications shall not be made within 10 feet of any wetland or body of water.You can receive a citation for violations.
GENERAL ENVIRONMENT
New Jersey Environmental Organizations
eartheasy: ideas for environmentally sustainable living
noise pollution
NoiseOFF - The Citizens Coalition Against Noise Pollution - Landscaping
healthyNJ--Information for Healthy Living - Noise Pollution
Noise Pollution Clearinghouse: "Good neighbors keep their noise to themselves."
Shh! Can You Turn Down That Leaf Blower?
GEOLOGY/GEOGRAPHY
Recent Earthquake Activity in the USA
US Geological Survey Topographic Map, Lake SwannanoaApril 1992 b&w Aerial Photo
topozone topographic map latitude 41.01028 longitude 74.51722
EPA Envirofacts information about ZIP Code 07438
Distance Between Lake Swannanoa, NJ and ...
Lake Swannanoa - Franklin, New Jersey - Map and Satellite View Hey, we're in Sussex County now! Not.
INVASIVE SPECIES
Leafs out early, shading natives woodland plants, overtakes thier habitat. You'll know it's what you've just pulled up by the acid yellow roots.
Invader of the Month-April (Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group)
Exceptionally invasive, crowds out native species. Get rid of it by repeatedly cutting plant down, being sure to kill all pieces of vegetation by drying it out or burning, since fragments can sprout new plants, and/or treating cut stems with glyphosate (see below). Or you could try eating it (spring shoots are edible). Heavy infestations can be seen along Berkshire Valley Road. Also seen at a few lakeside locations at Lake Swannanoa. Identified in winter by dead light-brown bamboo-like stalks, blooms late summer in white fleece-like clusters.
"For control of emergent or floating aquatic plants or plants growing along a shoreline (where spray will contact the water), the RODEO formulation of glyphosate should be used. RODEO does not contain surfactants included in ROUNDUP products. Prior to applying any pesticide to a body of water or to plants in a wetland, one must obtain a permit from DEP. The half-life of glyphosate in water is approximately 2 weeks, but it does not significantly affect submerged plants. Glyphosate toxicity to fish and other aquatic organisms is very low." From: Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group Website: SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE USE OF HERBICIDES TO CONTROL INVASIVE PLANTS
Just getting started, mid-Spring. Spreading lakeside infestation of Japanese Knotweed.
PCA Alien Plant Working Group - Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)
Invasive Plant Fact Sheet/Japanese Knotweed
Japanese Knotweed Alliance: The Plant & The Problem
"Spread the word, not the weed" Pamphlet
Japanese Knotweed - Reynoutria japonica, information page
"Japanese knotweed is listed as a wild edible plant, and young shoots up to 30cm (1 ft), can be cut early in the spring, steamed or boiled and served like asparagus. Slightly older stems can be used to make a rhubarb-like jam by peeling and boiling the sour rind with sugar and pectin. FBCP do not advise or recommend that Knotweed is eaten."
Japanese knotweed photos and recipes "Wildman" Steve Brill
Blooms during July and August. It grows on the lakefront and also thrives in standing water. If you see this plant, pull it up (roots and all)! Cut off blooms and dispose of in sealed trash bag before composting. See entire northern edge of North Lake for how much this plant can take over. See links below for more information.
PCA Alien Plant Working Group - Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Worst Weeds Map: The Nature Conservancy/The Global Invasive Species Initiative
(burning bush, winged euonymus, winged wahoo, winged spindle-tree, Japanese spindle-tree)
As seen below at the boathouse cove. What's green is winged euonymus (mid-Spring).
Despite its invasiveness, it's still purchased and planted as an ornamental, as seen below.
Weed Alert! The Nature Conservancy/The Global Invasive Species Initiative
In My Garden: Invaders: Barberry and Winged Euonymus
USDA Forest Service, Norheastern Area winged_euonymus.pdf
PCA/APWG Distribution Map: winged burning bush; wahoo; winged euonymus; winged spindle-tree (Euonymus alata)
Plants
Now, invasive species stream in online Indeed, online sales of such noxious weeds - some of them illegal - have flourished so much in the past few years that the federal government is preparing a high-tech crackdown.
Invasive Species: The Nation's Invasive Species Information System
Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas: Table of Contents
Plant Conservation Alliance Alien Plant Working Group
The Global Invasive Species Initiative: Understanding the impacts of invasive plants in natural areas
Plants and Animals
Animals
Worms and Your Forest: Find out what a hardwood forest looks like both before and after earthworms have invaded.
Fish
Once Caught, Once Bought, Never Returned! Aquarists take on the problem of exotic introductions
Weeds
Lawn Weed Identification and Control (US EPA)
New Jersey Agricultural Weed Gallery (Rutgers)
Biological Control
Biological Control of Plant Pests: Purple Loosestrife (New Jersey Department of Agriculture)
Biological Control: A Guide to Natural Enemies in North America (Cornell University): Galerucella calmariensis
and G. pusilla (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
LAKE
NJDEP Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring
NJ Lake Restoration and Management Advisory Task Force
Minutes of Public Meeting, September 27, 2001, attended by representatives of Lake Swannanoa
NJDEP Dam Safety & Flood Control - August 2000 Storm
National Climatic Data Center: Event Record Details
National Dam Safety Program: New Jersey
Emergency Action Plans developed in the area of the August 12, 2000 severe rainfall event
"On August 12, 2000 parts of northern New Jersey experienced an unusually heavy rainfall event which caused damage to approximately 24 dams with four dams being completely washed out. Four dams in the area including Swannanoa Lake #1 Dam, Swannanoa Lake #2 Dam, Mount Paul Dam, and Morris Lake Dam all had Emergency Action Plan documents and inundation mapping prepared and on file with the New Jersey Dam Safety Section. The Dam Safety Section, New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency used these documents during the August 12, 2000 storm and aftermath."Association of State Dam Safety Officials
ASDSO is a national non-profit organization of state and federal dam safety regulators, dam owners and operators, engineering consultants, manufacturers and suppliers, academia, contractors and others interested in dams safety. Our vision is to lead the US dam safety community with a strong, unified voice and effective programs and policies toward the furtherance of dam safety.The Rockaway River Fights for Its Future
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Total Maximum Daily Loads
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: EnviroMapper for Water Lake Swannanoa
The Watershed Institute: : NJ Watershed Associations
Hits to dateFor Membership Information: Click here membership information
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Lake Swannanoa Homeowners Association :|||: a private non-profit corporation devoted to Lake Swannanoa
last updated Feb 19, 2013
