Heartwood Ecological Consulting NJ

Foresters & Natural Resources Professionals

What Can New Jersey Learn from California’s Deadly Wildfires?

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Pine Barrens Wilfires

California wildfires again were front-page news in December. Huge wildfires burned from Los Angles down to San Diego; most were contained by the end of the year. We saw large, expensive homes threatened or outright burned down by the fires. Some fires are only halted when they reach the Pacific Ocean.

Santa Rosa, Calif., was decimated this past fall by wildfires. According to The New York Times, over 5,700 buildings were destroyed in northern California, 2,800 in Santa Rosa alone. According to the Los Angeles Times, there were 42 confirmed deaths caused by these fires.

I have been asked a few times if this type of disaster could happen in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. My answer is that it is certainly possible, just not as probable. Let’s take a look at what circumstances are different and what factors are similar.

Firstly, I would like to compare wildfires to hurricanes. This will help explain differences between New Jersey and California. Hurricanes are an occurrence we in New Jersey are very familiar with. The only thing that saves our coast from hurricanes is we generally don’t get hit with hurricanes. The Jersey Shore is subject to damage from both wave action and storm surge if a hurricane hits us. Even a Category 1 storm, like Sandy, can do extensive damage. Florida, however, gets hit by more hurricanes. Unlike New Jersey’s coast, which is comparatively sheltered, Florida sticks out into the ocean. In many ways it’s just hanging out there, waiting for a storm. [Read more…]

Scientists discover a second bacterium that causes Lyme Disease

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tick on a leaf

Until very recently it was thought that just one bacterium was to blame for causing Lyme disease in humans. But it turns out that a second, related bug can cause it too. In 2013, during routine testing of bacterial DNA floating around in the blood samples of people suspected of having Lyme disease, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., realized they were looking at something different.  “We detected this result which was positive, but it was clearly different from what we would have expected for Borrelia burgdorferi, which at that time was the only known cause of Lyme disease in the U.S.,” says Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a microbiologist at the Mayo Clinic.  When they sequenced the genome of the bacterium, they realized it was different enough to be considered a new species. It’s been dubbed Borrelia mayonii, after the Mayo Clinic. [Read more…]

Environmental groups not amused by Great Adventure plan to clear forest for solar installation

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Summertime in Jackson, New Jersey, sounds like wheels creaking on metal rails — followed by screams of delight. Six Flags Great Adventure is Jackson’s largest summer tourist destination, and also its biggest energy consumer. The park uses enough electricity to power more than 3,000 homes.

In March, Great Adventure received approval to build a 21.9-megawatt solar facility — the largest in the state — on 90 acres of park property. Expected to generate 98 percent of the park’s power needs, it comes at a cost — 18,000 trees must be cut down to accommodate it. [Read more…]