Sharing Rocks!

Sharing Rocks!

The Perfect Storm??

Most likely..........

On March 1st, I had gone to the nature center with the intentions of activating the bubbler system with the intentions of pumping oxygen into the pond. I was concerned about the ice cover still present on the pond at that time. However, I did an inspection of the banks of the pond, and sadly near the corner by the driveway and the roadside, hundreds of fish were discovered dead. The ice layer near that bank was the thinnest, but had not thawed in time to introduce air to the water surface. The fish varied in size and type. Most obvious was the amount of sunfish and bluegills. After further inspection, large-mouth bass were found along with catfish. I notified the rest of the Board of Trustees immediately when I returned home. Mary Mayer, Joel Rudin and some volunteers responded quickly to start removing the fish. A couple hundred fish were removed in the first round that early evening. The fish removal continued for several more days, and we were staggered by the numbers of fish, and the sizes of some we were finding. The fish even tried to find their way into the swamp on the other side of the driveway. Many, many fish were stuck inside the drainage pipe near the driveway entrance. We flushed out that pipe, and still hundreds just kept appearing...deceased. By the middle of the week, almost 600 were found by then.

At this stage, President Mary Mayer contacted the Bergen County Environmental Projection Program. We had a on-site visit from a few staff members. One thing they mentioned was that a few other pond/nature centers in northern Bergen suffered the same loss. We don't however know where the other places were. They confirmed our original assessment which was severe oxygen deprivation due to the solid ice cover and snow pack on the ice. (I will provide a link later in this message that explains a major winter fish kill in detail). Mary had mentioned to the board: "Although we are considering ways to have the water tested, the County team felt it wasn't necessary (but may still be of interest to us)." As was mentioned by the County team and further research on this situation ---- die back due to oxygen depravation brought on by a combination of ALL the major causes of the smaller winter kills we have experienced in the past. The usual conditions of shallow pond with high plant mass and very large fish population was pushed beyond the tipping point by the extended months of uninterrupted ice coverage edge to edge (which prevents oxygen exchange with the air) AND the prolonged snow cover on the ice, preventing sunlight from stimulating photosynthesis and releasing oxygen.

Borough officials including the Environmental Commission and the DPW have been kept up to date through out this entire ordeal. The DPW was kind enough to assist with removal of the fish off-site. We continued to remove fish from the water this past weekend and today. Today, myself and another volunteer were able to get a canoe out to remove floaters from the middle area of the pond in addition to some that were in unreachable areas. It appears we have gotten the bulk of the kill. There remains some isolated fish in several spots, which likely stay for turtle food. (The snapping turtle is already active, and a couple sliders have been seen already).

Sadly, we estimate we have lost approx. 1700 fish total thus far. We have lost our largest fish, which included a 5.8lb bass, a catfish in similar weight and was the longest on record: 24 inches long. A 10.25lb native carp was also removed. We have not spotted some of the other carp we have in the pond, including the sterile triploid grass carp, but it's assumed we are at a devastating 95% loss of fish. Some of these larger species have been in this pond for years, including the large white carp that many of you knew of, named - The General, which hits most of us on personal levels.

We have not experienced a fish kill this catastrophic in a very long time. One- our fish population has grown over the years. Two- with mild winters over the decade, we have not had a sold ice cover with a heavy snowpack from mid December thru March in years.

I bring this incident to the attention of our members and friends in more detail since an article was published today in the Northern Valley Press. Steve Kelman, a former board member and NV Press editorial correspondent, took a genuine interest in this catastrophic event and asked if he could interview myself, which I agreed upon Since some folks may want to know more about this phenomenon, I figured now would be the time to present this message. As mentioned in the article, pond dynamics is a major factor in this ordeal. All the right conditions were present at the perfect time to cause this devastation. We will have to learn from this event and focus on how to prevent something like this in the future. Our usual fish stocking takes place in the end of April for the fishing contest, thanks to the recreation and Police departments. However, we may seek additional stocking from the NJDEP based on emergency measures.

