National Wildlife Federation Certifies Warren County as First New Jersey Community Wildlife Habitat

August 27, 2024

Warren County is now the first county in New Jersey to be certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Photo by L. Ward.

Pollinator Protectors Certified Wildlife Habitat Nationally Recognized & Rewarded

As of Aug. 5, 2024, Warren County is now the first county in New Jersey to be certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

At the annual reorganization meeting of the Warren County Board of County Commissioners in January, Commissioner Director James R. Kern III issued a challenge to county residents to help Warren become the first county in New Jersey to earn Community Wildlife Habitat certification.

The commissioners were successful, under the guidance and motivation of Clairane Arcaro, member of the County Environmental Advisory Committee, in introducing the challenge to many Warren County organizations. Twenty-two municipalities from Pohatcong to Frelinghuysen are now certified through the NWF, making Warren County the first county in New Jersey to be certified through the NWF as a wildlife habitat.

Through this program, the community has worked to become healthier, greener and more wildlife-friendly by creating wildlife habitats throughout the county while educating and engaging residents through events, educational workshops and hands-on service projects.

A Certified Wildlife Habitat needs three sources of food, supplemental feeders, or a combination of both. Food for wildlife can come from a variety of sources, including native plants, seeds, berries, nectar and other types of vegetation. Native plant pollinators provide nourishment from the plant’s nectar and are the only acceptable food source for the birds and bees.

Rapid and large-scale environmental changes, due to invasive plants and pollution, mean wildlife are losing the habitats they once knew. Habitat gardens promise to save and sustain resources for wildlife such as bees, butterflies, birds and amphibians, both locally and along migratory corridors.

To achieve this certification, it is necessary for participants’ gardens to create habitats that support wildlife. Requirements include:

Food: Plant native species that provide food for a variety of wildlife. Additionally, can use feeders to supplement natural food sources.

Water: Ensure there is water available for animals, as they need it for survival, bathing and breeding.

Cover: Provide places where wildlife can shelter from bad weather, hide from predators or hunt for prey.

Places to Raise Young: Create environments where wildlife can reproduce and raise their young.

Sustainable Practices: Maintain your yard or garden using environmentally friendly methods to keep soil, air, and water healthy.

By participating in these practices, support is provided to the local ecosystem and make a significant impact on community wildlife.

The big pollinator protector push involved engaging and educating municipalities, residents, schools, churches, parks and more to establish native pollinator gardens in these communities, and, under the guidelines of the NWF, develop community connectivity through outreach programs, educational presentations and administration and maintenance programs for the gardens.

Members (pictured) of the Warren County Pollinators Protectors. Back row: Rick Clarkson, Jim Ashe, Marisa Marques, Shawna Sanchez, Lisa McCann, Michelle St. Andre, Allison Bickhardt. Front row: (4-H) Natalie Marques, Bethany Sanchez, Genesis Sanchez, Sydney Weygand, Stella Weygand. Photo by L. Ward.

Anyone can register a green space. Residents can even turn their backyard into a wildlife protective retreat. However, it is mainly organizations cracking the invasive obstacle dilemma. Some of the participating registered schools, gardens and parks include: Warren County Community College, Allamuchy Township School, Mountain Villa School in Allamuchy, Hope Township School, the Karen Nash Garden at Memorial School in Washington Borough, Warren County Technical School, Hackettstown Middle School, Great Meadows Elementary School and the New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg.

Fueled by the Warren County Pollinator Protectors, spearheaded by Michelle St. Andre, Columbia resident and avid environmental volunteer, a few of the continuous maintenance projects are Dumont Building, Blairstown Elementary School, Knowlton Tunnel Field and Ramsaysburg Historic Homestead.

St. Andre started the Warren County Pollinator Protectors this summer. St. Andre directs and coordinates the projects, works with the gardening groups, weeding out invasive plants, planting native plants and adding soil and buffers where needed.

“Kern introduced the launch of the Commissioners’ Conservation Challenge to make Warren County the first county-wide Community Wildlife Habitat certified by the National Wildlife Federation in New Jersey,” explained St. Andre.

Female monarch butterflies typically lay 300 to 500 eggs on different species of milkweed plants (Asclepias sp.). Knowlton Tunnel Field. Photo by L. Ward.

Monarch Butterfly caterpillar in the Fourth-instar larvae phase, have a distinct banding pattern on the thorax. The first pair of legs is even closer to the head, and there are white spots on the prolegs. Photo taken at Knowlton Tunnel Field. Photo by L. Ward. — Monarch Butterfly caterpillars in the fourth-instar larvae phase, have a distinct banding pattern on the thorax. The first pair of legs is even closer to the head, and there are white spots on the prolegs. Photo taken at Knowlton Tunnel Field. Photo by L. Ward.

“If you build it they will come,” St. Andre said.

She was excited to share that caterpillars have returned to Knowlton Tunnel Field just a few weeks after the team planted milkweed this summer. The two varieties in the photos here are both native pollinators.

Bombus griseocollis is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the brown-belted bumblebee, native to much of the United States. Swamp Milkweed is a variety that is also a native pollinator. — Bombus griseocollis is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the brown-belted bumblebee, native to much of the United States. Swamp milkweed is a variety that is also a native pollinator. Photo by L. Ward.

Swamp milkweed is a tall, herbaceous perennial that prefers moist areas like swamps, marshes and bogs, as well as open areas along streams and ditches. It can grow up to five feet tall and has dense clumps and a fibrous root system that provides shelter for small animals. Butterfly milkweed is a native wildflower that grows in dry, open habitats like prairies and grasslands, and can be found from Maine to Florida. It grows into a low mound that’s less than three feet wide and is rarely invasive.

Members of the newly created Warren County Pollinators Protectors include: Rick Clarkson, Jim Ashe, Marisa Marques, Shawna Sanchez, Lisa McCann, Michelle St. Andre, Allison Bickhardt, Clairanne Arcaro, Jenn Correa-Kruegel, Monica Sobon and Phyllis Strohmeyer.

And, from 4-H, members include Natalie Marques, Bethany Sanchez, Genesis Sanchez, Sydney Weygand and Stella Weygand.

Learn more about community wildlife habitats at communitywildlifehabitat.nwf.org.

Laura Ward, Contributing Writer

Laura Ward is a gallerist at Infloressense in Belvidere, NJ, whose motto is "poetic synthesis of all the cultural arts." Born in West Orange, NJ, Ward had a unique childhood growing up in a three-story, three-generation, 1895 Victorian where she learned gardening with her great-grandfather, theater with her grandmother, and typing with her mom. Ward spent the last two decades in the architectural design industry, followed by her present pursuit into the entrepreneurial world of art and event planning. Ward lives in the esoteric Delaware Village Historic District and volunteers at Ramsaysburg Historic Homestead. Ward spent 11 years in Florida where she graduated with an English B.A. from FAU and later The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale with an art history minor.