The primary purpose of this Natural Resources Inventory is to provide data which should form a basis for municipal planning and municipal legislation (ordinances and subdivision regulations). Second, it provides basic data for the future preparation of Environmental Impact Reports. Third, it provides a compendium of facts about the Township of Colts Neck, for general information.

This inventory is intended to be a living document, i.e., it is to be corrected, improved, and updated as additional information becomes available. It is hoped that it will be used as a guide in protecting the high quality of Colts Neck Township's environment.

Protecting environmental quality is a matter of choices and tradeoffs. It is generally recognized that homes, factories and highways have to be built, trees must occasionally be cut down, wastes must be disposed, etc. The question in each case is not whether we should proceed with the project or have environmental protection - but, what environmental sacrifices are involved, are they worth the result, and is there another, less damaging way the results can be achieved? It is hoped that this document will help the people of Colts Neck, and Colts Neck's public officials, make the correct choices.

Although some of the information in this document has been taken from other sources, much of it is original data prepared and interpreted by members and associate members of the Environmental Commission.

The bulk of this inventory was prepared under the chairmanship of Lee C. Lamar. Revisions of the inventory were prepared under the chairmanships of M. David Rodetsky and Thomas Hennessey, Jr. Although virtually all members and associate members of the Commission assisted in some way, special mention should be made of the original work and guidance of Lee C. Lamar, C.P.G., Geologist and Hydrologist; John R. Vig, Ph.D., Physicist, who prepared several sections and who served as editor; M. David Rodetsky, A.I. A., Architect and Planner; Virginia Frohnert, who compiled the historical data; Kendall Flinn, who compiled data on recreation and drainage; Bonnie Smith and Vincent W. Domidion, II, who compiled data on flora and fauna; and Arianna Vig, who provided the art work for the cover.

Thanks are extended to the Township Committee, who provided both encouragement and matching funds, and to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for Grant 74-068, without which this inventory would have been difficult to realize.

Colts Neck's is one of the few Environmental Commissions to complete the Natural Resources Inventory entirely with volunteer labor, and without employing consultants. In addition bringing together local experts and providing them with useful experience, it has saved Colts Neck many thousands of dollars and provided critical information for the Township's leaders and residents. A fringe benefit is an accurate Flood Hazard Boundary Map, now accepted as official by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Township of Colts Neck lies in Monmouth County, New Jersey, about 28 air miles south of the southern tip of Manhattan and 14 miles south of Staten Island in the North Shore area of Southern New Jersey (Map I). On the globe, it is located at 40 17' N latitude, 74 11' W longitude. It is 82.4 square kilometers in area (31.8 square miles; 20,355 acres), bordered on the west by Freehold and Marlboro Townships, on the north by Marlboro, Holmdel and Middletown Townships, on the east by Tinton Falls Township and on the south by Howell and Wall Townships. Some of the other major towns in Colts Neck's vicinity are Matawan, about 9.5 miles northwest; Red Bank and Eatontown, about 6.5 miles northeast and east, respectively; and Freehold Borough, the county seat, located about 6 miles southwest. The population of Colts Neck in 1988 was 8,202; the number of housing units was 2,474; the population density was 911 per square mile (vs. 1,170 per sq. mi. for Monmouth County.) The per capita income in 1985 was $21,279 (vs. $14,364 for the County).

Three principal highways serve the Township. State Highway No. 34 connects Colts Neck with points north and south. County Highway No. 537 connects Colts Neck, Freehold and points southwest with Highway No. 35 in Eatontown. Highway 18 connects with U.S. Highway 287 to the northwest and the seashore communities toward the southeast. These roads, with the Garden State Parkway passing just east of the Township, are the principal roads for ingress and egress to the Township.

Railroad passenger service [Up-to-date information on NJ Transit services may be obtained by calling 1-800-772-2222.], via NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, is available at Red Bank, Middletown, Hazlet, Matawan, plus other stations (near the shore) in Monmouth County. This rail service extends to the shore communities to the south (Bay Head, Belmar, Asbury Park, etc.), and to the north, to Newark (Penn Station) and New York City (Penn Station). The trip time from Matawan is about 55 to 60 minutes to New York City, and about 35 to 40 minutes to Newark. Connections with PATH, AMTRAK and other NJ Transit trains are available at Newark. AIRLINK service, connecting Newark's Penn Station with Newark International Airport, is also available. During rush hours, PATH trains run every 3 to 6 minutes from Newark to the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. The trip time is 22 minutes. Connection can also be made at Rahway to trains to Philadelphia, through New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton.

Bus service is available at Eatontown and Keyport on Highway No. 35; at Strathmore on Highway No. 34 in Matawan, and from Freehold, where buses follow Highway No. 9 to Asbury Park to the southeast, and north via the New Jersey Turnpike to Manhattan. Local bus service, Red Bank to Freehold, through Colts Neck, is available on weekdays.

The nearest major airport is Newark International. Small airplanes can land at the Allair Airport, Highway No. 34, Wall Township, and at Lakewood Airport. Limousine service to Newark, LaGuardia, JFK and Philadelphia airports are also available.

Many enthusiasts maintain boats at the docks and marinas along the shore, or utilize the many excursion and fishing boats commercially available there. Parts of Yellow Brook and Big Brook are (or could be made) canoeable in the spring and fall, particularly after heavy rains. Several streams flowing through the Pine Barrens to the south provide excellent wilderness canoeing. The nearest ones are the Manasquan River, the Metedeconk River, the Toms River and Cedar Creek.

The Pine Barrens, a million acre near-wilderness, takes up most of the State south of our Township. In addition to being an outstanding recreational resource, with excellent hiking and camping opportunities, it is also one of the most important environmental resources in the Eastern United States. Beneath its sandy soil lies an 18 trillion gallon aquifer, the largest unpolluted underground water reservoir in the country. It is a unique natural laboratory - a land of cedar swamps, cranberry bogs, meandering streams, dwarf forests, plants unknown to grow anywhere else, beavers, otters, white-tailed deer, and the tiny Pine Barriers tree frog (which is officially listed as an endangered species).

Both private and public bathing, surfing and waterskiing facilities are available in the shore area (Map I). The Jersey Shore, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, has over 127 miles of white sand beaches. The beaches at Sandy Hook and Island Beach State Park remain mostly undeveloped and are among the most attractive beaches on the eastern seaboard. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, which has been in use since 1764, is the nation's oldest operating lighthouse. Near it is a beautiful holly forest. The Gateway National Recreation Area (Sandy Hook Unit), Cheesequake and Allaire State Parks, Telegraph Hill Park, Monmouth Battlefield State Park (and within it, the Owl Haven nature center and rehabilitation center for birds of prey), Garden State Arts Center and the Monmouth County Parks are all within easy driving range from the Township.

Further south, the Brigantine Division of the Edwin Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Oceanville, is one of the most spectacular wildlife sanctuaries on the East Coast. "Over 275 species of birds have been seen in this refuge's 23,000 acres of coastal salt meadows, upland brush, woodlands, open bays and channels...herons, egrets, hawks, and an occasional eagle. At times, the number of ducks and geese here can exceed 100,000."

The Monmouth County Park System consists of 20 parcels totaling over 4,300 acres, including developed and undeveloped parks, conservation areas, historical locations, and four golf courses. The major County Parks closest to Colts Neck are Holmdel, Thompson, Turkey Swamp, Tatum, Deep Cut, and Shark River Parks. Dorbrook Park is located within Colts Neck, with entrances on Rt. 537, west of Rt. 34. Its only facilities (as of 1989) are an activity center and an open play area.

New Jersey has 35 state parks, 11 state forests, five recreation areas and four state marinas; a total of almost 300,000 acres, of which 13,081 acres are in Monmouth County. Allaire State Park (2,968 acres) has numerous facilities, including bridle paths, a campground, canoe trails, hiking trails, and a nature center. Monmouth Battlefield State Park (1,520 acres) has picnicking, a playground and a visitor center.

The Hominy Hill Golf Course on Mercer Road is owned by the Monmouth County Parks System. Other public recreational facilities such as tennis, horseback riding, etc. are also available locally, with swimming and fishing available at nearby beaches. The Township sponsors many physical fitness and sports programs throughout the year for both children and adults. This program is organized and coordinated by the Colts Neck Recreation Committee.

The Monmouth County Library headquarters in Manalapan is the largest public library in New Jersey. The wide range of resources of this library includes more than 700,000 books, over 500,000 government documents, a large selection of periodicals, phonograph records, compact disks, audio and video cassettes, plus a variety of programs (concerts, lectures, exhibits, research for county and municipal government, etc.) One of the branch libraries, the Colts Neck - Atlantic Grange Library, is located at 15 Heyers Mill Road.

For water supply, individual water wells, and for waste disposal, septic systems are utilized almost entirely. Electricity is readily available everywhere. Gas trunk lines are also available, but not everywhere. Although some Colts Neck homes are serviced by gas, gas hookups are not economically available in the less densely populated parts of the Township. Refuse collection is provided by private contractors. Electric power is provided the Jersey Central Power and Light Company, cable TV service is provided by Monmouth Cablevision, and telephone service is by New Jersey Bell. There are six radio stations in Monmouth County: WHTG, 1410 AM and 106.3 FM, Eatontown; WJLK, 1310 AM and 94.3 FM, Asbury Park; WADB, 96 FM, South Belmar; WMJY, 107.1 FM, Long Branch; WBJB, 90.5 FM, Brookdale College, Lincroft; and WMCX, 88.1 FM, Monmouth College, West Long Branch.

Both Catholic and Protestant churches are present in the Township. Jewish synagogues and places of worship for many other denominations are available in nearby townships.

Emergency services are provided by the volunteers of the Colts Neck Fire Department, and the Colts Neck First Aid Squad. There are five hospitals within about 6 miles of Colts Neck: Riverview Hospital in Red Bank is about 4 miles from the northeastern boundary of the Township, the Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel is about 4 miles from the northern boundary, the Greater Freehold Area Hospital in Freehold Township is about 5 miles from the southwestern corner, the Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune is about 5 miles from southeastern corner, and the Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch is about 6 miles from the eastern boundary of the Township. (The miles given are straight-line distances.)

In 1984, Colts Neck established its own Police Department. This followed the 1980 census, when the population exceeded the cutoff point for receiving police protection from the New Jersey State Police.

There are two elementary schools in the Township, one on Cedar Drive, the other on Conover Road. High school students go to the regional high school in Marlboro. Students are bussed to all elementary and high schools. Nearby colleges are Brookdale Community College, a two-year County-sponsored college in Lincroft; and Monmouth College in West Long Branch, which has four-year programs that lead to the bachelors degree, and graduate programs that lead to the masters degree. Rutgers, the State University, is located within easy driving distance, near Route 18 in New Brunswick. Georgian Court College in Lakewood provides a four-year liberal arts program and a masters degree program in education. Monmouth County Career Center, on Kozloski Road in Freehold Township, is about a mile from the southwest corner of the Township. As one of the units of the County Vocational School System, it teaches basic skills in various crafts and electronics.

Colts Neck Township was originally a farming and dairying area. Farming, dairying, chicken raising and such pursuits have increasingly been changing to raising and training of race horses, light industry, business and professional services, and residential use. Housing is generally of the cluster zoning or of the farm-farmette type.

There are small food stores, three banks, a general store, a hardware store, a drug store, a number of speciality shops, several restaurants, and a hotel within the Township. Delicious Orchards is a major local supplier of farm, dairy and bakery products. Laird's Distilleries is the major industry in town. Naval Weapons Station Earle, a Federal installation, occupies almost all of the southern quarter of the Township. The two major employers in the area are the U.S. Army at Fort Monmouth and AT&T Bell Laboratories in Holmdel Township. At both, communications and electronics-related activities, primarily research and development, are the main activities.

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References:

Publications of the NJ Dep't of Commerce, Energy and Economic Development, Division of Travel and Tourism, CN 826, Trenton, NJ 08625-0826 (Tel: 1-800-Jersey 7):

1. "Discover... New Jersey!", 1989

2. "A Guide to New Jersey's Unique Heritage," 1989.

3. "See The Lights," 1989.

Publications available from Department of Public Information and Tourism, 27 East Main St., Freehold, NJ 07728 (Tel: 431-7476):

4. "Monmouth County Official Map and Guide"

5. "Monmouth County - Area Guide Book"

6. "Attractions, Dining, Lodging Within Monmouth County"

7. "PATH Map Guide", Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp., One World Trade Center, 62W, New York, NY 10048.

Colts Neck Township covers 20,355 acres of which 5150 acres (25.3%) are included in the Naval Weapons Station Earle. The New Jersey-American Water Company owns 1010 acres (5.0%), including the Swimming River Reservoir.

During April and May, 1977, a lot-by-lot survey was conducted throughout the Township to record the current use of property. This survey was updated in 1979 by the use of building permit data and in 1981 by a survey of new subdivisions. Tax maps were used to delineate publicly owned property and the tax assessor's records were utilized to plot properties under Farmland Assessment. The results of this survey are shown on Table 1, Existing Land Use.

The residential usage was comprised of 2,008 single-family residences on about 2,725 acres. This represents over 13% of the Township's land area and averages about 1.4 acres per dwelling unit. Of the total number of dwelling units, 604 (30%) have been erected since the October, 1969 survey. The basic residential pattern falls into three categories:

1. The older, isolated farmhouses;

2. Single-family homes along highway frontage;

3. New subdivisions with interior street systems.

Of these 604 residences, only 63 (10%) have been located on lots requiring driveway access to the major road network. The remaining 90% have been part of major subdivisions with access to interior, local street systems. In addition, the recent subdivision activity has been of a cluster design resulting in open spaces, mostly "green ways", serving as aesthetic dividers between residential neighborhoods.

The commercial activities continue in a strip along Route 34 north and south of its intersection with Route 537. North of Route 537, the commercial uses are emerging in a shopping center design with shared off-street parking and controlled access to Route 34. South of Route 537, the commercial uses on Route 34 are more of a strip commercial pattern.

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Table 1

EXISTING LAND USE

AS OF JANUARY 1981

	Acres	%
Residential	2,725	13
Commercial	90	-
Public & Quasi-Public	7,505	37
Churches, Mpl Bldg, School, Fire, P.O.	(150)	(1)
Golf Course	(180)	(1)
NAD Earle	(5,150)	(25)
Swimming River Reservoir	(1,010)	(5)
Rt. 18 Freeway	(390)	(2)
Open Space
Green Acres	(345)	(2)
Green Ways	(280)	(1)
Industrial	25	-
Agriculture	8,364	41
Local Streets & R.R.	720	4
Vacant	925	4
	20,355	100

*Farmland Assessment Records, 1980 showed 7,821 acres or 38% devoted to agricultural and horticultural use with another 665 acres (3%) devoted to the farmhouse, woodland not devoted to agriculture, and other uses not devoted to agriculture.

A map of land use is shown in Map II.

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In the Village of Colts Neck, commercial uses are limited to the general store, honey shop, real estate office, animal hospital, and the Colts Neck Inn. East of Route 34, on Route 537, there is a farm market and an antique store. One other small concentration of commercial uses is on Route 34 at the intersection of Laird Road where there are two realtors, three farm markets, a service station, and a pet feed store. Other scattered uses include a bar at the intersection of Muhlenbrink Road and Route 537, and the Colts Neck Airport south of the Village of Colts Neck.

Commercial uses occupy only 90 acres, or less than 1% of the Township. There are several observations regarding the commercial pattern:

1. The uses are predominately highway oriented with several specialty shops and services. The pattern is scattered along Route 34, and for the most part, is not concentrated for convenient pedestrian access and is limited to some daily and speciality needs. Major shopping services must be obtained in regional centers elsewhere.

2. Since 1969 the new uses include a bank, hardware store, and Racquet Club; the small group of buildings northeast of the village which include a grocer, liquor, restaurant, paint store, cleaner and pool office; and the Colts Neck Shopping Center which expanded the hardware store site and added 2 offices, a new post office, and 10 retail outlets.

3. Commercial services are an intensive land use and do not require extensive land areas to adequately serve the population.

There are only two industrial sites in the township; Laird's Distillers, occupying about 20 acres at the intersection of Laird Road and Route 537 in Scobeyville, and a tool and die shop on Crine Road opposite the south end of Hillside Road. The Laird distillery of Apple Jack Brandy fame has been operating at its site since 1780 and also gives its name to Laird Road. Essentially, Colts Neck has no industrial base as a result of its limited highway access, the Township's low population, and a long standing policy of not seeking industry. This latter policy is supported by a lack of industrial zoning.

The Jersey Central Power and Light Company has two facilities in the Township [Private communication between Marshall M. Bazar, Jersey Central Power & Light Co., Morristown, NJ and Dr. John R. Vig, Colts Neck Environmental Commission, December 1989]; "Colts Neck Station", a transformer station on Route 34, and "Atlantic Substation", a substation with eight 230 kV power lines, on Asbury Avenue in the southeast portion of the Township. (The power lines on high towers that are visible at certain places, e.g., at the intersection of Rts. 34 and 537, are 230 kV lines.) The 230 kV is transformed to 34 kV at the Atlantic Substation. The 34 kV is transformed to 12 kV at the Colts Neck Station and is so distributed throughout the Township. The 12 kV is transformed to the 120V/240V used in households at transformers on poles (or at in-ground transformers in the newer developments).

Public and quasi-public uses together with open space uses occupy about 7,505 acres or 37% of the Township. About 150 acres (1%) represent churches, schools, municipal buildings, fire house, post office, library, and cemetery. An additional 805 acres (4%) are open spaces such as the "green ways" resulting from cluster zoning designs, "Green Acres" purchased with state financial aid, and the county's Hominy Hill Golf Course. The three dominant public uses which occupy another 32% of the Township are the Naval Weapons Station Earle facilities along the Township's southern border (5,150 acres = 25%), the Swimming River Reservoir in the northeast portion of the Township (1,010 acres = 5%), and the right-of-way of the Route 18 Freeway (390 acres = 2%).

Since October 1969, the major additions to the public, quasi-public and open space uses have been the Township garage, the office and treatment facility of the Monmouth Consolidated Water Company, St. Mary's Church at the intersection of Phalanx Road and Route 34, the baseball field on Laird Road north of Phalanx Road on property owned by the school board, the county's acquisition of Hominy Hill Golf Course, the "Green Acres" site on Bucks Mill Road, and the "Green Ways" generated by cluster zoning.

In addition to Route 18, streets occupy about 720 acres (4%) of the Township. While an emerging system of interior, local streets is taking place within major subdivisions, the dominant street system is still the rambling network of country roads. These roads will continue to assume greater importance as overall growth within the region takes place. The pattern of subdivisions with interior street system is likely to continue.

In this way, strip frontage lots along major arteries are minimized and individual driveways are designed to intersect the interior, local streets, not the major arteries.

Because so much of the Township is used agriculturally, properties listed under the Farmland Assessment Act were recorded on the Land Use Map. In 1980, about 8,486 acres (42%) of the Township were qualified under the Farmland Assessment Act consisting of "3b" properties, 7,821 acres, plus acreage for the farm house, woodland and other land not devoted to agricultural use, 665 acres. (Calculations from the Land Use Map in 1981 resulted in an estimated 8,364 farmland acres, or 41%. This is a minor discrepancy. With 271 line items representing 7,821 acres of qualified farmland, the average tract size was slightly less than 30 acres. As shown later, the average horse farm was larger, at 54 acres, in 1979.)

The ability of the Township to support agriculture is also indicated by the fact that 38% of the Township has Class I and II agricultural soils with another 25% being Class III soils.

As of 1980, 60 percent of the Township's agricultural land (3b) was devoted to harvested cropland. An additional 17% was permanent pasture, 13% was woodland, and 10% was cropland that was pastured. Although not recorded in these 1980 figures, a major agricultural use that has existed for years, and which has enjoyed significant recent growth, is horse breeding and training, including training tracks.

In 1970, there was an estimated horse population in Colts Neck of 649 - 812 horses. (The range is necessary due to the constant shipping and receiving of horses for racing, training, and breeding purposes.) A survey conducted in 1979 showed the number of horses had increased to 1,283 - 1,537; an increase of 76 - 91 percent. This was an average of 11 - 13 more horses per farm or about 1 - 1.5 horses added to each farm per year.

Thorobreds dominated the horse industry at 58% of the horse population in 1979. Standardbreds were increasing, but were still at 29% of the population. Horses for pleasure, show, 4H projects, etc. represented the remaining 13%.

Other trends were available from the survey. For example, 33% of the horse farms were not limited to the small family operation, but had employees, and 41% of the horse farms increased the number of horses from 1970 to 1979. In addition, 41% of the farm owners had either acquired more land, moved to larger farms, or were looking for more land at the time of the survey. Another implication of the horse racing industry in Colts Neck was that one-quarter of the farms had tracks. However, this tended to be a fa cility available only on the larger farms. And finally, the viability of horse farming is indicated by the fact that over two-thirds of the farms had made major capital investments in the last three or four years including barns, paddocks, electrical systems, watering systems, wells, silos, indoor rings and arenas, roadways, horse pool, roofing and heating systems. While the following chart breaks down the farm sizes and horse population, it should be pointed out that many of the larger farms also raise crops in addition to breeding and training horses.

Table II - Horse Farms

Size	# Farms	Avg. Acres	% All Acres	Avg. # Horses	% All Horses
Under 10 ac.	14	6	3	7	7
10-19 ac.	8	12	3	10	5
20-49 ac.	16	29	15	32	36
50-99 ac.	11	74	26	31	24
100 + ac.	9	182	53	44	28
Totals	58	54*	100	20-25	100
		3,103

* Average per farm; 3103 acres total.

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All totalled, only about 925 acres (5%) of the Township is vacant, non-farm. Some tracts are already subdivided into residential lots. Still other vacant land represents the unused rear yards of deep properties and/or the front/side/yards of large residential properties. In some instances, it can be expected that these large residential lots will be resubdivided, but considering owner preference, the configuration of the property, topographic conditions, and soil limitations, a major impact from such resubdivisions is not expected. In comparing this vacant land with environmental constraints, 71% of the vacant land is considered developable. The 29% having problems consists of 15% in flood plains, 9% on steep slopes, and 5% with poor drainage.

The existing land use pattern is dominated by agriculture and public land (combined they represent 78% of the Township). Agriculture represents 41% of the entire Township, but when the public and quasi-public uses are deleted, agricultural uses occupy two-thirds of the remaining land in the Township. Much of the agricultural land can reasonably be expected to continue in that capacity because of the growing horse industry. However, of that land which is developed, the dominant use is residential (only 13% of the Township's land area, but 2,008 residences). The emergence of residential subdivisions has resulted in large residential neighborhoods in some areas of the Township. It is likely that some of the peripheral areas around these subdivisions will also be developed.

In October 1982, Monmouth County published its Growth Management Guide. County officials expect this Guide "to become an invaluable aid for municipal planning of residential and business growth from now into the next century." The Guide specifies two agriculture/conservation areas where it recommends only limited residential and light industrial growth. Colts Neck Township lies wholly within one of these two areas.

Paleontologists have established that Colts Neck, as part of the Atlantic Coastal Plains, was once beneath an ancient sea. The locality of Big Brook is regarded by them as a laboratory. Students and paleontologists visit this area regularly and have found fossilized specimens dating back 70 million years. [See Geology - Paleontology section]

In a letter from the Archaeological Research Center, Seton Hall University, Professor Herbert C. Kraft, Director, states, in part: "The archaeological potential of the Big Brook area is no less significant since numerous prehistoric habitation sites are known to exist throughout the region under investigation. Of chief concern to this archaeologist is the fact that at least nine (9) projectile points made from obsidian have been found in and around the Big Brook, within the proposed complex. [A recreational complex had been proposed for the Big Brook Green Acres site in 1974-75. Professor Kraft's letter is dated Sept. 26, 1974. ] The closest known source of obsidian used in the manufacture of projectile points is Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. We must determine whether there are additional obsidian points in an in situ context in order to ascertain their cultural association, and to discover whether they were flaked on or near the site out of an as yet unknown source of raw material, or whether they were traded so far east. The need for such information is heightened by the fact that a chipped knife made from obsidian has recently been excavated in a Lackawaxin component in the Upper Delaware Valley. The component in which this knife was located dates to about 3600 B.C. Examinations of the Indian artifact collections assembled from the fields adjacent to Big Brook and within the area under investigation suggest a more or less continuous prehistoric occupation dating from ca. 6000 B.C. to post-Colonial times... "Numerous historic bottles, tools and farm implements dating from pre-revolutionary times to the early 20th Century have been found in and around the Big Brook areas...."

The earliest residents of Colts Neck included the Unami Indians or Turtle Clan. Their Chief, who lived in this area, was the leader of all the Lenni Lenape "original of our people". The Lenni Lenape originated in Labrador and were a subdivision of the Delawares (Algonquin nomenclature). They often gathered together near the present Obre Road to socialize and create their monetary exchange out of seashells (wampum). At this time, New Jersey was called "Scheyichbi" or "Long Land Water."