Sorry for this lengthy message, but I want to keep everyone updated as best as possible. A large thank you goes out to our volunteers and the Closter DPW for assisting us. If anything further develops in this situation, I will notify all of you as soon as possible. Here is the link with great information: http://ohioline.osu.edu/a-fact/0008.html

Respectfully,

~Anthony Corvelli~ Secretary / Land Use Committee

www.closternaturecenter.org

Not so quiet anymore

Hi all. There's definitely signs of spring in the air. So far, last weekend I noticed 1 Killdeer flying above, but this was up in Ramsey.
Yesterday at the center, we had a nice vocal Red-Winged Blackbird visiting. That's the 1st one I have seen thus far. Also, there was 1 Painted Turtle already out of hibernation basking in the sun on a floating log. That was surprising. I did not expect to see a turtle this early. I am still waiting for my Robins to show up. Last year they were 1 week early and arrived on Feb.29th of '08. I haven't seen any yet this week.
Overall, I have noticed an increase in songbirds, such as an increase of Sparrows (who are currently building a nest in my AC unit), flocks of Starlings and Blackbirds. I saw one rather large flock of Crows yesterday over Dumont. There had to be about 25 of them.
I am attempting to keep an eye out for any migrator dcuks, but we haven't had much luck with them at the center the past couple of years. Only one Common Merganser was seen last spring. It's a bit early, but I will keep an eye out for our resident muskrat too. He/she should be popping out soon.
One family have been fishing already, even with a small patch of ice on the pond, and they landed a few Bluegills already.
So, the critters are stirring and slowy arriving back into the area. I will post anything new I obvserve over the course of this upcoming week.
Take care all everyone!
~Anthony

Wintertime - Quiet Time

Hi all. I found myself dying to get outdoors yesterday since the weather was favorable. A 3 day weekend indoors is not my cup of tea.
My daughter & I visited the nature center yesterday, and it turned out to be a gorgeous day with the sun out and not a cloud in the sky. The breeze subsided, and it was just plain quiet. It was unusually quiet. There were not many birds around, and the ducks were enjoying their little swimming hole in the stream near the road. A decent layer of ice still sits afloat of the Ruckman pond.
It was also my intention to get a nice campfire going, just enough to remove the chill from the air. We had a handful of visitors who parked themselves in some chairs. They simply relaxed and took in the blaring sun and quiet time. There was one small group of 'geocachers' that ventured out into the woods, but I think they were the only ones out there. Plus, the trails are still a bit on the muddy side. They apparently came across a small herd of deer while out there too. Thankfully the deer stay in the woods most of the time. I say that since I had an entire herd run out in front of me while driving through Haworth on Valley Rd. Luckily I noticed the leader out of the corner of my eye and managed to stop in time...... The poor creatures just have no where else to go.
Anyhow, as much as I dislike the winter I find I enjoy my visits to the nature center a little more and truly appreciate being there during winter visits since it's like a 'treat'. The other seasons I am there all the time and maybe take those visits for granted. It is just nice to sit and relax and soak it all in during the quiet season. I highly recommend this for anyone suffering the winter blues. Just get out of the house, go to the nature center and enjoy the scenery. If we have a campfire going, by all means stop & visit. Many hikers appreciate that outdoor fireplace after a walk. :) Bring along a hot chocolate or coffee, and the quiet time is that more enjoyable.

Well, that's enough from me for now. Just though I'd share some thoughts on winter visits at the nature center. Have to take advantage of the quiet time now since we have a fairly busy spring ahead of us. We have a couple of events and plenty of trail work to do.
Enjoy everyone!
~Anthony

Wintertime

Hi all. Wintertime is my time to play around on the PC more. ;) Don't get outdoors as much as the warmer weather. Although, on a somewhat warmer day (35 degrees) there's always something to see at the nature center. For instance, a few of us witnessed a Merlin Falcon last week and a couple of weeks back a pair of foxes roaming the grounds. You never know what interesting wildlife will show up! Plus, it's always nice to sit back and watch our little winter visitors like Juncos, Cardinals and Chickadees at the bird feeders. Our local resident ducks and geese always enjoy the company too. ;)

Anyhow, the idea of starting a blog site was thrown at me, so we're going to experiment a bit for the time being to see how this works out.
Any suggestions or ideas are always welcome. That's what blogs are about!
See you on the trails!
Anthony~~