Port Murray, NJ – The Wattles Stewardship Center, owned by New Jersey Audubon, has been certified as a River-Friendly Farm; recognized for following best management practices that focus on protecting water quality.
The River-Friendly Farm Certification Program is a voluntary program designed to recognize farms that protect our shared natural resources through responsible land management. River-Friendly Certified Farms have demonstrated a commitment to reduce soil loss, decrease pesticide run-off, and prevent manure and fertilizer pollution by implementing practices such as vegetative stream buffers to slow and absorb water before it reaches waterways, reducing bare soil areas on the farm through use of a cover crop, and managing livestock and reducing their access to ponds and streams.
Nestled along the Musconetcong River, the NJ Audubon Wattles Stewardship Center is a 51-acre farm that produces corn, beans, and sunflowers with forested land and meadow habitat sprinkled throughout the landscape. “The Wattles property was designed to be a working conservation model farm,” said John Parke, NJ Audubon Stewardship Project Director. “Working with our farmer, Roger Woolfe, and the staff of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to utilize a multitude of their conservation programs at the property certainly made it easy to meet the criteria to become a River Friendly Farm,” Parke added. “I highly recommend others in the region take advantage of the free technical assistance and USDA conservation services that are out there and apply for this fine recognition program offered by North Jersey RC&D.”
The cropland at the Wattles Center is farmed by lifetime Warren County resident, Roger Woolfe who was very proud to have the property certified after all his hard work stewarding the production land over the years. He said, “We want to maintain soil health. Without good soil we won’t be farming. Healthy soil means healthy plants, healthy streams, and healthy wildlife. [Conservation] is part of the farmer’s job and working with good partners, like NJ Audubon, to achieve shared goals is important.”
For more information on River-Friendly Farm Certification, please contact Kara Hasko at North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development (NJRC&D), (908)852-2576 ext. 126. North Jersey RC&D is seeking more River-Friendly Farm applicants and is available to speak with any interested group or individual about the program.
As part of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative, NJRC&D and NJ Audubon are also looking to engage more landowners/farmers for enrollment into the various federal conservation cost share programs for conducting conservation practices on their land; in some cases free plant material may be available. For more information please contact NJRC&D at (908) 574-5368 or NJA Stewardship Project Director, John Parke at john.parke@njaudubon.org