There were four great Indian trails crossing our Township: The Hackensack Trail, originating at the headwaters of the Hudson River; The Minisink Trail, originating at the Great Lakes; the Raritan-Lopotcong originating in the West; and the Crossweeksung Trail, originating in the Southwest. They all reached the Navesink River, and one of them, Crossweeksung Trail, branched into a north-south trail continuing north to Red Bank and south to Manasquan, thus ending at the seashore. The last of the Lenni Lenape Indians left Colts Neck in 1801 as the tribe became decimated by disease, the gun, and general dissatisfaction with their life amidst the "civilized" white men.

Anthropological discoveries have revealed that the Great Hairy Mastodon once roamed the Township in prehistoric times. The Indians hunted wolves, bear and panthers for food and clothing. The early white settlers encouraged the destruction of these predators by offering 20 Shillings in 1730 for a full-grown wolf, 5 Shillings for a "whelp not able to prey" and 15 Shillings for a panther. Wolves were often trapped in pits covered by brush and using meat on top as a decoy. ["Remember Old Monmouth" - Dept. of Promotion & Public Information, Hall of Records, Freehold, N.J., 1989]

Fish and game were a major source of food in the first half of the 18th Century. Animal pelts were used for rugs and clothing. Deerskins were usually used as rugs. Beaver, mink, raccoon and marten were once common game. Hunters also shot rabbits, squirrels, swan, geese, ducks, pigeons, bobwhite quail, grouse, plover, snipe, rail, woodcock, wild turkey and heath hens. Marten and heath hens are now extinct, but the wild turkey can be found in the State of Texas and has now been reestablished in some New England States and in northern New Jersey. Colonial housewives used songbirds in their menus and often set traps for blackbirds and robins.

Huge trees once existed in the Township. This is evident in many homes that were built before 1750. They were constructed with white pine panelling and flooring measuring from 18 to 24 inches wide and yellow pine floor joists and rafters that measured from 5 to 9 inches, with planking from 12 to 18 inches wide. This lumber was cut to order by water-powered vertical sawmills located along county streams. Crude timbers were fashioned from many other trees with broad axes.

Between 1497 and 1609 New Jersey was claimed by various nations including the English, French, Spanish and Dutch. The Dutch influenced Monmouth County from 1614 to 1664. In 1664 King Charles II of England granted James, Duke of York, this territory and he, in turn, gave a lease and release for New Jersey to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. On the death of Sir Carteret, his lease rights were sold and eventually the new owners established a Board of Proprietors to administer their lands and rights.

On June 15, 1676, the minutes of the Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey revealed a Bill of Sale by two Indians (Almeseke and Lamasand) for a certain neck of land lying in Monmouth County called Colts Neck. The shape of this land is formed by Yellow Brook and Mine Brook, which meet at one point. The origin of the name, "Colts Neck" has not been established by any other written record.

The first town meeting on record was held in Samuel Laird's Hotel (today's Colts Neck Inn) on March 9, 1847. Colts Neck was then one of five villages composing Atlantic Township. The other four (see Map I) were Phalanx (1), Scobeyville (2), Montrose (3), and Vanderburg (4). In 1961, by public referendum, these villages became Colts Neck Township, which now consists of 31.8 square miles of land.

Several historical places of note are still in existence in the Township. Laird's Applejack was first produced in Monmouth County in 1698 by William Laird on the property now owned by the Colts Neck Inn. A fire caused the distillery to be moved to Scobeyville, where a thriving business still exists at Laird Road and Route 537. The Monmouth County Historical Association in Freehold has a letter from George Washington requesting the Applejack recipe. Samuel E. Laird honored this request in 1780. John E. Laird Jr. (eighth generation) is currently (1976) the Company's President and Chairman of the Board. [Miles, Mrs. Ann P., History of Colts Neck, Grant Printers, Red Bank, N.J. 1964 - copies are available from the Colts Neck Historical Committee.]

The Colts Neck Tavern (5), erected in 1717, became the Colts Neck Inn in 1812, with Samuel Laird as the Proprietor. The Inn is still in operation serving lunch and dinner to area residents and travelers.

The Colts Neck General Store (6), also an active business today, serves residents as a grocery store in an ancient building that was constructed in 1858 by Levi Scobey. Mr. Scobey carried merchandise that ranged from chewing tobacco to fishing gear and alarm clocks.

The earliest homes of Colts Neck were built like stables or wigwams similar to those constructed by the Indians. English architecture was not adopted until about 1702. The Frederick's home on Laird Road was built in 1709. The accuracy of the ages of many of the earliest homes cannot be established because of the destruction of early records by a fire at the County Courthouse.

The home of Capt. Joshua Huddy, the hero-martyr of the Revolutionary War, once stood at the corner of Heyers Mill Road and Route 537. His home was often used as a refuge for families whose homes were plundered and burned by the British. Capt. Huddy's home was finally attacked and set on fire in September, 1780, but the fire was put out, leaving the structure with marks of fire and bullet holes. The original building is gone, but the site is properly designated by an Early American signpost. The account of Capt. Huddy's patriotic efforts and sacrifices can be found in the Howes Historical Collection of New Jersey, published in 1842.

History also records a skirmish between the British and the American forces taking place on Dutch Lane in Colts Neck during the night of June 28, 1778. This is the date of the Battle of Monmouth which took place during the British retreat from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 1843 the Van Mater Farm in Colts Neck, composed of 673 acres, was purchased by a commission representing an organization that believed in the social theory of Francois Marie Charles Fourier, a French social economist. The Farm became known as the North American Phalanx(l). Fourierism advocated the reorganization of society into small self-sufficient communities. During 1844 this community consisted of 90 persons, which included 40 children. The experiment was successful until the Fall of 1854, when a disastrous fire destroyed the most important buildings supporting the community. Bankruptcy was declared, and many former members bought the land. Their descendants still live on this property. Further details describing this experiment in Fourierism at North American Phalanx can be found in a booklet printed by the Colts Neck Historical Society in 1964.

The Colts Neck Historical Society is actively striving to preserve and record for all time the rich heritage of Colts Neck Township. One of the Society's most successful projects was the restoration and renovation of the old Montrose School House located at the southeast corner of Montrose Road and Cedar Drive. This school was built before 1786. [Personal communication with Mrs. Ann P. Miles, past president of Colts Neck Historical Society.] It is now maintained in good condition and serves as a regular meeting room for the Society.

Freehold is the nearest community for which a record of weather observations exists. Due to the proximity of Freehold to Colts Neck, the climatological record of Freehold is an accurate indicator of Colts Neck's climate.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's climatological summary for Freehold, our area's climate "...is classified as continental, with only minor influence from the Atlantic Ocean. Summer temperatures seldom exceed 100 F, but there are frequent readings in the 90's from late May until early September. Winter readings below zero are infrequent. Normal mean temperature for the year is about 53 F."

"Considering the number of days between the last freezing temperature (32 F) in the Spring and the first freezing Fall as the vegetative growing season, this season averages 178 days in length, from April 23 to October 18. Temperatures of 32 F, or less, have been recorded as late as May 17th in the Spring, and as early as September 24th in the Fall." Figure 1 shows the monthly temperature means and extremes.

Precipitation in Freehold (Fig. 2) averages about 46 inches a year. The heaviest amounts normally occur during the Summer growing season. The drought which lasted from September, 1961 through August, 1966 was one of the most significant departures from normal precipitation in many years. Snowfall averages about 26 inches a season, but on occasion has been more than twice that amount. At other times. snowfall for an entire season has been less than one-half the long-term average.

Destructive storms are infrequent in the vicinity of Freehold. Summer thunderstorms occasionally combine high winds with heavy rainfall, and heavy rains have occurred in connection with hurricanes which move northward along the mid-Atlantic coast. A considerable portion of our Summer and Autumn rainfall comes from tropical storms which pass near the New Jersey coast.

The average number of heating degree days per year is 5,235. (Heating degree days are a measure of the departure of the mean daily temperature below 65 F, and is used as an index of the consumption of energy for space heating).

In the Colts Neck area, periods of very hot weather lasting as long as a week are associated with a west-southwest flow of air, which has a long trajectory overland on the left of the Bermuda high pressure system. Extremes of cold are related to rapidly moving outbreaks of cold air which travel southeastward from Canada's Hudson Bay region. The highest recorded temperature was 106 F (July, 1936), while the lowest was -20 F (February, 1934). The greatest daily rainfall was 5.68 inches, which occurred in Se ptember, 1938. The greatest daily snowfall was 12.8 inches in January, 1964. The greatest monthly snowfall was 26.0 inches in December, 1957 and the greatest amount of snowfall in one winter was 66.9 inches in 1957-58.

Pollution released into the atmosphere does not stay localized at the point of release, but spreads over large areas. Since the sources of air pollution within Colts Neck are relatively few, the amounts of pollutants present in the air are determined primarily by sources outside the Township. Unfortunately, since there are numerous sources of air pollution in the New York-New Jersey-Philadelphia regions, the fact that Colts Neck is a rural area does not insure low air pollution levels.

The automobile is, by far, the largest source of air pollution in our area, followed by space heating, power generation, industrial processes and refuse disposal.

The types of air pollutants emitted are mostly carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. Carbon monoxide, a product of incomplete combustion, is a colorless and odorless gas. Sulfur oxides are produced during the combustion of sulfur-containing fuels, primarily coal and fuel oil. When sulfur oxides combine with water vapor and oxygen in the air, the result is a mist of sulfuric acid which is highly corrosive and irritating. Sulfur oxides can also yellow the leaves of plants, corrode certain stones and metals, irritate the upper respiratory tract and injure lung tissue.

Most of the polluting hydrocarbons are discharged into the air by the incomplete combustion of gasoline in automobiles. Some of these hydrocarbons are known to be carcinogenic (i.e., cancer-producing); others can contribute to smog and thus produce decreased visibility, eye irritation, respiratory problems and deterioration of materials. Nitrogen oxides are produced when combustion takes place at high temperatures, such as in automobile cylinders. These oxides can irritate lung tissue, decrease visibility, harm vegetation and contribute to the corrosion of materials.

Particulates are pollutants which are emitted in the form of solid particles or liquid droplets. They include smoke, fume, aerosols, dust and mist. The effects of particulates depend to a large extent on the size of the particles. The mucous membranes of our respiratory systems can filter out only the larger particles. About half of the particulate pollutants are small enough to reach deeply into the parts of the lung that are unprotected by mucous, and those small particles often carry with them such harmful chemicals as sulfur dioxide.

While we know the effects of large amounts of air pollutants on human health, the consequences of small quantities is subject to debate and uncertainty. Many scientists are engaged in research aimed at determining these effects. Based on the best available information, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established primary and secondary standards for air quality. The primary standards "concern the minimum level of air quality that is necessary to keep people from becoming ill... secondary standards are aimed at the promotion of public welfare and the prevention of damage to animals, plant life and property."

The New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection maintains a continuous air monitoring network throughout the State. The air monitoring station nearest to Colts Neck is in Freehold, near the intersection of Court St. and West Main St. This location is a "center city commercial area" with heavy automobile traffic. The concentration of carbon monoxide at the Freehold Air Monitoring Station has, in the past (e.g., 1971-72), frequently exceeded the EPA primary and secondary standards. However, since the major source of carbon monoxide is automobile exhaust emissions, and since the monitoring station is located at a point of heavy traffic, it is probable that the concentration of carbon monoxide in Colts Neck's air has consistently been below the EPA's primary and secondary standards. Although, since the early 1970's, the air quality in Freehold with respect to carbon monoxide has shown a substantial improvement, the monthly average concentrations were still exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality standards as of 1980.

The concentration of suspended particulates have also occasionally exceeded the EPA primary and secondary standards in the past. The particulate levels have, however, been decreasing at all three Monmouth County monitoring stations. The Asbury Park station has consistently been recording the highest particulate levels in the county. In 1971, for instance, the annual geometric mean level exceeded the EPA primary standard by a small amount. By 1973, this level dropped by one-third to below the EPA's secondary standard and has remained there through 1980. The particulates are due primarily to busses, trucks, automobiles, incinerators, industrial processes and coal burning power plants.

The levels of sulfur dioxide in Monmouth County have consistently been below the EPA standards. No data is available for the levels of other pollutants such as hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. Ozone levels at the Asbury Park monitoring station have frequently exceeded the national standard.

The Federal Clean Air Act of 1970 set up a system of national air quality standards and called for a roll-back of auto pollution levels. In 1972 New Jersey passed an Air Pollution Control Code designed to further reduce air pollution levels in our State. These two laws, if properly enforced, should ensure that the air quality in Colts Neck will continue to improve and that the air will be relatively healthy to breathe.

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References:

1. 1980 Environmental Quality Index, Monmouth County N.J.; prepared by the Monmouth County Environmental Council, Aug 81.

2. Air Pollution in New Jersey, American Lung Association of New Jersey, 1600 Route 22 East, Union, NJ 07083, 1989.

Colts Neck Township is located near the northern end of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The relatively unconsolidated rocks underlying the soil, the temperate climate and the moderate precipitation are responsible for the rolling hills, the low gradients of streams and the fertile sandy soils which support good crops, trees and vegetation.

Regionally, the Township is located in a topographic basin (Map III) extending west from Long Branch through the Hominy Hills to Freehold, north to Matawan and east to Highlands. It is located within the Raritan Embayment.

General slope (Map IV) of the topography is southeast. From an elevation of 260 feet in the Clover Hills (Mt. Pleasant Hills) to a low of 40 feet above mean sea level where Hockhockson Brook meets Pine Brook in the easternmost part of the Township, the average slope is about 19 feet per mile.

The Clover Hills, located partially in the northwest portion of the Township, have the highest elevation (260 feet) and generally have slopes of 10 to 15%. Stream valleys are young to mature, but in spite of this, flood plains and dual streams in a single valley are common. The more resistant Navesink formation (Figs. 3 & 4) underlies the more easily erodable Red Bank Sand and the streams have base leveled within the Navesink.

In the southeastern part of the Township the Hominy Hills partially lie within the Naval Weapons Station Earle (Federal) lands. The Hills reach an elevation of 246 feet above sea level, but the slopes are more gentle than those at Clover Hills, because the less-resistant Tertiary Sands (Map IV, Figs. 3 & 4) underly the area.

The Hockhockson Swamp, lying north of the Hominy Hills, is a topographically low area and is generally flat. The high ground water level is caused by the intersection of the ground water table of the Hominy Hills with the topography, which drops to an elevation of 40 feet at the intersection of Hockhockson and Pine Brooks.

Centrally located within the Township and trending northeast-southwest are three hills known, from east to west, as Sugar-Loaf, Stone Hill and Stout Hill. Sugar Loaf, the largest, has a rise of about 70 feet above the surrounding area.

The rest of the Township consists of gently rolling hills and broad valleys. Streams tend to have a steep south bank with narrow flood plains in the upper reaches. Braided streams are not uncommon, with siltation especially heavy just above Swimming River Reservoir where stream velocity is checked. The exception is Hockhockson and Pine Brooks, which flow north into Swimming River, thence into the Navesink River. These two streams originate in the Hominy Hills and wander sluggishly through the swampy area to the north. Siltation is slow, but the streams have developed a well-defined flood plain in the higher areas.

Slope (Map IV) can have great environmental importance with respect to soil stability, sedimentation, water supply, and septic and foundation limitations. As an environmental determinant, it must be considered together with vegetation and soil quality. Together, these factors determine the slope's ability to absorb surface runoff and its rate of erosion.

The general type of soil in the Township is loam or sandy loam (Map V). Most soils do not pose a serious problem in structure support capabilities, but at least 25%, probably more, of the Township (excluding Naval Weapons Station Earle and the Swimming River Reservoir) can be considered to have poor permeability and/or high ground water within the soil (Map VI). Poor permeability soils include those very silty or clayey or those already saturated from a high ground water table.

This area is the southern extent of one of the ice tongues of the Pleistocene glacial period, and patchy remnants of the glacial till still fill some of the old valleys. The resulting poor drainage partly accounts for scattered small swamps.

With the exception of Pine and Hockhockson Brooks, virtually all drainage from Colts Neck enters the Swimming River Reservoir (which is owned by the New Jersey-American Water Company). The Navesink watershed, of which Colts Neck is a part (Map I), is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, into which it drains, and generally extends west from Long Branch to Freehold, north to Matawan and east to Highlands.

Willow Brook enters the northeastern part of the Township where it joins Hop Brook which flows into the Swimming River Reservoir. With Big Brook and several smaller tributaries, Hop Brook is the principal supply for the 2.6 billion gallon capacity of the reservoir. Willow and Hop Brooks form the northeastern boundary of the Township.

Big Brook runs easterly across the northern portion of the Township. It is a beautiful, generally clear stream with a gentle gradient. It is base-leveled on the Navesink formation causing a wide flood plain and, over much of its course, dual streams within its relatively wide bed.

Yellow Brook and its tributaries, principally Mine and Slope Brooks, drain the southwestern and central part of the Township and drain east into the Swimming River Reservoir. Excepting for the upper reaches of Yellow Brook and tributaries, the stream is narrowly confined with steep banks, narrow flood plains and few swamps. Its course drains much of the soft Tertiary and uppermost Cretaceous unconsolidated sediments and is, except during the dry season, rapidly eroding the area of its drainage.

Hockhockson Brook originates in a swamp of the same name which lies principally within the Naval Weapons Station Earle. Its flow northeasterly joins Pine Brook, where both flow into Swimming River below the Reservoir Dam. Hockhockson Brook has a low gradient and, because it drains a topographically low area, is sluggish with low-lying, marshy banks over most of its course.

Pine Brook, with Swimming River, forms much of the eastern boundary of the Township. It, like Hockhockson Brook, originates in the swampy areas of Naval Weapons Station Earle, where it flows north into Swimming River. Characteristics of the two streams are quite similar.

Since most of the streams traversing the Township originate in or near the Township, and because Willow-Hop Brooks are controlled by the Swimming River Reservoir, the Township cannot be considered flood prone. Although flood plains are well developed along many streams, only a few structures have been built where they could be endangered by even the highest recorded flood level (Map VII). The most damage involved would be flooded basements or partially inundated sheds and outbuildings. Township ordinances no longer permit building on flood plains.

The average maximum flow of water at the Swimming River Dam for the period 1923 through 1971 is about 1,800 cubic feet per second. Maximum annual flows of 7,370 cfs (1938), 8,910 cfs (1960) have occurred since 1923 when continuous gauging was put into effect. However, in 1919 a peak flow was recorded of 11,800 cfs -- 32.5% greater than any flow since recorded.

Gauges of Swimming River above the Dam range from a maximum annual height of 9.31 feet in 1961 to a minimum of 1.87 feet in 1925, with an average of 4.74 feet for the 1923 through 1971 period.

Although adequate information is not at hand and further study is needed, it appears that development of Colts Neck Township has not resulted in an increase of runoff peaks from precipitation. Dozens of small dams and man-made ponds appear, on the contrary, to have reduced peak flow gauges in relation to volume by reducing flash floods -- particularly in the period 1963 to 1971.[L.C. Lamar, Colts Neck Environmental Commission, personal study.]

The official "Flood Insurance Rate Maps" for the Township of Colts Neck were published in 1982. [Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Township of Colts Neck, Monmouth County, Community-Panel Numbers 340291 0001 to 0010, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Effective Date: April 15, 1982.]

The Township of Colts Neck lies in the northernmost portion of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which extends south as far as Florida. Both the underlying metamorphic "basement" and younger rocks dip to the southeast. Dips range from 70 feet per mile in the "basement" to 10 to 20 feet per mile at the surface (See Figs. 3 and 4 and Maps VII and VIII.)

The highly indurated pre-Cambrian gneiss and schist of the Wissahickon formation, both over 600 million years old, are the eroded remnants of a pre-Cambrian mountain range which was leveled during the Paleozoic and lower Mesozoic Eras. The upper Cretaceous Raritan-Bass River formations were deposited on the old surface, which had subsided, followed by uplift and deposition of continental sand, silt and clay. Following erosion of most of the continental deposits, the area was again submerged and the Magothy sand and clay was deposited.

As the Coastal Plain continued to submerge, the younger Cretaceous and Paleocene sediments, with local unconformities, were deposited. Some uplift and erosion and/or non-deposition was followed by deposition of beds of lower Miocene-Pliocene age. The principal unconformities occur at the pre-Cambrian-Upper Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous-Miocene contacts (See Figs. 3 and 4.)

If younger formations were deposited over the Cohansey in the Colts Neck area, the record has been lost by erosion which would have occurred prior to deposition of the Quaternary Pleistocene Pensauken glacial till. The Pensauken was deposited during the "Ice Age" about 1.8 million years ago when tongues of ice extended from the glaciers which covered most of America to the north. These sediments have been mostly eroded from the area, but some, largely gravel, sand and silt, fill some of the valleys and cap some of the hills in the Colts Neck area.

Within Colts Neck Township, surface outcrops, with the exception of Pensauken, form northwest-southeast bands and range north to south (Fig. 3) from the oldest Mt. Laurel to the youngest, Cohansey. In the north portion, deeper valleys expose the Navesink formation which overlies the Mt. Laurel.

Structurally, the entire northern portion of the Atlantic Coastal Plain is generally monoclinal, but minor folding is shown by structural maps (base Navesink and top Englishtown). Whether the structural variation is due to tectonic movement, depositional changes, or a combination of both is unknown. Little is known of the structure of the "basement", but it is likely highly folded and faulted.

Although minor earth tremors have been recorded in the Perth Amboy and Cape May areas and offshore, the land area is believed seismically stable. Seismic surveys offshore, however, indicate structural movement, including much faulting, has occurred there.

Several locations within the Township are well known as fossil collecting grounds. The Navesink formation in Big Brook is famous for a wide variety of sharks' teeth, the best known being Isurus and Scapanorhynchus. A cephalopod, Belemnitella Americana, is also plentiful there. Present in the overlying Red Bank sand, as well as the Navesink, are the pelecypods Exogyra Costata and Gryphea. Bryozoa, foraminifera, echinoids and similar microfossils are present in the younger Tertiary sediments; especially in the greensands of Vincentown. Paleontologists report finding fossilized remains of the mammalian ground sloth and the reptilian Mosasaur and Plesiosaur, which roamed the land during the Cretaceous period.

Monmouth County is not richly endowed with mineral wealth. Within Colts Neck Township there are no known deposits of economically significant minerals. Elsewhere in Monmouth County, relatively small quantities of sand and gravel are taken for building and road work. However, historically, the mineral industry in the county was once far more active than today.

The greensand marls of the Cretaceous strata were once used extensively as fertilizer. Its value as a soil conditioner was first discovered on the farm of Peter Schenck near Marlboro in 1768, after material dug from ditches was spread over the fields. When a marked improvement in yield was observed on these fields, the practice of spreading marl gained acceptance, until by the middle of the 1800's the use of marl was common throughout the Coastal Plain. It was even used to allow farming on the infertile soil of the Pine Barrens. The primary value of the marl was as a source of lime, phosphoric acid, and potassium. All the greensand formations were not of equal value.

Some marls, high in sulfates of iron, were unfit for use without treatment, although even this "poison marl" was used after composition with lime. Too much clay in the marl will cause the development of a hardpan which is also undesirable.

Ground water in the coastal Plain frequently contains high concentrations of iron, as is well known to homeowners with private wells. Since most of the streams in the Coastal Plain are fed by ground water, they too are frequently iron rich. Contact with the air causes the ferrous iron carried in solution to precipitate as iron oxide. Because the iron oxide collects in low swampy areas, it is known as "bog iron". Most of the bog iron in New Jersey is found further south, where it once formed an important industry, although some was produced in Monmouth County. In fact the first known iron works in the state was operating in 1685 at Tinton Falls. Another iron works was started at Imlaystown, in Upper Freehold Township in 1716. The bog iron industry was made uneconomical many years ago by the development of higher grade ores. One feature of the industry is of interest in this present age of scarce resources - bog iron is a renewable resource. It can be "harvested" from different parts of the bogs each year. After the limonite was removed, precipitation of the iron oxide began anew and in only 20 to 30 years a new "crop" was ready for production.

In the 1950's, a new important mineral resource was discovered in the Coastal Plain. Ilmenite, or iron titanium oxide, was found in economic concentrations in parts of Ocean and Burlington Counties, where it is now being produced. Some deposits extend into southern Monmouth County, although these are not being worked. Ilmenite is used as a source of titanium, primarily for the manufacture of paint pigment.

The source of the ilmenite now found in the Coastal Plain was the Precambrian crystalline rocks now exposed in the northwestern part of New Jersey. Thousands of feet of these rocks were eroded over millions of years, providing sediment for the Coastal Plain formations. Because the ilmenite is a heavy mineral, it tends to be concentrated by wave and stream action. The ore bodies in New Jersey are found in the Kirkwood and Cohansey formations. In the Kirkwood, the ilmenite was concentrated by wave action in the retreating Miocene seas. Later, streams which deposited the Cohansey formation concentrated ilmenite in several areas along their paths.

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Reference: "Geology of Monmouth County in Brief," Bureau of Geology and Topography, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, August 1977.

AQUIFERS

General

Early settlers obtained their potable water supply from springs or shallow dug wells - the latter usually less than 30 feet deep. Agricultural irrigation water came from streams or ponds. Water for these shallow wells comes directly from the surface; hence, as development continued, this water was subject to pollution from septic disposal, animals, chemicals and pesticides. Colts Neck laws now ban wells supplied by surface water. The deeper, "artesian" wells are much less likely to be polluted. (See the chapter on Water Quality)

Ponds, both natural and man-made, and streams are still used for irrigation. A few large scale farmers use deep (600-700 ft.) wells. Most, if not all, of the springs are dry now because of cyclic low rainfall and interruption of water flow by development.

Porous and permeable rocks containing water are called aquifers and are classified as "water table" or "artesian." The former are charged directly from the surface (precipitation, ponds, streams, etc.), while the latter are charged by the same method, but only at the outcrops. The water then moves downdip, being filtered in the process. If the aquifer is separated from the surface by a formation which does not readily transmit water (an "aquiclude"), the increase in pressure with depth causes water to rise in the hole when the aquifer is penetrated, and even to flow to the surface if the elevation differential is great enough; hence, the term "artesian".

Occurrence and Movement of Ground Water in Monmouth County [Reference: "Geology of Monmouth County in Brief," Bureau of Geology and Topography, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, August 1977. ]:

The Local Water Budget

Ground water, like surface water, originates from precipitation and is in transit from the land to the oceans, or back into the atmosphere. It is not a static resource, but flows from higher areas, where it has soaked into the ground, to low areas, where it is naturally discharged through springs, lake bottoms, or marshes. A small portion is recovered through wells.

Ground water is thus part of a finite water budget which can be expressed by:

P = E + T + R + I

where P is precipitation

E is evaporation

T is transpiration (water loss through plants)

R is runoff from the land surface

and I is infiltration (water which soaks into the ground).

Precipitation in Monmouth County averages about 44 inches per year (which, on average, is about 2,000,000 gallons per day per square mile). The range is from 34 inches in the driest recorded year to 63 inches in the wettest year.

Evaporation and transpiration are difficult to measure separately and are usually combined as a single term, "evapotranspiration". Evapotranspiration is relatively constant from year to year with an estimated average loss of 1,000,000 gallons per square mile per day, half of the water supplied by precipitation. The rate of loss varies through the year from over 2,000,000 gallons per square mile per day in the summer, to less than 50,000 gallons per square mile per day in the wintertime. During extreme drought, plant activity will decrease and evapotranspiration losses will be somewhat reduced.

Runoff and infiltration are variable from place to place depending upon soil, slope, vegetation, freezing of the ground, and other factors. Where the ground is frozen, or where slopes are steep and soil is clayey and impermeable, little water will be able to soak into the soil and runoff will be great. Conversely, runoff is negligible on flat areas with sandy soils. Rainfall instead soaks into the ground and flows through pore spaces between grains to become ground water. This process is known as recharge, and balances water losses through natural discharge and wells.

Ground water can be removed from wells faster than it is replaced by infiltration only for a limited period of time. Removal of water faster than it can be replaced by recharge is known as ground water mining and will eventually lead to well failure.

The Saturated Zone, The Unsaturated Zone and The Water Table

Ground water occurs in two zones, an upper "unsaturated zone," or "zone of aeration", in which pore spaces in sediment or rock contain both air and water; and a deeper "saturated" "zone", in which pore spaces are completely filled with water. The top of the zone of saturation is known as the "ground water level" or "water table". Water will fill an open hole to the elevation of the water table. The water table is not flat but forms a modified reflection of the surface contours. Where the water table interse cts the surface, it forms springs, marshes, lakes, and streams.

Water Table and Artesian Conditions

"Water table" conditions exist where the water surface at the top of the zone of saturation is exposed to the atmosphere. At this point the ground water level is free to rise or fall as water enters or leaves the ground water system. This is the case when permeable materials extend upward from the zone of saturation towards the land surface.

"Artesian" conditions exist when ground water is confined by impermeable materials so that water level is not free to rise and fall. Pressure in an artesian well is due to the height difference between the ground water level at the recharge area and at the well site. In many cases confining materials are not totally impermeable, but allow water to seep slowly into or out of "leaky aquifers". In Monmouth County confined conditions are the result of water being trapped in sandy formations lying between clayey formations.

Ground Water Availability and Production in Monmouth County

Production From Water Table Aquifers

Water table portions of aquifers are locally important in supplying water to farms and individual homeowners in areas of low density development.

Optimum water budgets in gallons per day per square mile for water table portions of sandy Coastal Plain formations are listed in the New Jersey Land Oriented Reference Data System as:

Formation	Optimum Water Budget
Magothy-Raritan	1,000,000
Englishtown	750,000
Mt. Laurel-Wenonah	750,000
Vincentown	750,000
Kirkwood	900,000
Cohansey	1,000,000

These values can vary greatly with local conditions, and are, therefore, of dubious value - see discussion below.

Clay and marl formations have little permeability and yield little water to wells.

While it would theoretically be possible to draw substantial quantities of water from water table portions of sandy aquifers, these supplies would be potentially vulnerable to pollution, and would in many cases, require installation and maintenance of well fields or infiltration galleries. Larger supplies in Monmouth County are therefore drawn from deeper, more easily developed, and less easily contaminated artesian portions of aquifers.

Production From Artesian Aquifers

With increasing development has come extensive reliance on artesian aquifers. Increase in demand was gradual from 1900 until the mid-1950's, and more rapid from the mid-1950s to the present.

Demand has been most severe in the Englishtown and Mount Laurel-Wenonah Formations. The impact is most pronounced near heavily suburbanized pumping centers along the shore and in southern Monmouth County, near Lakewood. Water levels in observation wells in these areas dropped as much as 100 feet between 1959 and 1970; and were dropping at rates of 8 to 12 feet per year during the 1970's

Optimum water budget for water table portions of formations are based on their abilities to accept, store, and release precipitation locally. Withdrawals from artesian portions of aquifers are replaced by flow from outcrop areas as much as 25 miles from withdrawal sites, and by slow leakage from underlying and overlying formations. Decrease in artesian pressure due to pumpage can be felt across broad areas, and is transmitted vertically upward and downward to adjacent aquifers. Water budgets, therefore, cannot be assigned on a per square mile basis, nor can they be restricted to a single aquifer. They must be regional and account for effects on other aquifers.

Evaluation of water budget is further complicated by lack of precise knowledge of water-bearing formations, and variation in these properties from place to place. Although an optimum water budget cannot be calculated, it is clear that that over-pumping has occurred in certain formations at population centers. Unchecked further development will lead to more extensive over-pumping and eventually require development of new, potentially expensive sources of supply.

Computer modeling provides a tool for simulating the complex interactions among water-bearing formations. This enables the evaluation of magnitudes of available supplies, and the merits of alternative schemes of development. A preliminary model has been developed on the basis of estimated abilities of aquifers and confining beds to store and transmit water.

Although the model has serious shortcomings, as a planning tool, it has proven its ability to simulate historical water-level fluctuations and to indicate magnitudes of leakage between formations.

Hydrology of Colts Neck Township

The Red Bank - Tinton, Vincentown, Kirkwood and Cohansey sands are classified as water table aquifers within the Township. Farther downdip they may be artesian. In 1968, Jablonski [Geological. Survey & N.J. Dept. Conserv., Special Report 23] strongly suggested that formations lying between the Mt. Laurel-Wenonah and the Englishtown sands were not true aquicludes - that they "leaked" water between the two aquifers. This appears to be confirmed by two recent studies, by Nemikas [Digital Simulation Model of the Wenonah-Mt. Laurel Aquifer in the Coastal Plain of N.J., U.S. Geological. Survey - 1976.] and Nichols. [Digital Computer Simulation Model of the Englishtown Aquifer in the Northern Plain of N.J., U.S. Geological Survey, 1976.]

In the Point Pleasant area where municipal water supplies are obtained from the Englishtown and Mt. Laurel-Wenonah sands, the water table dropped about 100 feet in the period 1959 to 1970. The later study by Nichols showed a static water table drop of 100 feet in the Englishtown for the period 1900 to 1959, and an additional drop of 120 feet in the period 1959 to 1970; ostensibly from overproduction. The authors concluded that because of limited withdrawal in that area from Mt. Laurel-Wenonah, the static water table drop in that formation substantially reflected downward migration into the Englishtown.

Prior to results of the latter two reports and a later lithologic study of the Mt. Laurel-Wenonah [L.C. Lamar, Cert. Prof. Geologist, Colts Neck Environmental. Commission.] formation, there was concern that downdip withdrawal might have a serious effect on aquifer water supplies available within the Township. It would now appear that static water table drop within the Township amounts to no more than 15 to 20 feet; based on limited control points. It also appears that local drops in withdrawal capacity from the Mt. Laurel-Wenonah of as much as 50% over a 10 year period is due to poor and irregular recharge rates vs. usage, and that the Englishtown still has an adequate supply.

Salt water intrusion has been noted in the Englishtown sand in the Raritan Bay area (Keyport) and in the Raritan-Magothy in the Atlantic City area. These encroachments are being monitored by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, and remedial action is planned.

Depending on the surface elevation, depths to the principal artesian aquifers within the Township vary in depth, north to south, as follows: Mt. Laurel - 25 to 250 feet; Englishtown 125 to 300 feet; and Raritan-Magothy, 500 to 725 feet.

In summary, it appears that adequate domestic water will continue to be available in the Mt. Laurel-Wenonah formation except in the central densely developed area of Colts Neck. Initially adequate wells (10 gallons per minute minimum) may be subject to future supply drop because of slow recharge. Use of Englishtown water is now limited. Some Mt. Laurel-Wenonah wells have ceased to supply adequate water and new wells to the Englishtown have had to be drilled. Township sanitary regulations require Englishtown wells in the northernmost portion of the Township where the out-cropping Mt. Laurel-Wenonah may make it subject to pollution.

In conclusion, there appears to be no serious problem with underground water supplies so long as present development spacing, and limitation to only light industry are enforced. Any concentration of water use, however, such as community water supply for planned unit development, golf course, extensive agricultural irrigation, or unusually large use for light industry or professional offices, could cause an eventual drop even in the Englishtown sand. Unusually large potable or irrigation needs should be supplied from the Magothy-Raritan sands.

Lithology of Colts Neck Township

The lithology ["Lithology" in geology means the physical characteristics of a rock or stratigraphic unit.] and consequent hydrologic characteristics of the principal aquifers in Colts Neck Township [See Fig. 2 for Columnar Section thickness and general lithology.], from the geologically youngest and shallowest to the oldest and deepest, is as follows:

The Cohansey is a fine-grained, poorly cemented, porous and permeable quartz sand. It is an excellent water table aquifer present only in the south central portion of the Township and only within the confines of Naval Weapons Station Earle. Little of its local characteristics are known, but to the south it is used as a potable water supply.

The Kirkwood is divided into an upper and lower sand unit. It, like the Cohansey, is fine-grained and poorly cemented quartz sand, but clay inclusions in the upper portion and silt in the lower portion limits its value as an aquifer in local areas. It, too, is present in the Township only in the confines of NWS Earle and is a water table aquifer.

The Vincentown is also divided into an upper and lower unit. In a well immediately north of NWS Earle (Municipal garage) it is 70 feet thick. The uppermost 20 feet is poorly cemented, yellow quartz sand. The next 40 feet is gray silty clay with quartz grains increasing in the lower portion as gray sand and silt. The lower 10 feet is mostly sandy, calcareous clay with mica. Prior to being depleted by a cut on Highway 18, the Vincentown was a water table aquifer for a number of residents in the Stout Hill-Five Points Road area. It appears to be of better quality in that area where it is in excess of 80 feet thick. Further south, where the entire section is complete, it may be in excess of 100 feet thick.

The Red Bank-Tinton is a course-grained, poorly cemented,silty sand. The upper member is red to brown course-grained quartz sand, predominantly cemented with iron oxide, and becomes gray toward the base. The lower member grades downward from gray, limey sand and silt to dark gray, glauconitic, lignitic, sandy shale. It is also a water table aquifer within the Township and was used for water supply in early dug wells. Sand development is erratic and generally poor.

