Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) Franklin Township, Warren County, New Jersey

Prepared by Princeton Hydro, LLC 27 June 2007

22: UPLAND FORESTS Upland forests consist of vegetation types commonly thought of as prototypical forests, which excludes wetland forests types such as swamps. The following description of upland forests is based on a subset of NJDEP LU/LC data, utilizing Type 95 LU/LC descriptions. Upland forests include all upland areas covered by woody vegetation. The vegetation can consist of primarily deciduous, coniferous or a mixture and include scrub/shrub and brush areas as well as mature tree stands of various densities. Also included in this category are early stage forest successional stands, commonly referred to as old fields, which are included because of their potential development into forests. Upland forests are the dominant ecosystem in this part of New Jersey barring development and agricultural land use changes. Forested lands are currently and historically valued for aesthetic, recreational, ecological, and economic value. From an ecological perspective, forests are important because they provide rich habitat for indigenous and migratory wildlife including mammals, birds, and herptiles. Familiar wildlife utilizing forests in New Jersey include White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Black Bear (Ursus americanus), Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), migratory Warblers (Parulidae), Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), and myriad others. Forests also contain a diverse plant assemblage composed of various subgroups based on height or strata. The upland forest community of Warren County is typically composed of various Oaks (Quercus sp.), Maples (Acer sp.), Hickory (Carya sp.), Beech (Fagus grandifolia), Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Shrub and understory layers have largely been decimated through over-browsing by deer. Forests contribute to area hydrology by increasing infiltration rates of precipitation into groundwater and minimizing sheet erosion due to runoff. Forests remain economically valuable because of timber production and recreational uses including hiking, bird watching, and hunting. Forest preservation is vigorously pursued by many conservation groups representing varied interests including those discussed above. Forested lands cover 5,233.99 acres, or 34.7% of Franklin Township (Figure 21). Upland forests are concentrated along the ridgeline areas of the Township but are also distributed in small to medium patches in the low- lying areas. While upland forests are the second largest land cover, the largest land cover, agriculture, is concentrated in large swaths in the low- lying areas of the Township. Deciduous forests with greater than 50% crown closure, the intermingling of canopy branches, is the predominant forest type within Franklin Township, accounting for 3,808.52 acres or 72.3% of upland forest area. This is a high quality forest type with an assemblage of climax species. Eleven (11) additional forest types are recognized in the Township, varying by assemblage, crown closure, and use, such as plantations, which are uniform stands planted for commercial harvest. Forests with coniferous species or mixed coniferous and deciduous species account for 9.67% of forested land mass.

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HUNTERDON COUNTY

WARREN COUNTY

M orris Canal ( Dry)Pohatcong Creek

Pohatcong Creek

Mill BrookMontana Brook

Musc o netcong River

Bethlehem Township

Bloomsbury Boro

Hampton Boro

Greenwich Township

Washington Township

Harmony Township

BLOOMSBURY RD

MORRIS TPKE (RT. 57)

MOUNTAI N VIEW RD

GOOD S PRINGS RD

ASBURY

-BROADW

AY RD

MAPLE AVE

MILLBROOK RD

MO NTAN

A RD

ANDERSON RD

BICKEL RD

WILLOW GROVE RD

HALFWAY

HOUSE RD

BUTLER

RD

KITCHEN RD

BRY A N R D

MAIN ST

SHIRTS RD

WHITES R

DSURRY LN

BUTTERMIL K BR

IDGE RD

STE WARTSVILLE RD

HARLE Y CT

MOUNTAIN VIEW ROAD-WES T

EDISON

RDDIRT LN

HERLEMAN RD

HOFFMAN RD

STEEPLE CHASEHALLS MIL L RD

WARNE WAY

CLIF F SIDE DR

BEIDLEM

AN RD

MICA MINE RD

INSCHO RD

WOOLVER

TON RD

SECOND STTHIRD ST

MORGAN RD

L EN A PE TRL

COPPER

FIELD DR

NEW ST

YOLMAN

RD

CEMETE

RY HILL R

D

COLE RD

RIDDLE CT

LIMEKILN

RDMULLER LN

WICKOFF CT

WATERB

ROOK DR

PRICE DR

EDISON

RD

STEWARTSVILLE RD

White TownshipLopatcong Township

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d NEW JERSEY COUNTY MAP

FIGURE 21UPLAND FORESTS

DEL A W

A R E

RI

V

ER

OCEAN

MORRIS

SUSSEX

BURLINGTON

WARREN

MONMOUTH

HUNTERDON

BERGEN

MIDDLESEX

MERCER

PASSAIC

ESSEXUNION

SOMERSET

CAMDENGLOUCESTER

HUDSON

SALEM

U 0 3,0001,500 Feet1 inch equals 3,000 feet

SOURCES:1. Parcel, roads and the Franklin Township Boundary data obtained from Warren County Planning Dept. "This map was developed using the Warren County New Jersey, Geographic Information System digital data, but this secondary product has not been verified by Warren County and is not county- authorized."2. Surface water data obtained from the NJDEP, Division of GIS.3. Upland Forests data is a sub-set of the 2002 Land Use/Land Cover data obtained from NJDEP, Division of GIS.

NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORYFRANKLIN TOWNSHIPWARREN COUNTY, NEW JERSEYLegendCounty BoundaryMunicipal BoundariesPonds/LakesStreams

StreamsMorris Canal (Dry)RoadsParcelsUpland Forests (5,242.2 Ac)

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