Fish Habitat Improvement Project on the Musconetcong River Nears Completion

The students then came and hand-gathered rock from the river bottom to fill the log frames. The deflectors project out into the stream and narrow the stream channel, thereby concentrating river flow that in turn scours the stream bottom to create deeper holes.

Trout will seek refuge in these holes, particularly during the summer when river flow is at its lowest and good hiding cover is at a premium.

The Musconetcong River is a popular trout stream that flows by the town of Hackettstown and through property owned by the Union Cemetery Association on Mountain Avenue. Bob Vellucci, a high school biology teacher at Hackettstown High School has been bringing his students to the cemetery's property for many years to teach them about stream ecology.

Over the past three years he and his students have volunteered their time and learned firsthand how to improve habitat for both fish and wildlife. The project included riparian tree and shrub plantings, plantings on the stream bank to help curb soil erosion, and construction of in-stream fish habitat improvement devices.

Partners in this project included the N.J. Division of Fish & Wildlife, the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council, the Morris and Warren Soil Conservation Districts, Hackettstown High School, the Hackettstown Dept. of Public Works, and the Union Cemetery Association.

Funding for portions of the project was obtained through the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP).