April 30, 2025, Planning Board Special Meeting Transcript - WEHI

15 of 48 sheets Page 57 to 60 of 116 05/12/2025 02:23:28 PM 57 like we had discussion on how many trees will get cut1 down and that doesn't matter because the canopy?2 THE WITNESS: Yeah, I can do that. I am not3 talking about the places where trees are going to be cut4 down. I am only talking about the places where5 development is not going to occur, right. It's a forest6 now and it's still going to be a forest. The problem is7 because of the proximity of the development what remains8 is going to have very little core forest because the9 conditions that a forest creates by having a canopy,10 cool and green and shady, are impacted by the11 development all around the edges. And so you lose the12 core forest conditions within 300 feet in general in13 this type of forest. You lose those forest conditions14 within 300 feet of the edge. There's already an edge15 where all those houses are that have been built ages16 ago, right. They have already long been impacting that17 forest, but the interior is still good. And this18 development is going right in the interior and that's19 going to repeat that process and then the only thing20 that's left as core forest are those two little tiny21 purple outlined areas, magenta outlined areas.22 THE PUBLIC: And that does not consider --23 those two areas are really not canopy. They don't --24 THE WITNESS: No, no, they're going to have25 58 their forest canopy, but the only reason, the only1 reason they're still acting as interior core forest is2 because they're far away from disturbance.3 THE PUBLIC: But there are nine acres?4 THE WITNESS: Yeah, that's right. All5 together.6 THE PUBLIC: Good evening. Susan Pannullo.7 And thank you very much Dr. DeVito for coming here and8 educating us.9 I have a few questions, I guess pinging off10 the 300 foot estimate concept for this particular11 development. So assuming that 300 foot is flat then how12 is the 300 foot estimate impacted by the steep slope13 terrain?14 THE WITNESS: It's not.15 THE PUBLIC: Okay. Thank you.16 How about wetlands?17 THE WITNESS: It's not.18 THE PUBLIC: And does the salt bedrock19 matter?20 THE WITNESS: That -- no. This, this is an21 upland fairly dry soil because it's a thin soil on that22 bedrock, only hickory forest and that's the kind of23 forest that I'm using that 300 foot number. It doesn't24 matter if the soil was slightly different, whether it25 59 was

it's a thin soil on that22 bedrock, only hickory forest and that's the kind of23 forest that I'm using that 300 foot number. It doesn't24 matter if the soil was slightly different, whether it25 59 was still a very dry, thin soil, could be on different1 type of mountain in New Jersey, they're all different2 mountains in New Jersey but the forest is basically the3 same, right. Oak, hickory, dry soil somewhat, you know,4 this forest doesn't have any steep north facing slopes5 where you would get hemlocks and sugar maples and things6 like that. It's basically all sunny dry mountain top7 and that's the number I'm using. And that could be the8 salt, it could be metamorphic rock, this is igneous9 rock, it could be metamorphic rock in the islands of New10 Jersey. You can't tell the difference between those11 forests because since the Ice Age they have built up12 soil and that soil is pretty much the same. The bedrock13 is largely irrelevant at that point.14 THE PUBLIC: Thank you.15 THE PUBLIC: Michael Heningburd,16 H-E-N-I-N-G-B-U-R-D.17 You mentioned a term I never heard before,18 you talked about, you mentioned the term called a dry19 forest. I have not heard that term before and you20 talked about that being exacerbated by this development21 and in particular going directly around the development22 on the side of the mountain.23 THE WITNESS: So every forest runs along a24 continuum from very dry soil to very wet soils. The25 60 very wet soils are your loam land swamps where the water1 soils almost always saturated. The very dry forests and2 slopes that face south into the sunlight like some of3 the Watchung Ridge, you know, there's a slope that sun4 is almost hitting perpendicular, those tend to be very5 dry slopes because they're on hard bedrock of various6 types of soil, it's not very thick, it dries out very7 quickly. So here what you have is a ridge top which8 also has very thin soil, it dries out quickly and in9 droughts can get very dry and there, you know, I said a10 dry forest, if I was speaking to a scientific audience I11 would say a xeric forest. Some people, you've heard the12 word, xeriscapes, something like that, where they say13 let's plant species in your yard that are tolerant, they14 don't need to be watered, right. Because they like,15 they can do well in a dry landscape. So, you know, you16 could say nesic, which is wet, and xeric, which is

in your yard that are tolerant, they14 don't need to be watered, right. Because they like,15 they can do well in a dry landscape. So, you know, you16 could say nesic, which is wet, and xeric, which is dry.17 You can use the word dry, so we don't confuse people.18 THE PUBLIC: The reason I'm asking is I am19 very concerned about wildfires and curious whether what20 they're doing here is going to exacerbate the dry forest21 and perhaps make it more susceptible to wildfire, which22 we are experiencing in New Jersey all over?23 THE WITNESS: These forests generally are24 not susceptible to forest fires. They become25