Chapter 7
Landscaping for a Healthy Watershed Everything in Nature contains all the powers of Nature. Everything is made of hidden stuff. Ralph Waldo Emerson
From Holgate
to Barnegat Light, most of the rainfall that reaches our Island eventually finds its way into our Bay. We can manage this flow and keep our waters clean by landscaping wisely. Consider creating a traditional Island yard, a natural habitat that includes a variety of indigenous grasses, mosses, lichens, and wildflowers. These native ground covers survive summer heat and drought without pampering, poisoning, or polluting. Thoughtful landscaping can change the volume, velocity, and quality of the water that flows from your property. Trees, shrubs, and ground cover not only enhance the appearance and value of your property but also help reduce runoff, which transports excessive sediment and pollution to the Bay.
Getting Started… A few simple actions can retain more rainwater on your property, replenish groundwater supplies, reduce your reliance on chemicals and fertilizers, and improve the quality of our waters. If you are building a new home, retain as much of the native vegetation as possible. This not only reduces runoff and pollution, it gives you a head start on your eventual landscaping and thus may also save you money. Wetland regulations control the cutting of vegetation adjacent to water bodies. Without a buffer, nutrients transported from the land flow directly into the Bay, stimulating excessive proliferation of algae blooms and seaweeds. These plants can dramatically reduce oxygen levels in the water, making it impossible for 34
CREATURES WE LOVE TO HATE The term “Mosquito State” is appropriate for New Jersey because 63 species of mosquitoes have been found here. Mosquitoes need water. Coastal salt marshes serve as breeding areas. Mosquitoes use their antennae, like radar, to detect the carbon dioxide we exhale. Finally, when they touch down, heat-seeking sensors in the antennae and proboscis locate a plump blood vessel to tap. The Greenhead Fly is an abundant summertime pest. The salt marsh is this fly’s favorite habitat. This scourge of Barnegat Bay is a strong flier, capable of flying over 30 miles without landing. Deer flies are large, triangular-shaped flies with wings marked with dark patterns. These tiny tormentors are most active on warm, sunny days when there is little wind. They are visual insects, locating hosts to bite by movement. They are also attracted to the carbon dioxide we expel. As with mosquitoes, it is the female fly that bites us. Apparently, the Mosquito, Greenhead Fly, and Deer Fly play an essential part in maintaining our ecosystem. When you are swatting away at these bloodsucking insects, however, it’s hard to believe they are beneficial in any way!