{"id":65709,"date":"2026-04-01T15:26:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/?page_id=65709"},"modified":"2026-04-01T15:35:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:35:51","slug":"higbee-beach-wma-native-meadow-establishment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/conservation\/higbee-beach-wma-native-meadow-establishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Higbee Beach WMA – Native Meadow Establishment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Why Habitat Work is Important at Higbee Beach WMA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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A native meadow habitat is a biologically diverse plant community composed of native perennial grasses and wildflowers that provide essential food, cover, and breeding resources for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife while enhancing soil health and ecosystem resilience, as will be discussed further herein. Native meadow planting efforts at Higbee Beach WMA have been an ongoing initiative. This project differs from previous rotational planting efforts by focusing on establishing long-term native plant communities that require less management over the lifespan of the planting, thereby increasing resource efficiency and providing higher-quality habitat with a reduced frequency of disturbance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cape May Peninsula faces threats from invasive plant species such as porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata<\/em>), sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata<\/em>), and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris<\/em>), which outcompete native food and cover plants. The fields in their current condition are characterized by a mosaic of herbaceous vegetation and grasses, including sparse and dense growths of invasive vegetation.  Per Potts et al. (2010), establishing native meadows is a strategy for mitigating habitat loss resulting from invasive species, changes in agricultural practices, and shifts in land use. The goal of this project is to establish native meadow habitat, which per Sturm & Frischie (2020), has the potential to benefit pollinators and Aves\u2014a contextually appropriate target given this sites location as a migratory bird stopover site along the Atlantic Flyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insect declines in abundance, biomass, species richness, and range size are well documented (Raven & Wagner, 2021). Beyond the loss of rare species, studies have reported sharp declines in once-common insect populations, raising concerns about ecosystem function (Wagner, 2020). Such is the case with common pollinators like bumblebee spp., where changes in land use and agricultural practices have reduced nesting and foraging habitats by decreasing the availability of key forage plants (Carvell et al., 2006). The limited availability of flowering plants that provide season-long forage is a major factor contributing to pollinator declines in agricultural landscapes (Williams et al., 2015). The composite of these findings suggests a need to restore habitats that support pollinators spatially and temporally. This project directly addresses this need by establishing a diverse mix of native flowering forbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing native meadows has the potential to provide ancillary benefits to grassland nesting birds. Species of this guild, such as the state threatened Bobolink, have experienced substantial and widespread population declines due to nesting and foraging habitat loss (Sauer et al., 2013). Much of their native habitat has been converted or degraded, often replaced by invasive plant species that provide limited forage for grassland bird prey species. In contrast, native plants support significantly greater caterpillar abundance and biomass than non-native species (Narango et al 2017), particularly meadow habitats with flowering plants which attract a variety of pollinating insects. This is particularly important because approximately 96% of terrestrial bird species in North America feed their nestlings primarily on arthropods (Narango et al, 2017). These findings suggest there is opportunity to enhance forage availability for grassland nesting birds along a critical stopover point in the Atlantic Flyway by creating native meadow habitat in Higbee Beach WMA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Higbee Beach WMA – Native Meadow Establishment Map<\/a> <\/i> <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why Herbicide is Included as Part of the Restoration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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At Higbee Beach, mechanical methods alone cannot adequately suppress the dense invasive seedbank. This is supported by the Xerces Society\u2019s guidance and current best practices for meadow establishment, which indicate that when invasive pressure is high, blanket herbicide treatments are often required in Year 1 to prepare a viable seedbed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herbicides allow restoration work to be completed efficiently while minimizing disturbance to desirable vegetation. Certified commercial pesticide applicators must follow strict regulatory requirements, label instructions, and environmental safeguards established through federal EPA registration and the NJ Pesticide Control Code (N.J.A.C. 7:30 2.1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The products proposed (imazamox, Aquaneat [glyphosate], and Garlon 4) are all NJDEP  and EPA registered and will be applied in accordance with all legally required buffers and safety measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Literature Cited<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Carvell, C., Westrich, P., Meek, W.R., Pywell, R.F., Nowakowski, M., 2006. Assessing the value of annual and perennial forage mixtures for bumblebees by direct observation and pollen analysis. Apidologie 37, 326\u2013340.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narango, D. L., D. W. Tallamy, and P. P. Marra. 2017. Native plants improve breeding and foraging habitat for an insectivorous bird. Biological Conservation 213:42\u201350.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. (2018). New Jersey\u2019s State Wildlife Action Plan. Division of Fish and Wildlife, Trenton, NJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potts SG, Biesmeijer JC, Kremen C, Neumann P, Schweiger O, Kunin WE. 2010. Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts and drivers. Trends Ecol. Evol. 25:345\u201353Raven, P. H., and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D. L. Wagner. 2021. \u201cAgricultural Intensification and Climate Change Are Rapidly Decreasing Insect Biodiversity.\u201d Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences118: e2002548117<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sauer, J. R., Link, W. A., Fallon, J. E., Pardieck, K. L., David, J. & Ziolkowski, J. (2013). The North American Breeding Bird Survey  1966\u20132011: summary analysis and species accounts. North American Fauna 79, 1\u201332.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sturm, A., & Frischie, S. (2020). Mid-Atlantic Native Meadows: Guidelines for planning, preparation, design, installation, and maintenance. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Vaughan, M., Mader, E., Guisse, J., Goldenetz-Dollar, J., Borders, B., Gill, K., Winfree, R., & MacLeod, M. (2013). Conservation Cover (327) for Pollinators: New Jersey Installation Guide and Job Sheet. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wagner, D. L., E. M. Grames, M. L. Forister, M. R. Berenbaum, and D. Stopak. 2020. \u201cInsect Decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a Thousand Cuts.\u201d Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118: e2023989118.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams, N., Ward, K., Pope, N., Isaacs, R., Wilson, J., May, E. et al. (2015). Native wildflower plantings support wild bee abundance and diversity in agricultural landscapes across the United States. Ecol. Appl., 25, 2119\u20132131<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Habitat Work is Important at Higbee Beach WMA A native meadow habitat is a biologically diverse plant community composed of native perennial grasses and wildflowers that provide essential food, cover, and breeding resources for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife while enhancing soil health and ecosystem resilience, as will be discussed further herein. Native meadow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":0,"parent":52,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-65709","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65709"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65747,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65709\/revisions\/65747"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/njfw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}