The Mt. Laurel-Wenonah formation consists of the upper Mt. Laurel, a light, fine-grained, micaceous quartz sand and the lower Wenonah, which is siltier, more glauconitic, and darker. The contact is gradational and difficult to pick, even under a microscope.

In general the upper member has a maximum thickness of 30 feet and is best developed in the western portion of the Township, while the lower member appears best developed on the eastern side. A central north-south area has poor or no sand development in general, though some good wells have been reported. Water productivity in this area is generally at, or below, 10 gallons per minute - considered minimal for domestic needs. The development of the lower member, in general, is siltier and darker than the upper member.

The depositional history of the Mt. Laurel-Wenonah is considered near shore marine. Microscopic studies of both surface and well samples indicates the aquifers to be buried sand bars. [Ron Martino, Masters Thesis, Rutgers Univ. ] Based on a regional study [L.C. Lamar, private study for the Environmental Commission. ] of both sample and drillers' logs, the area of poor or no sand development is indicated to be a high energy zone - possibly near the mouth of a stream or a tidal outwash zone.

The Englishtown formation is composed of medium-to-course-grained sand interlayed, in some areas, by clay or silt layers. The entire formation may exceed 100 feet in thickness and is developed as an excellent aquifer over the entire Township. Most wells to this aquifer produce in excess of 25 gallons per minute and may exceed 100 gallons per minute. More and more residents are drilling to the Englishtown sand, particularly in the central part of the Township where the Mt. Laurel-Wenonah is poorly developed.

The Raritan-Magothy formation consists of massive quartz sands interstratified with dark silty clays and dark and light fine sands. Although the Raritan and Magothy are separated by a disconformity, they may be considered as a single aquifer. In Colts Neck Township, only a few wells have been drilled to this aquifer and these used for farm irrigation and to furnish water for a golf course. Production may exceed several hundred gallons per minute.

Miscellaneous aquifers, generally of low productivity and spotty development, include glauconitic and/or silty sands in the Navesink formation, particularly in the lower portion.

Chemical & Bacteriological Character

All well water contains dissolved minerals. These minerals are derived from the sediments, rocks and soil particles with which the ground water has been in contact. The chemical composition of ground water varies from aquifer to aquifer. Because of changes in rock composition and in the direction and rate of movement of ground water, the composition can vary from point to point, even within the same aquifer.

The chemical constituents which may occur in objectionable concentrations in Colts Neck are iron, calcium, magnesium, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and silica. Water treatment methods are available for correcting the problems caused by these substances.

Iron is objectionable because when its concentration exceeds 0.3 parts per million (as it does in most Colts Neck wells), it leaves a reddish-brown stain on plumbing fixtures, laundered clothes, dishes, etc. The calcium and magnesium salts cause a scale to form in pipes, particularly in the hot water system, and it also decreases the amount of lather produced by soaps. A "rotten egg" odor in the water indicates the presence of hydrogen sulfide. When carbon dioxide is present in the water, it makes the water corrosive. Silica in the water can contribute to scale formation.

Other chemicals which are usually present in small concentrations are manganese, sodium, potassium, carbonates, bicarbonates, sulfates, chlorides, fluorides and nitrates.

The degree of acidity or alkalinity of water is measured by the pH values which, for well waters, generally range from 4.5 to about 9.0. A pH of 7.0 indicates neutral water. Values below 7 indicate increasing acidity, and values above 7 increasing alkalinity. A knowledge of the pH assists in the control of corrosion and in the determination of the proper water treatment methods to use.

Because of the general presence of iron in Colts Neck well waters, contamination of well water by "iron bacteria" has occasionally been a problem. Iron bacteria are nuisance organisms which are not harmful to humans or animals drinking the water. They feed on the iron and have the ability to oxidize and precipitate it. These bacteria can clog water treatment equipment and can also reduce the carrying capacity of water pipes. A slimy, rust-colored coating on the interior surfaces of toilet flush tanks indicates the presence of these bacteria.

The temperature of ground water is nearly constant throughout the year. This temperature is near the average annual temperature at the surface, about 53 F in Colts Neck. Water from sources less than 50 feet deep may vary slightly from one season to another. Beyond 100 feet of depth, the temperature increases steadily at the rate of about 1 F for each 100 feet of depth.

Water from the Raritan formation is generally of excellent chemical quality, except for high concentrations of iron and corrosives (low pH). Iron concentrations in excess of 6 ppm are common. The pH values range from 4.6 to 7.4, with most of the samples tested falling within range of 5.6 to 6.6. The concentrations of other chemicals are low enough not to be a problem for most purposes.

Water from the Wenonah-Mt. Laurel sand formation is moderately hard and is generally of excellent quality. The hardness ranges up to about 100 ppm. Low pH and high iron content are occasionally a problem.

The water from the Englishtown formation is also of generally excellent chemical quality. The water is usually medium-hard (about 100 ppm) and the iron concentration may occasionally exceed 0.3 ppm.

Pollution

Sources of ground water pollution in other communities in the past have been:

1. Seepage of contaminants into wells due to improper construction of the well.

2. Too many septic fields or cesspools in an area producing more effluent than can be naturally filtered and degraded, so that contaminated water reaches the water table.

3. Leachate from improperly located, mismanaged dumps, or sanitary landfill sites.

4. Excess pumping permitting salt water to enter the aquifer.

5. Heavy use of chemicals, such as fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

Overall, the possibility of ground water pollution in our Township from these or any other sources appears remote for the foreseeable future. All new wells are tested for bacterial contamination prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy. Because water is filtered naturally as it flows below the surface, if a well is properly constructed, contamination by harmful bacteria should not become a problem. For example, in soils having the permeability of fine sand, bacterial contamination from the surface extends only about 20 feet down. The bacterial quality of water also improves during storage in the aquifer because storage conditions there are generally unfavorable for bacterial survival. Chemical pollutants, however, are usually not removed by natural filtration.

In 1982, the Colts Neck Board of Health initiated a program to test selected Colts Neck wells for toxic chemicals(the testing has been limited mostly to volatile organic compounds.) No significant problems have been uncovered by these tests as of mid-1983.

During 1977-1978 the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Program on Environmental Cancer and Toxic Substances sampled Monmouth County surface and ground waters for toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, such as organic chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals. Highly sensitive analytical techniques, capable of detecting parts per trillion of concentration, were used. Very low levels of pollutants were detected in some of the samples; however, "none of the wells sampled had any organic chemical or PCB, and pesticide concentrations above or near current and suggested water quality standards. However, standards have not been set for a number of these substances because of insufficient research on their health effects."

In the surface water sampling program for the Swimming River Reservoir watershed, "a total of nine different organic compounds were observed...the most frequently observed of these compounds was l,l,l-Trichloroethane, which was observed at eleven sampling sites out of a possible fifteen... the watershed with the greatest number of organics (7) was Big Brook...both phosphate and fecal coliform were above State standards at most sampling stations within the Swimming River watershed...three pesticides, Lindane, Heptachlor and -Chlordane, as well as PCB's were observed within this watershed...although the presence of these substances locally, at the concentration reported, presents no immediate danger to health, information and data relative to long-term effects at low level exposure on human health are lacking. In light of this lack of knowledge, it would be prudent to eliminate these substances entirely, or at least to minimize their presence in drinking water..."

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References:

1. L.A. Jablonski, "Ground Water Resources of Monmouth County, New Jersey" - USGS Special Report No. 23, 1968.

2. P.R. Seaber, "Variations in Chemical Character of Water in the Englishtown Formation, N.J." - USGS Professional Paper 498-B, 1965.

3. W. Black, "Hydrochemical Facies and Ground Water Flow Patterns in Northern Part of Atlantic Coastal Plain" - USGS PAPER 498-a, 1966.

4. G.M. Banino, F.J. Markewicz, J.W. Miller,Jr., "Geologic Hydrologic and Well Drilling Characteristics of the Rocks of Northern and Central New Jersey", - N.J. Dept. of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Geology and Topography, 1970.

5. Manual of Individual Water Supply Systems, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 430-9-73-003, 1973.

6. Water Quality Management Plan - Monmouth County, N.J., New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection, 1979.

Septic Waste

In Colts Neck, with the exception of one small private treatment plant, all sewage wastes go to underground septic tank sewage systems. These systems are efficient and quite satisfactory, except under the following conditions:

1. Adverse lithology of the soil surrounding the septic field.

2. High ground water table.

3. Faulty construction or maintenance.

4. Development spacing too close.

Before a site plan approval is granted for new construction, percolation tests are performed and the results are carefully reviewed to insure that neither adverse lithology nor high water table will interfere with the proper functioning of the proposed septic systems.

As long as our zoning ordinances are properly enforced, septic systems should continue to adequately serve our Township in the future.

A septic system consists of two parts:

1. a septic tank in which the raw sewage is collected,

and 2. a drainage field where the effluent discharged from the septic tank is absorbed by the soil beneath the ground surface and receives final treatment by microorganisms before becoming diluted in the groundwater.

The purpose of the septic tank is twofold:

1. to capture most of the solids, and also fats/grease from household sewage, inside a water tight receptacle underground. The sewage residues can be pumped-out when they accumulate to the extent that they threaten to flow out of the tank into the drainage field where they can cause clogging.

and 2. to hold the liquid sewage so that there will be sufficient time for organic matter to be digested before being carried out of the tank into the drainage field where it can clog the field.

The septic tank's basic objective is to separate solids from liquids and hold solids so that the liquid leaving the tank will be clearer and will not clog the drainage field. The heavier material sinks to the bottom, and is called sludge. The lighter material floats on the surface of the liquid and is called the scum layer. The liquid in the middle contains soluble or suspended organic matter.

When the partially treated liquid leaves the septic tank, it is carried by a solid pipe to the "drainage field", a series of perforated pipes laid in trenches in the soil. The liquid seeps out of the holes in the pipes, and is absorbed by the soil. A layer of gravel surrounding the drain pipe facilitates the uniform spreading of the effluent over the entire absorption area.

In a properly functioning septic system, microorganisms such as bacteria and protozoa (single-celled animals) are found in all parts of the tank and in the soil absorption field.

In the septic tank, the primary role of the microorganisms is digestion of organic matter suspended or dissolved in the liquid so that the clearest possible effluent can be discharged into the soil disposal field to minimize soil clogging and "back-up." The microorganisms' secondary role is to digest some of the heavy solids (sludge) and some of the light solids (scum). Without the work of these microbes, the storage capacity of septic tanks would soon be exhausted. In the soil, bacteria and other microbes complete the digestion of organic matter. Various physical, chemical and biological processes in the soil also renovate effluents.

If a septic system is properly designed, constructed and maintained, (i.e., inspected and pumped out periodically) the millions of microorganisms will digest the sewage and return its chemical components to the earth to be used over and over again.

Solid Waste

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References:

1. Manual of Septic Tank Practice , Public Health Service Publication - No. 526, US Dept of Health, Education and Welfare, 1967, copies available from Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20201.

2. T.B. Shelton and F.B. Fowler, "Septic Tank Systems: Design and Practice", Extension Bulletin 415, 1975, Cooperative Extension Service, Cook College, Rutgers-The State University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.

The average resident of New Jersey is exposed to approximately 125 millirems per year of "background" ionizing radiation1. (A "rem" is a unit of ionizing radiation exposure, a "millirem" is one-one thousandth of a rem.) Of this, about 50 millirems per year is due to cosmic rays, the balance is from trace amounts of naturally occurring radioactive elements in the soil, building materials, air and food. There are no known unusual naturally occurring sources of radioactivity within Colts Neck Township.

Man-made sources, such as dental and medical X-rays, can typically contribute about another 90 millirems per person per year. The nearest nuclear power plant, Oyster Creek, is 30 miles South of Colts Neck. During normal operation, nuclear power plants emit an amount of radiation that is negligible compared to background radiation. In case of a serious accident at Oyster Creek, however, the release of radiation could present a significant threat to the population of Colts Neck. (A number of other nuclear power plants in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania could also become a threat if, after a serious accident, Colts Neck was downwind from the accident site.) Whether or not nuclear weapons exist at Naval Weapons Station Earle is not known publicly.

Long term exposure to low frequency electromagnetic radiation from high-voltage, high-current power lines has been reported to cause health problems [Paul Brodeur, Currents of Death, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1989.]. The subject of whether or not the danger due to such non-ionizing radiation is significant is controversial, and is being studied by various researchers. Since there do exist some high-voltage power lines in Colts Neck, it may be prudent for Colts Neck officials (and residents living or working close to such power lines) to monitor the course of these studies.

