Wattles Stewardship Center

The Wattles Stewardship Center is a 51-acre wildlife sanctuary and is also the location of New Jersey Audubon’s northern Stewardship Program staff. Acquisition of the property was made possible by Mr. Gurdon Wattles, who donated the house and barn, and through NJ Green Acres funding.

The Wattles Stewardship Center is a 51-acre wildlife sanctuary and is also the location of New Jersey Audubon’s northern Stewardship Program staff. Acquisition of the property was made possible by Mr. Gurdon Wattles, who donated the house and barn, and through NJ Green Acres funding.

The Wattles Stewardship Center is flanked by a state wildlife management area to the southeast and preserved farmland to the northwest. A trail from the Wattles Center parking lot leads visitors to the Musconetcong River and will ultimately connect to Point Mountain Road and Hunterdon County’s Point Mountain Park.

NJA is working to make the Wattles Stewardship Center a model for blending environmental awareness, wildlife habitat, and agriculture. As such, this site has both agricultural fields and land dedicated to wildlife habitat. Two of the Wattles fields are managed by a local farmer for commodity crop production such as corn, sunflower seeds, and soybeans. Other portions of the property serve as critical wildlife habitat that also provides important natural resource benefits to the region and to the on-site farming activities.

NJA is working with several groups, including the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), and the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), on a number of on-site conservation-related projects. These include native grassland establishment, native scrub-shrub enhancement, pollinator habitat improvement, invasive vegetation removal and control, and vernal pool and riparian restoration. These projects are being funded through enrollment of the land in the following conservation cost-share programs: State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (PFW), and the Forest Stewardship Program (FSP).

In the spring visitors will enjoy walking the grassland trail, with an opportunity to observe Eastern Bluebirds in their busy breeding season. With luck, many other bird species can be observed along with reptiles, amphibians, and several larger mammals: coyote, bear, river otter and bobcat! Near the visitor parking area is a vernal pool that was converted from an old swimming pool. In the spring and summer months it is home to salamanders, frogs and toads, and more butterflies than you can count, sipping nectar from the flowers growing around the perimeter! A short walk from the parking lot on the north side of the barn are two Chimney Swift towers. These are large columns that look like chimneys providing the nesting structure that the Swift’s use. During the warm season you can see these small chattering birds, sometimes referred to as flying cigars, swooping overhead feeding on insects.

The trail network at the Stewardship Center winds through a variety of habitat types and farm fields providing an opportunity to see a diversity of wildlife and land stewardship practices. Visitors wishing to access the trail system of nearby Point Mountain Reservation, a Hunterdon County Park, can park at the Stewardship Center and hike through the adjacent Wildlife Management Area along the scenic Musconetcong River to Point Mountain Road. There is also access to the Musconetcong River that offers an opportunity for wildlife viewing and river access.