|
|
GRAMP [Grassland Restoration and
Management Project]
A Brief History
Against a distant backdrop of skyscrapers, Northern Harriers glide
gracefully over the diverse vegetation of the Floyd Bennett Field
area of Gateway National Park. Kestrels hover over the grassland
infields during spring and fall migrations, Short-eared owls spend
their winters there, and Savannah sparrows nest in substantial
numbers. This wonderfully diverse grassland habitat exists through
the persistent advocacy and enduring physical efforts of The
Grassland Restoration and Management Project (GRAMP), the first
conservation project that engaged the New York City chapter of the
Audubon (NYCA) when it was founded in 1979.
The project originated with the Citizen's Liaison Committee for the
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge encouraged by Dr. Peter Post's
NPS-sponsored study of the grassland birds in Gateway NP in 1979. It
was clear that at Floyd Bennett Field, no longer an active airfield,
trees and shrubs would soon invade the open grasslands in the
process of natural plant succession. Nesting grasshopper sparrows,
meadow larks and the grassland-dependent American kestrels and
northern harriers would soon have no protected breeding grounds in
the New York City metropolitan area.
It was the dream of Jean and Ron Bourque that if the grasslands
could be preserved for these birds, the upland sandpipers that were
then breeding at JFK International Airport might return to breeding
at Floyd Bennett Field. Jean Bourque wrote a proposal to the Gateway
administration to continue mowing to maintain the existing grassland
habitat for these open country birds. No action was taken by
Gateway.
At the suggestion of Sheila Rosenberg, a founding member of NYCA,
Jean and Ron engaged the help of Al Appleton, the chapter's
Conservation Committee chairman. After four years of persistent
letter writing, cajoling, and many meetings with the changing
personnel at Gateway, Al Appleton was able to obtain an informal
agreement to allow the New York City Audubon (NYCA) to begin the job
of grassland restoration.
Before restoration could begin, a base line field study was
conducted by the Seatuck Research Program. With the scientific data
corroborating the premise for the restoration, work finally began in
1985.
In the intervening years, trees and shrubs had invaded the
grasslands, making restoration of the 140 acres far more difficult
than it would have been five years before. The Park Service used a
brush-cutting machine to clear briers and smaller woody vegetation.
NYCA and other volunteers helped remove all the trees and shrubs
manually, and hauled the cut trees and shrubs off the restored
grasslands onto the runway edges where it was eventually chipped.
All work was done from October to March each year to avoid
disturbing birds during the breeding season. The clearing began in
October of 1985 and was completed in March of 1990.
In the third year of clearing, Gateway biologist Bob Cook provided
chain saws, large wood chipping machines, trucks, and even a
bulldozer. Without the assistance of Bob Cook, Dave Taft and many of
the Gateway staff who generously gave their own time to help on
weekends, the project would have taken another two or three years.
When the clearing was completed, signs were posted around the
restored grasslands informing visitors that " In an effort to stem
the decline of open country birds, this cooperative project will
restore and maintain the grassland habitat with its diverse flora."
Although this project has restored and maintained the grasslands,
many species of grassland birds continue to decline precipitously to
the point where the only grassland-nesting bird that now breeds in
Floyd Bennett Field is the savannah sparrow. NYCA believes the main
reason for this decline lies with the depletion and fragmentation of
grassland habitat as it is destroyed by continued intensive
development in surrounding areas. The resulting regional decline of
open space affects not only New York City, but also suburban New
York, New Jersey, Connecticut and beyond. NYCA has been active in
our efforts to protect existing areas through our "Buffer the Bay"
project. Unfortunately, developments such as Vandalia Dunes have
been approved and built despite their dire environmental
consequences.
Nevertheless, these managed grasslands provide crucial feeding and
roosting habitat for migrating grassland birds, and a welcome
respite from the city for birders and other recreationists. The
Northern harriers have been breeding successfully in Floyd Bennett
Field in recent years and can often be sighted gliding over the
grasslands, as can hovering kestrels during spring and fall
migration. Short-eared owls have been using the grasslands as
wintering grounds. The GRAMP sign mentions a diverse flora that is
one of the outstanding characteristics of this area. A botanist who
surveyed some of the grassland infields was astonished and delighted
by the diversity of grasses, forbs and woody vegetation he recorded
there.
Jean and Ron Bourque and David Burg continue GRAMP's work, actively
participating in an advisory committee that meets with Gateway
Natural Resource Management people to work out ongoing management
decisions. But the fate of grassland birds lies beyond Gateway and
is affected by urban and suburban sprawl in the entire northeast
region of this country and by changes in farming practices.
Preservation of Habitat for Declining Bird Species
1. When the Grassland and Restoration Management Project (GRAMP)
began in 1985, the regional loss of grassland habitat for upland
sandpipers, grasshopper sparrows, meadowlarks, short-eared owls,
northern harriers and the American kestrel was beginning to concern
ornithologists and wildlife managers.
2. Since 1985, the regional decline of grassland birds has continued
to reflect the steady loss of their breeding, migratory stopover,
and wintering habitats. Changes in agricultural practices and
housing developments on farmland have contributed to this loss of
habitat.
3. The decline in the number of grassland birds breeding in the
managed grassland areas of Floyd Bennett Field reflects the regional
decline of those species.
4. The two management target species, upland sand- piper and
grasshopper spar- row, are no longer breeding in GRAMP areas but the
savannah sparrow is breeding there in substantial numbers. Although
the savannah sparrow has been a common bird in this region, it is
now a threatened species in New Jersey. The short-eared owl stopped
breeding in New Jersey before they disappeared from Long Island. The
decline in American kestrels was noted in New Jersey before they
stopped breeding in Floyd Bennett Field.
5. The managed grasslands at Floyd Bennett Field still pro- vide
essential habitat for migrating and wintering grassland birds.
6. The GRAMP areas are compatible with the historic district of
Floyd Bennett Field and add to the variety of wild- life habitat in
Gateway.
7. There is a possibility that improved management practices might
induce the return of some former breeding birds to the GRAMP areas.
Increase in acreage would also increase that possibility.
8. Many military bases and historic sites have wildlife management
plans for the preservation of breeding habitat for grassland birds;
Gateway should do no less.
|