RADON

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas [A Citizen's Guide to Radon - What It Is And What To Do About It, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publication no. OPA-86-004, August 1986.] [Radon Reduction Techniques for Detached Houses, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publication no. EPA/625/5-86/019, 1986.]. It is a byproduct of the decay of radium, which in turn comes from the decay of uranium in soil and rock. Uranium is ubiquitous (in low concentrations) in the earth's crust. Outdoors, radon dissipates harmlessly. When it seeps into a house, however, it can collect in hazardous concentrations. The radioactive byproducts of radon cling to minute dust particles in the air. These particles can lodge in the small passages of the lung and, thereby, increase the risk of lung cancer.

Although a great deal remains to be learned about the effects of exposure to low levels of radon, a National Academy of Sciences report in 1987 confirmed previous estimates that about 13,000 lung cancer deaths per year are due to exposure to radon. The risk increases with the amount of gas present, the length of exposure, the age of the person, and smoking. Radon is a particular risk for cigarette smokers because it dramatically multiplies an already increased chance of lung cancer.

The NJ and federal government recommendation is that remedial action be taken if the radon concentration exceeds 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) tests indicate an average indoor concentration, statewide, of 5.4 pCi/L. The concentrations were highest in Northern NJ (as high as 11.8 pCi/L in Warren County); Monmouth County's average was 2.7 pCi/L. The only way to determine what the risk might be in any given Colts Neck home is to test the home. The levels can vary from home to home, depending on the soil, the amount of openings into the basement (e.g., cracks, loose fitting pipes, sump pump, etc.), and the construction (uncoated hollow-core concrete blocks are permeable to radon and other toxic gases ["Toxic Gases Can Penetrate Concrete Blocks", Science News, Vol. 136, p. 391, December 16, 1989.]).

For the 99 radon tests that had been performed on various Colts Neck homes as of January 1990, 56 of the results were below the action level of 4 pCi/l, and 38 homes were above ["Radon Report", Colts Neck Township Committee Report, February, 1990.]. Of the latter group, 17 were greater than or equal to 8 pCi/l, and one home was in the category of greater than or equal to 20 pCi/l. Based on the analysis of these results by the State, Colts Neck was reclassified as a "Tier I Community", which means that the recommendation is to test for radon "as soon as possible". (For the previous Tier II designation, the recommendation was to "test within one year".)

The DEP has established a toll-free Radon Information Hotline, 1-800-648-0394. The DEP and the Colts Neck Health Department (462-5470) provide free information packets that includes a listing of companies offering radon testing and radon remediation services. The American Lung Association of NJ offers a "do it yourself", three-month radon testing kit for $20- (1989 price; Amer. Lung Assoc. of NJ, 1600 Rt. 22 East, Union, NJ 07083; 201-687-9340). Since the concentrations can vary greatly from week to week, short term tests should be avoided. The testing should be done during the winter months, when the house is "buttoned up".

If a test result exceeds 4 pCi/l, the Radon Hotline can be called to request a free confirmatory test by DEP. The results should also be reported to the Colts Neck Health Department, at 462-5470. Simple remedial actions, such as the closing of entry points and ventilation, and painting hollow-core concrete block basement walls with a liberal coating of latex paint ["Toxic Gases Can Penetrate Concrete Blocks", Science News, Vol. 136, p. 391, December 16, 1989.], can usually correct a radon problem.

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References:

1. ["Nuclear Energy - Questions and Answers", P.S.E.& G., Newark, NJ 1979.]

2. [Paul Brodeur, Currents of Death, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1989.]

3. [A Citizen's Guide to Radon - What It Is And What To Do About It, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publication no. OPA-86-004, August 1986.]

4. [Radon Reduction Techniques for Detached Houses, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publication no. EPA/625/5-86/019, 1986.]

5. ["Toxic Gases Can Penetrate Concrete Blocks", Science News, Vol. 136, p. 391, December 16, 1989.]

6. ["Radon Report", Colts Neck Township Committee Report, February, 1990.]

Section 1 - Plant life

The variety of plants and wildlife found in an area is a good measure of the quality of the area's environment. A generally mild climate, adequate precipitation and a variety of soil types and physiographic provinces (flood plain, marsh, swamp, hills) provide a wide range of natural vegetation and wildlife in our area. Since large areas of private and public lands have been left in the natural state, the Township provides a veritable laboratory for naturalists.

The plant lists were prepared by Vincent Domidion, II, and are specific to Colts Neck. The animal lists were provided by K.T. Kellars, Monmouth County Park System and are not specific to Colts Neck, i.e., the lists apply to the County. The lists are not necessarily complete, but they do include most of both the common and the unique varieties found in the Township.

Plant List

For those who have the first edition of this Inventory and will wonder at the differences between this list and that which was included in the earlier publication, the primary difference is that the old list was provided by the county and this list is based entirely on original field work done in Colts Neck. The result is that fewer plants are represented but all that are named are in Colts Neck. This is a very conservative list, which means that there are many other plants that are in Colts Neck but have thus far been identified only by genera. These are not included. There are no grasses, sedges, asters or goldenrods on the list for this reason.

This list has been further defined by the exclusion of specimen plants and escapes that have no sure foothold here. Other alien species have been included, such as the Norway maple and garden phlox, both of which are successfully established. There is also a certain arbitrary element in the compilation that includes the enduring stand of red pine on Creamery Road while leaving out the Japanese maples that decorate many yards.

The order of the list generally follows that used in the Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora of the Northeast and Canada and A Checklist of the Plants of New Jersey by Karl Anderson. For the most part the line spacing in the Angiosperms represents the break between families. The English names are listed first and are chosen by perceived familiarity. The Latin follow with the hope that those who wish to learn about the plants of Colts Neck to a greater depth will find this a guide of some utility. Finally, the work continues. The hope is to eventually develop a truly comprehensive list. In the interim this is included with confidence as to accuracy and breadth of representation.

Pteridophyta (Ferns and Fern Allies)

Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Tree Clubmoss (Lycopodium obscurum)

Crow's foot Clubmoss (Lycopodium digitatum)

Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron)

Northern Lady Fern (Athyrium felix-femina v. angustum)

Silvery Glade Fern (Athyrium thelypterioides)

Dissected Grape Fern (Botrychium dissectum v. dissectum)

Oblique Grape Fern (Botrychium dissectum vs. obliquum)

Rattlesnake Fern (Botrychium virginianum)

Hay-scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)

Spinulose Wood Fern (Dryopteris carthusiana)

Crested Fern (Dryopteris critata)

Intermediate Wood Fern (Dryopteris intermedia)

Marginal Wood Fern (Dryopteris marginalis)

Triploid Wood Fern (Dryopteris X triploidia) (carthusiana X intermedia)

Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)

Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea)

Interrupted Fern (Osmunda claytoniana)

Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis)

Common Polypody (Polypodium virginianum)

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Northern Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum v. latiusculum)

Broad Beech Fern (Thelypteris hexagonoptera)

New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis)

Massachusetts Fern (Thelypteris simulata)

Marsh Fern (Thelypteris thelypterioides)

Netted Chain Fern (Woodwardia areolata)

Virginia Chain Fern (Woodwardia virginica)

Boott's Fern (Dryopteris cristata X intermedia)

Gymnospermae (conifers)

American Yew (Taxus canadensis)

White Pine (Pinus strobus)

Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida)

Scrub Pine (Pinus virginiana)

Red Pine (Pinus resinosa)

Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides)

Angiospermae: Monocotyledone

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

Creeping Dayflower (Commelina nudiflora)

Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana)

Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva)

Wild Garlic (Allium vineale)

Turk's-cap Lily (Lilium superbum)

Tiger Lily (Lilium tigrinum)

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum)

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)

False Solomon's Seal (Smilancina racemosa)

Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)

Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata)

Sessile-leaved Bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia)

Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)

Indian Cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana)

Glaucous Greenbriar (Smilax glauca)

Common Greenbriar (Smilax rotundifolia)

Stemless Ladies' -slipper (Cypripedium acaule)

Little Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes tuberosa)

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens)

Angiospermae: Dicotyledones

Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata)

Mockernut Hickory (Carya tomentosa)

Northern Bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica)

Sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina)

Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)

Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)

Black Willow (Salix nigra)

Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)

Black Birch (Betula lenta)

Gray Birch (Betula populifolia)

Smooth Alder (Alnus serrulata)

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

American Chestnut (Castanea dentata)

White Oak (Quercus alba)

Red Oak (Quercus ruba)

Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)

Black Oak (Quercus velutina)

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus)

Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra)

American Elm (Ulmus americana)

American Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

Red Mulberry (Morus rubra)

White Mulberry (Morus alba)

Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera)

Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera)

Sheep Sorel (Rumex acerosella)

Curled Dock (Rumex crispus)

Bitter Dock (Rumex obtusifolia)

Bloody Dock (Rumex sanguineus)

Virginia Knotweed (Tovara virginiana)

Climbing False Buckwheat (Polygonum scandens)

Lady's Thumb (Persicaria persicaria)

Japanese Knotweed (Pleuropteris zuccarinii)

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)

Large Mouse-ear Chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum)

Starry Campion (Silene stellata)

Bladder Campion (Silene latifolia)

White Campion (Lychnis alba)

Bouncing Bette (Saponaria officinalis)

Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria)

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra)

White Baneberry (Acta~

Windflower (Anemone quinquefolia)

Fall Meadow-Rue (Thalictrum polygamum)

May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum)

Sassafras (Sassafras sassafras)

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

Celandine Poppy (Chelidonium majus)

Mouse-ear Cress (Arabidopsis thaliana)

Lyre-leaved Rock-cress (Arahis lyrata)

Witch-Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta)

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

Rough Avens (Geum virginiana)

Black Rasberry (Rubus occidentalis)

Wine Rasberry (Rubus phoenicolasius)

Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)

Bristly Dewberry (Rubus hispidus)

Prickly Dewberry (Rubus flagellaris)

Pasture Rose (Rosa virginiana)

Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)

Oblong-leaf Juneberry (Amelanchier canadensis)

Downy Juneberry (Amelanchier arborea)

Apple (Pyrus malus)

Domestic Pear (Pyrus communis)

Beach Plum (Prunus maritima)

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium)

Partridge Pea (Cassia fasciculata)

Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

Black Locust (Robinia pseudo-acacia)

Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis)

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

White Clover (Trifolium repens)

Rabbit's Foot Clover (Trifolium arvense)

Round-headed Bush Clover (Lespedeza capitata)

Groundnut (Glycine apios)

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)

Carolina Cranesbill (Geranium carolinianum)

Upright Yellow Wood-sorrel (Oxalis stricta)

Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida)

Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens biflora)

Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

Winged Sumac (Rhus coppallina)

Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra)

Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans)

American Holly (Ilex opaca)

Low Gallberry Holly (Ilex glabra)

Norway Maple (Acer platonoides)

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

Ash-leaved Maple (Acer negundo)

Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia)

Silverleaf Grape (Vitis aestivalis var. argentifolia)

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocossus quinquefolia)

Sweet White Violet (Viola blanda)

Common Purple Violet (Viola papilionacea)

Primrose-leaved Violet (Viola primulifolia)

Prickly Pear (Opuntia opuntia)

Meadow Beauty (Rhexia virginica)

Northern Evening Primrose (Oenothera muricata)

Enchanter's Nightshade (Circaea lutetiana)

Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolium)

Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)

Round-leaved Dogwood (Cornus rugosa)

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

Red-Osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera)

Sourgum (Nyssa sylvatica)

Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)

Spotted Wintergreen (Pipsissewa) (Chimaphila umbellata)

Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)

Pink Azalea (Azalea nudiflorum)

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens)

Spicy Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)

Common Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)

Early Low Blueberry (Vaccinium vacillans)

Late Low Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Whorled Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia)

White Ash (Fraxinus americana)

Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)

Periwinkle (Vinca minor)

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum)

Great Bindweed (Convolvulus sepium)

Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)

Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)

Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)

Gill-over-the-ground (Glecoma hederacea)

Horse Mint (Monarda punctata)

Smooth Ground Cherry (Physalis subglabrata)

Clammy Ground Cherry (Physalis heterophylla)

Jimson-weed (Datura stramonium)

Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria)

Yellow Toad-flax (Linaria vulgaris)

Pale Broom-Rape (Orobunche uniflora)

Beech Drops (Epifagus virginiana)

Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)

Catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides)

Greater Plantain (Plantago major)

Lance-leaved Plantain (Plantago lanceolatta)

Partridge-berry (Mitchella repens)

Cleavers (Galium aparine)

Rough Bedstraw (Galium asprellum)

Common Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

Maple-leaved Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)

Southern Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)

Smooth Black Haw (Viburnum prunifolium)

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)

Canadian Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)

Venus' Looking-glass (Specularia perfoliata)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

King Devil (Hieracium florentinum)

Rattlesnake Weed (Hieracium venosum)

Lion's Foot serpentaria)

Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiaefolia)

Great Ragweed (Ambrosia trifida)

Beach Clotbur (Xanthium echinatum)

New York Ironweed (Veronia noveboracensis)

Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)

White Snake-root (Eupatorium urticaefolium)

Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus)

Pearly Everlasting (Anapha]is margaritacea)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Common Bur Thistle (Cirsium lanceolatum)

 

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NATIVE TREES

A large part of the Township is densely wooded and shrubbed, particularly, in the hilly areas and along streams where farming is impractical. Trees over 100 years of age have been listed and identified with the hope of guaranteeing their preservation. [See Ancient Trees, Joseph Moreau, Colts Neck Environmental Commission, 1982.] Municipal ordinances to preserve fine trees in developing areas have been in effect for many years. Colts Neck, however, does not have such a "tree ordinance".

