Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area (Paulin's Kill Lake)

Newton Township, Sussex County, NJ

(For maps see: www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wmaland.htm)

Directions:

Route 622 almost divides the WMA in half into a north and south part.

From Sussex Community College (formerly Don Bosco College) in Newton, located at the intersection of Routes 519 and 622, take Route 622 west to the east side of Paulins Kill Lake. 

Drive 2.3 miles on Route 622 and turn left into a parking area.  Another 0.4 of a mile west brings one to the parking area for the Paulinskill Valley Trail.  There is a road on the other side of this parking area.  From Route 622, one can turn right on this road and drive 0.4 of a mile to a parking area on the left. 

From the above parking area one can drive 0.5 of a mile up the road, turn left, drive through the tunnel and then turn right into another parking area.  From here down the road about 0.1 of a mile there is another parking area. (This latter one is very beautiful because it is surrounded by water on two sides.

There is a parking area for fishing access 0.1 of a mile west of the parking area for the Paulinskill Valley Trail

Trails:

The Paulinskill Valley Trail heads north parallel to the eastern side of the Paulinskill Lake.

Accessible from the Paulinskill Valley Trail near Swartswood Junction is an unimproved one-mile section of the old abandoned New York, Susquehanna, and Western Railroad. 

7/10/04.  Rosemary and I parked at the lot off Junction Road.  We bushwhacked our way through the field (with lots of thorny plants) and then had to bushwhack our way through the woods to Paulins Kill Lake.  It is really hard to move around this area so we did not get far spatially.  We returned to the car. 

We then parked by the parking lot in the northwest corner of the WMA.  This is a very beautiful area.  It reminds me of a similar area at Bashakill in New York.  The road has open water on the south side and a large marsh on the other.  We enjoyed taking our time and soaking in the beauty of the place.  Lots of water plants in bloom, as one would imagine. 

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plant found in bloom on date of field trip, 7/10/04

Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carya spp. (hickory)
Celtis occidentalis (hackberry)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juglans nigra (black walnut)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Salix sp. (willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tilia americana (basswood)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs and Sub-shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepperbush)
Cornus amomum (silky dogwood)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow honeysuckle)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Ribes sp. (currant)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Sambucus canadensis (common elder) *
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw)

Vines:
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)
Cuscuta sp. (dodder)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis spp. (grape)

Broad-leaved Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow) *
Actaea alba (white baneberry)
Alisma subcordatum (small water plantain)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) *
Allium vineale (field garlic) *
Allium tricoccum (wild leek) *
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Anemone virginiana (thimbleweed) *
Angelica atropurpurea (purple-stemmed angelica)
Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp) *
Arabis glabra (tower mustard)
Arctium sp. (burdock)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) *
Bidens frondosa (beggar ticks)
Boehmeria cylindrica (false nettle)
Carduus acanthoides (plumeless thistle)
Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) *
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) *
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Cicuta maculata (water hemlock) *
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade) *
Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle) (Fl. 7/10/95)
Cirsium discolor (field thistle)
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)
Coronilla varia (crown vetch) *
Cryptotaenia canadensis (honewort)
Daucus carota (wild carrot) *
Desmodium glutinosum (pointed-leaved tick-trefoil) *
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink) *
Elodea sp. (waterweed)
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) *
Eupatorium maculatum (spotted Joe-Pye-weed) *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot) *
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)
Fragaria virginiana (common strawberry)
Galium asprellum (rough bedstraw)
Galium mollugo (wild madder)
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Geum canadense (white avens) *
Hackelia virginiana (Virginia stickseed) *
Hemerocallis fulva (tawny day lily) *
Hypericum perforatum (common St. Johnswort) *
Hypericum punctatum (spotted St. Johnswort) *
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)
Impatiens pallida (pale touch-me-not)
Iris pseudacorus (yellow flag) * one in bloom
Lactuca canadensis (wild lettuce) *
Lactuca serriola (prickly lettuce)
Lemna sp. (duckweed)
Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort) *
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Linaria vulgaris (butter-and-eggs) *
Ludwigia palustris (water purslane)
Lycopus sp. (water horehound)
Lysimachia nummularia (moneywort)
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) *
Matricaria matricarioides (pineapple weed) *
Medicago lupulina (black medick) *
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) *
Mentha spicata (spearmint)
Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot) *
Myosotis scorpioides (forget-me-not) *
Myriophyllum sp. (water milfoil) 
Nepeta cataria (catnip) *
Osmorhiza claytonii (sweet cicely)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Pastinaca sativa (wild parsnip)
Peltandra virginica (arrow arum)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain) *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple)
Polygonum amphibium (water smartweed) ?
Polygonum hydropiper (water pepper)
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb)
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed) *
Potentilla norvegica (rough cinquefoil) *
Potentilla recta (rough-fruited cinquefoil) *
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal) *
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan) *)
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad-leaved dock)
Sagittaria latifolia (broad-leaved arrowhead)
Satureja vulgaris (wild basil) *
Scutellaria lateriflora (mad-dog skullcap) *
Silene latifolia (white campion) *
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Solanum carolinense (horse nettle) *
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade) *
Solidago spp. (goldenrod)
Sparganium sp. (bur reed)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadow rue) *
Thlaspi sp. (pennycress) (Fl. 5/30/95)
Tragopogon pratensis (yellow goatsbeard) *
Trifolium arvense (rabbit-foot clover) *
Trifolium hybridum (alsike clover) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Trifolium repens (white clover) *
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Urtica dioica var. procera (tall nettle) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Verbena hastata (blue vervain) *
Verbena urticifolia (white vervain) *
Vicia cracca (cow vetch) *
Viola sp. (violet)
Zosterella dubia (water stargrass) *

Grasses:
Bromus inermis (Hungarian brome)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Elytrigia repens (quack-grass)
Lolium perenne (perennial rye grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)
Phleum pratense (timothy grass)

Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Sedges and Rushes:
Carex crinita (fringed sedge)
Carex vulpinoidea (fox sedge)
Eleocharis sp. (spike rush)
Scirpus atrovirens (dark-green bulrush)
Scirpus validus (soft stem bulrush) or possibly hard stem-- was not able to get close to it

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Asplenium platyneuron (ebony spleenwort)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)