Good News from Unexpected, January 2008
It is a balmy Christmas afternoon here at Unexpected, and the new winter sun is reaching for the western horizon. Main Pond, although still neglected by the beavers, is glimmering gold and gray, nearly full from two days of steady rain. It will not remain this way, as the water will slowly leak through the skeleton of the abandoned beaver dam. But it is beautiful and glorious to behold while it lasts. The geese and ducks have been squawking since before dawn about this fantastic holiday gift. We even have a special guest: a white goose. After having patrolled the Refuge and kayaked Miller Pond, it would seem to be the perfect time to catch up with friends.
Beaver Update
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Christmas in a kayak. It just doesn’t get any better than this. I noticed a dark spot in Miller Pond so I just had to check it out. It was calm and warm enough for me to hop in and paddle upstream to the lump. The lump is a new lodge! Smaller than the old one, and about 20 yards east, it has new peeled sticks and mud. I paddled over to the old lodge to discover the same: new sticks and mud. Now I am confused. They’ve rehabbed the old digs and built a brand new lodge? I explored upstream as far as the Miller House and found a lot of beaver chews and feeding/grooming spots. The beavers are back! I hung out until my hands froze numb and raw from the wind and water, but no one came out to say hello. I left a small gift of apples and headed home.
Expansion Update
Open Space Institute has approved our two year bridge loan to purchase the Dalessandro Farm! Joe Dalessandro took pretty good care of his farm, because our Phase I Environmental Report, prepared by Pete Falnes, gave the farm a clean bill of health. We are clearing up some minor title issues, and as soon as the survey is completed, we will be going to settlement. A special thank you to Pete for all his efforts over the past six years. This will be the third Phase I document that he has prepared for land acquisition projects, and he has yet to send a bill.
Unexpected Road Update
The road is still not fixed, however the township has FEMA funding to do so. The only catch is that the NJDEP requires that an engineering study be prepared prior to any repair work. The township does not have funding for the study, which could cost as much as $50,000.
Several alternatives are being discussed, including draining the lake and building the road over the stream with a culvert and no dam.
This scenario would be disastrous, as the pond provides habitat for an amazing array of plants animals and birds (this is where the two bald eagles were spotted during patrol). Draining it would cause the loss of an environmental gold mine. The pond is also prime habitat for beavers, and when they dam up the creek (and we know they will), they will inevitably flood the new road. We are trying to come up with a solution to this problem, but as usual, it looks like it will come down to money, or lack of it.
Patrol 2007-2008
So far so-so. As I reported in October, hunting season began in early September. Six day shotgun season began on Monday December 3rd. That’s when the hunters all meet at their clubs and hunt in packs for six days. We park the Refuge vehicle at Station Six, and facing east, command a view down three sand road cuts next to the Refuge.
For me, the day begins when I leave the house at 5:45 to park the truck. It is rather surreal to sit in a pickup truck in the dark, in the middle of the woods, alone, and watch the day slowly come to life. As the sun came up, the wind was brisk and pushed the low steely clouds southward. It was cold, but soon warmed into the upper thirties. Relieved from truck duty by the next volunteer along, I began to patrol.
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By Wednesday afternoon flurries were teasing us, but we did not take them seriously. By four o’clock there were two inches of snow, and by eight there were four, and the Refuge was transformed into an enchanted forest. Pretty out or not, I was beginning to worry about slippery boardwalks and icy conditions on Thursday. Not to worry though. Freya Dinshah worked the early patrol the next morning, and she made sure the boards were clean and safe.
Thursday morning, the truck was frozen shut. Trying to not break off the door handle (I’ve done that, you know), I finally pried it open with my fingers in the door seam and sat shivering until the engine warmed up and the windshield cleared a bit. I parked in my designated spot. The moon was a captivating sickle, the dark three quarters ghosted by the earth’s reflection. Venus floated nearby screaming for attention, bold and bright. The still trees were silent white apparitions and everything glittered like diamonds in the dark.
You may have read previous articles in The Beaver Defenders and other publications that show the number of licensed hunters in New Jersey are steadily declining. Fewer young people are interested in this “sport,” and are more inclined toward electronic and video pursuits. Being one of the most densely populated states in the nation, many hunters claim there are no places left to hunt.
Unfortunately, many who hunt in this area migrate to the fringes of our sanctuary to hunt on township owned land. One local fellow deems it his responsibility to foster young people’s interest in killing. He shows up every year with a band of young men (and some women) who are not yet shaving.
This year, one of his young wards got excited and emptied his shotgun too fast, winging a large buck. I actually got to watch this tragic episode from a spot in the woods about 50 yards from the truck. I saw the deer run into the Refuge. He was not bounding as deer do when spooked. But he was moving pretty fast and strong, so I am dubious as to how badly he was hit. Regardless, I am sure he was not having a good day.
The head hunter requested to recover the deer. New Jersey Fish and Wildlife regulations require that hunters attempt to recover wounded deer. Unexpected Wildlife Refuge Policy is a strict NO. This policy is based upon 45 years of Refuge experience dealing with the act of hunters’ “recovering wounded deer,” a series of long sad stories for another column.
Sometime Tuesday night, forty of our NO HUNTING signs were ripped down along our road and the driveway barricaded with barrels, trees and other handy debris. I suspect a child. A child who is not old enough to shave, drive, vote, drink or smoke. I suspect a child who was told NO. A child with a license to carry a loaded firearm took matters into his own hands.