4/12/05

The Hyatt Hills Commissioners have recently approved to take the necessary steps to get Audubon Certified. This effort will be under the direction of Commissioner DiGiano and Superintendent Joseph Flaherty.

The Audubon Society’s mission statement is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.

What does this mean to the communities of Cranford and Clark? It shows the continued willingness of the Commission to be sensitive to the environment and the habitat within. The Communities have taken a “Brown Field” and turned it into a recreational facility that is perhaps one the finest golf complexes in the state. A “Brown Field” is one in which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) terms as an area with a need to be cleaned up. With their guidance an approved program was undertaken and thus enabling the communities of Cranford and Clark to redevelop property that had lain dormant and contaminated. The efforts of many leaders of both communities have now remediated and improved that environment to establish a productive and attractive open space, which will be an asset for years to come. The land is now beneficial for our businesses, our neighbors, and our citizens at large.

The process of now getting Audubon certified furthers shows the commitment of the present Commissioners to continue being focus on the proper care to the land and its habitat.

The process is such that it could take up to three years to satisfy the requirements for certification. Last fall one of the projects, with the help of a local garden club, was completed with native or indigenous plantings of various perennials at each hole. Community evolvement is now helping again in our quest for certification by building nesting boxes for small birds such as Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, House Wrens, Black-capped Chickadees, and House Sparrows. The Union County Vocational and Technical school under the guiding eyes of wood shop teachers Mr. Skip Knittel, instructor of the Carpentry & Construction Classes, who have volunteered along with their classes to build the boxes according to the specs submitted by the Audubon Society. The nesting boxes that they make will make hopefully attract these wanted birds. 

A larger and multi-layered nesting box for Purple Martins will be purchased from a local Clark resident who builds and sells to local residents. These types of birds are known to feed on mosquitoes and other insects.

Currently we have a Red Tailed Hark nesting on our property and an Osprey who has swooped down and clutched a few fish out of our pond with some regularity.

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