Woodbridge River Watch Meeting Feb. 3

Woodbridge, NJ - Woodbridge River Watch will hold their next meeting Wednesday, Feb. 3rd at the Woodbridge main library, downstairs next to the children’s library.

The meeting will be from 7:30-8:45 p.m., says Roberta Martin, co-chair of the group. All are welcome!

Some of the topics on the agenda include Middlesex County’s 2015 fall spraying for the invasive reed Phragmites; the addition of the new wildflower garden; the 2016 spring tours of the Wildlife Preserve with Woodbridge Township third-grade classes, and Eagle Scout projects, (completed and proposed), said Martin.

Woodbridge River Park sprayed to kill phragmites

Phragmites are an invasive wetland plant species found in Woodbridge River Park, and up and down East Coast wetlands. They outcompete native grasses and grow up to 18’ high and 30’ a year, so dense that even deer can’t walk through it. Phragmites can pose a fire danger and reduce water flow in wetlands.

Middlesex County owns the property that Woodbridge River Watch and the Woodbridge Parks Department maintains. The county received a grant to rid four county parks of the phragmites, and also do stream restoration, and Woodbridge River Park was one of them.

The spraying was done in the fall of 2015 using a herbicide, Martin said. The process took about a week.

The presence of phragmites are usually an indicator of a wetland that is out of balance, she said. But on the positive side, some birds use it for nesting, such as the Marsh Wren, Red-winged Blackbird.

Researchers say it also might offset rising sea levels.

Photo: Headwaters of the Woodbridge River in Avenel. Photo courtesy Woodbridge River Watch