The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, where more than 47,000 acres of southern New Jersey coastal habitats are actively protected and managed for migratory birds, reopened its Wildlife Drive in Galloway on Saturday, April 6 for the first time since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on the eight-mile road. Large holes and vast amounts of debris were found along the course following the storm.
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| Photo by Ryan Morrill A snowy egret cooling off in the water is just one of the many striking birds that can be found at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. |
Wildlife Drive, which travels through marshland and forest and is considered the most popular course on the refuge with more than 100,000 visitors in a normal year, was closed for three months while reconstruction of the area took place beginning Jan. 14.
According to officials, the refuge received $1.25 million from the Federal Highway Administration through the Emergency Relief to Federally Owned Roads program to help fund the repairs. More than 2,000 dump truck loads of fill were used to restore the area.
Weekend visitors got a first-hand look at the recent habitat management the sanctuary has undergone during the renovation.
“We had great weather; lots of great people out here. So we were really excited," said Virginia Rettig, Forsythe Refuge manager. “It’s spring migration, so we all want to be on the refuge this time of year,” she added.
Forsythe personnel have cut back on the amount of growth of shrubs and trees to help the forest return to its favorable scrub-shrub stage, a combination habitat of meadows and forest, which most animals prefer, officials said. This terrain will accommodate grasses, forbs and fruit-producing shrubs and trees, including blackberry, viburnums and cherry. Scrub-shrub management will help certain species thrive, including American woodcock, brown thrasher, eastern meadowlark, blue grosbeak, eastern towhee, wintering and migrating land birds, cottontail rabbits and butterflies.
“We certainly have wonderful birds here in the winter, lots of waterfowl that this refuge is critical to, but in the spring we start seeing our songbirds and our shore birds again that have been wintering south of us,” said Rettig. “We get this new flush of birds coming in again, and being an undeveloped area, it’s a natural attraction.
“A lot of the birdwatchers, photographers and folks just wanting to observe wildlife like to get out this time of year because there’s lots of new birds that they haven’t seen in months since they’ve been wintering away from here. We’re really thrilled we were able to get it open for one of our biggest use times of the year,” she added.
A viewing platform at the end of the Leeds Eco Trail, located near Wildlife Drive, that was washed away during the storm has been replaced with a “much nicer” overlook and accompanying roof.
“We’re getting very close to being open permanently, so we’re very excited about that, too,” said Rettig.
At this point, Wildlife Drive is open on weekends from sunrise to sunset only. The Songbird Trail, Jen’s Trail, and the road to Gull Pond Tower are also open on weekends. Construction will continue during weekdays while the areas are closed.
The Visitor Information Center, which has new exhibits that were put in over the winter, will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. All fees will be temporarily waived until the repairs are completed.
For more information, visit fws.gov/northeast/forsythe or call 609-652-1665.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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