The New Jersey School of Conservation is developing a new plan to safeguard the long-term health of Lake Wapalanne.
Lake Wapalanne is a sacred place on our campus, where students and visitors can enjoy canoeing, fishing, and fun.
The 11.3-acre lake pond dates back to 1934, when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps built an earthen dam that allowed for its construction. Today, the lake is a major part of the outdoor education and recreation opportunities afforded to children who visit the school.
Some of the school’s most popular programs – Water Ecology, Fish Ecology, Canoeing and Boating – each depend on using the Lake to inspire students to learn.
Participants in Fish Ecology actively engage in the capture, identification, weighing, measuring and release of fish in Lake Wapalanne to gain a special appreciation of the scientific, historical, aesthetic, and recreational values associated with fish. Water Ecology features surveys of water quality using water test kits and aquatic organism sampling. In Canoeing and Boating, kids learn the proper techniques for loading and unloading a boat from a dock, carrying, as well as various collaborative paddle stroke methods.
But the lake has experienced challenges in recent years, as invasive plants and an accumulation of sediments threaten its delicate ecosystem.
That’s why the school has recently hired the world-class environmental services firm Princeton Hydro to develop a Lake and Watershed Management plan for the lake.
Princeton Hydro will help manage the ecology of the dam, address invasive species, remove sediments, and improve the condition of the lake. The contractor will conduct water quality monitoring and training, bathymetric assessment, pollutant and hydraulic modeling, education and outreach, and make a recommendation for management techniques. Princeton Hydro will also develop a Sediment Sampling and Analysis Plan.
Thanks to this management initiative, the School of Conservation will keep the lake healthy and safe for all the activities that our students enjoy.
The work represents one more step the School is taking to be a responsible steward of our state-owned campus.
Our goal is to be a model for lakes across New Jersey to implement best practices and protect our natural environment.