Ancient Trees

Some of the "big" trees* in Colts Neck are as follows:

l) Phalanx Area:

a. Species: White Oak

Trunk Diameter: 49 1/2 inches

Estimated Age: 190 years

Location: Corner of Richdale and Bucklin Roads

b. Species: Red Oak

Trunk Diameter: 57 1/2 inches

Estimated Age: 190 years

Location: North end of George C. Richdale's house on Richdale Road.

2) Scobeyville Area:

a. Species: Yellow Locust

Trunk Diameter: 43 inches

Estimated Age: 175 years

Location: Route 537 south side,

1.8 miles West of Tinton Falls border.

Note: This tree is larger than the largest of its species in New Jersey as listed in New Jersey's Biggest Trees (a New Jersey State Booklet).

b. Species: Red Oak

Trunk Diameter: 50 inches

Estimated Age: 160 years old

Location: About 80 feet northwest of the cul-de-sac at the end of Northpoint Road.

3) Colts Neck Village Area:

Species: 2 Eastern Hemlocks

Trunk Diameter: 37 inches (each)

Estimated Age: 215 years old (each)

Location: Creamery Road Green Acres Tract.

There are numerous other large hemlocks in this tract which are over 100 years old and which have trunk diameters over 18 inches.

Trunk diameters and estimated ages of these trees are registered as of the year 1976 by Colts Neck Environmental Commissioner Joseph Moreau. We also have within our Township a 45 1/2 inch diameter Wild Cherry in the Buck's Mill Road area, and a 17 inch diameter Holly on Obre Road.

 

Section 2 - Wildlife

 

Birds

The Township is a virtual paradise for the bird watcher. A generally mild climate, adequate feeding grounds with ponds, streams and the Swimming River Reservoir have all encouraged both land and aquatic birds to live here permanently or at least to winter here. Some species visit only in the spring and/or fall on their way to and from nesting grounds, and they are called transients. The list below is the list for Monmouth County (i.e., it is not specific for Colts Neck Township. The key to the letters after each species may be interpreted as follows:

A for abundant (everyday birds)

C for common (may be tallied in habitat in all seasons)

U for uncommon (infrequent but not rare)

O for occasional (near rare)

R for rare

These letters indicate the season of normal occurrence:

Y for year round

S for summer

W for winter

T for transient

The season list is intended only as a general indication and is subject to variation and exceptions in small numbers. The list is based on a list by William F. Sanford, in The Outdoor World, published by Monmouth County.

Local Species:

American Bittern	UY	Great Horned Owl	CY
Redwing Blackbird	AY	Screech Owl	CY
Rusty Blackbird	CW	Saw-whet Owl	UW
Eastern Bluebird	US	Snowy Whet Owl	OW
Bobolink	UT	Wood Pewee	CS
Bobwhite	CY	Phoebe	CS
Indigo Bunting	CS	Ringed-necked Pheasant	CY
Catbird	AS	Semi-palmated Plover	CT
Cardinal	AY	Common Redpoll	OW
Yellow-breasted Chat	US	Redstart	CS
Black-capped Chicadee	UW	Robin	AY
Carolina Chicadee	AY	Sanderling	AW
American Coot	AW	Least Sandpiper	CT
Brown-headed Cowbird	AY	Pectoral Sandpiper	CT
Double-crested Cormorant	CW	Semi-palmated Sandpiper	AT
Great Cormorant	CW	Solitary Sandpiper	CT
Brown Creeper	CW	Spotted Sandpiper	CS
Red Crossbill	OW	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	CT
Common Crow	AY	White-winged Scoter	CW
Fish Crow	CS	Loggerhead Shrike	OW
Black-billed Cuckoo	CS	Pine Siskin	UW
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	CS	Common Snipe	CT
Mourning Dove	AY	Chipping Snipe	AS
Short-billed Dowitcher	CT	Clay-colored Sparrow	OT
Black Duck	AY	Field Sparrow	CY
Bufflehead Duck	CW	House Sparrow	AY
Canvasback Duck	AW	Fox Sparrow	CW
Gadwall Duck	CW	Grasshopper Sparrow	CS
Common Goldeneye Duck	CW	Henslow's Sparrow	US
Harlequin Duck	OW	Lark Sparrow	OW
Mallard Duck	AY	Savannah Sparrow	CW
Common Merganser	CW	Seaside Sparrow	CS
Hooded Merganser	UW	Sharptailed Sparrow	CS
Red-breasted Merganser	CW	Song Sparrow	AY
Oldsquaw Duck	CW	Swamp Sparrow	CY
Pintail Duck	CW	Vesper Sparrow	US
Redhead Duck	UW	White-throated Sparrow	AW
Ring-necked Duck	CW	Starling	AY
RuTDy Duck	CW	Mute Swan	CS
Greater Scaup Duck	AW	Bank Swallow	US
Lesser Scaup Duck	AW	Barn Swallow	AS
Wood Duck	CS	Rough-winged Swallow	CS
Cattle Egret	UT	Tree Swallow	AS
Common Egret	CS	Chimney Swift	AS
Snowy Egret	CS	Scarlet Tanager	CS
Yellow-shafted Flicker	CY	Blue-winged Teal	CS
House Finch	CY	Green-winged Teal	CW
Purple Finch	CW	Black Tern	CT
Crested Flycatcher	CS	Common Tern	AS
Least Flycatcher	CS	Forster's Tern	CY
Common Gallinule	CT	Least Tern	CS
American Goldfinch	AY	Royal Tern	CT
Blue Goose	UW	Brown Thrasher	CS
Brant Goose	CW	Gray-cheeked Thrush	CS
Canvasback Goose	AW	Hermit Thrush	CT
Canada Goose	CW	Swainson's Thrush	CT
Snow Goose	UW	Wood Thrush	CS
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	CS	Tufted Titmouse	CY
Boat-tailed Grackle	RT	Rufous-sided Towhee	AS
Common Grackle	AY	Veery	CT
Horned Grebe	CW	Red-eyed Vireo	AS
Pied-billed Grebe	CW	Solitary Vireo	CT
Red-necked Grebe	UW	White-eyed Vireo	CS
Red-throated Grebe	CW	Yellow-throated Vireo	CS
Evening Grosbeak	CW	Turkey Vulture	CS
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	CT	Louisiana Waterthrush	CT
Ruffed Grouse	UY	Northern Waterthrush	CT
Bonaparte's Gull	AW	Bay-breasted Warbler	CT
Great Black-backed Gull	AY	Blackburnian Warbler	CT
Lesser Black-backed Gull	RT	Blackpoll Warbler	CT
Herring Gull	AY	Black-throated Green Warbler	CT
Laughing Gull	AS	Black and White Blue Winged Warbler	CS
Ring-billed Gull	CW	Canada Warbler	CT
Broad-winged Hawk	CS	Cape May Warbler	CT
Cooper's Hawk	UY	Cerulean Warbler	OT
Marsh Hawk	CY	Chestnut-sided Warbler	CT
Nighthawk Hawk	US	Hooded Warbler	US
Red-tailed Hawk	CY	Magnolia Warbler	CT
Sharp-shinned Hawk	UY	Myrtle Warbler	AW
Black Crown Night Heron	CY	Nashville Warbler	CT
Great Blue Heron	CY	Palm Warbler	CT
Green Heron	CS	Parula Warbler	CT
Little Blue Heron	CT	Pine Warbler	CS
Louisiana Heron	OT	Prairie Warbler	CS
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	CS	Prothonotary Warbler	UT
Blue Jay	AY	Tennessee Warbler	CT
Oregon Junco	OW	Wilson's Warbler	CT
Slate-colored Junco	AW	Yellow Warbler	CS
Killdeer	CY	Yellow-throated Warbler	RT
Eastern Kingbird	CS	Cedar Waxwing	CY
Belted Kingfisher	CY	Whip-poor-will	CS
Golden-crowned Kinglet	AW	American Woodcock	CS
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	CT	Downy Woodpecker	CY
Horned Lark	CY	Hairy Woodpecker	CY
Lapland Longspur	OW	Carolina Wren	CY
Common Loon	CW	House Wren	CS
Red-throated Loon	CW	Long-billed Marsh Wren	CS
Purple Martin	CS	Greater Yellowlegs	AT
Eastern Meadowlark	CY	Orchard Oriole	OS
Mockingbird	CY	Osprey	CS
White-breasted Nuthatch	CY	Ovenbird	CS
Baltimore Oriole	CS	Barn Owl	UY

Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians

Small animals of many types abound in the Township. An occasional deer is seen in the wooded areas and at streams and ponds, but the smaller animals may be found in backyards and nearby fields almost anywhere in the Township. One formerly endangered species, the beaver, has returned to the area. While a wide variety of snakes exist in the Township, no poisonous varieties have been seen in many years. However, the timber rattlesnake does exist elsewhere in Monmouth County. The Monmouth County list below has been provided by K.T. Kellars, Monmouth County Park System:

Mammals

Big Brown Bat	White-footed Mouse
Eastern Pipistrel	Muskrat
Hoary Bat	Opossum
Keen's Myotis	Raccoon
Little Brown Bat	Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
Red Bat	New England Cottontail Rabbit
Small-footed Bat	Norway Rat
Silverhaired Bat	Least Shrew
Beaver	Short-tail Shrew
Eastern Chipmunk	Smokey Shrew
Virginia Whitetailed Deer	Striped Skunk
Gray Fox	Eastern Gray Squirrel
Red Fox	Red Squirrel
European Hare	Southern Flying Squirrel
Southern Bog Lemming	Boreal Redback Vole
Eastern Mole	Meadow Vole
Starnose Mole	Pine Vole
House Mouse	Longtail Weasel
Meadow Jumping Mouse	Woodchuck

Reptiles

Lizards

 

Northern Fence

Five-lined Skink

 Turtles

Bog Turtle	Musk Turtle
Diamond-backed Terrapin	Common Snapping Turtle
Eastern Box Turtle	Spotted Turtle
Eastern Mud Turtle	Red-earred Turtle
Eastern Painted Turtle	Wood Turtle

Snakes

Black Rat	Northern Black Racer
Corn	Northern Brown
Eastern Garter	Northern Pine
Eastern Hognose	Northern Ringneck
Eastern King	Northern Water
Eastern Milk	Red-bellied
Eastern Ribbon	Rough Green
Eastern Smooth Earth	Scarlet
Eastern Worm

 

Amphibians

Toads

Eastern Spadefoot

Fowlers

 

Tree Frogs

Gray Frog	Pine Barrens Tree Frog
New Jersey Chorus Frog	Spring Peeper Frog

 

True Frogs

Bull Frog	Northern Leopard Frog
Carpenter Frog	Pickerel Frog
Cricket Frog	Wood Frog
Green Frog

This Natural Resources Inventory does not indicate any significant near term problems for Colts Neck Township. It does, however, reveal some potential future problems which can be affected by actions at all levels of government. Among the actual and potential long term problems are: 1. the withdrawal of water from the Township's principal aquifers at rates that exceed the natural recharge rates, 2. the pollution of aquifers by pollution in the recharge areas, 3. air pollution due to high level emissions within New Jersey and neighboring states, 4. septic tank failures due to development density in excess of the absorptive capacity of the soil, and 5. soil erosion and siltation due to improper construction or farming practices.

Colts Neck Township's zoning ordinance and Planning Board requirements, together with State and Federal environmental laws and regulations, if properly enforced, ought to minimize the potential threats to the high quality of Colts Neck Township's environment.