Author: CWF

Climate Legislation Overdue

Posted on by CWF
Don’t put off by a decade what needs to be started today

by Margaret O’Gorman, Executive Director

Wind turbines stand out in Atlantic City, NJ. © Ben Wurst

Last week Senators Kerry and Lieberman released a draft of their new Senate energy bill called “The American Power Act.” At the heart of this bill is an effort to develop new American energy, create American jobs and protect American communities. These are all laudable goals made even more laudable when placed against the job loss and community damage occurring in the Gulf right as a result of our continued reliance on old energy.

“The American Power Act” is a serious effort to address global climate change and thanks to the hard work of a national coalition called “Teaming with Wildlife,” of which Conserve Wildlife Foundation is a member, it contains language that not only promotes better energy policies but also the need to help our natural resources during these times of changing climate.

The bill, like its predecessor passed by the House of Representatives, seeks to set aside funding to protect and restore species, habitats and ecosystems threatened by the impact of climate change. It also proposes programs focused on water systems, floods, wildland fires and coasts.

“Climate change is impacting our wildlife populations now and will impact our populations in greater ways as the changes in climate become more pronounced.”

These inclusions are very important because they recognize the impact of a changing climate on our natural resources – the lands, plants and animals that add value to our lives, both economic and intrinsic.

The inclusion of this language happened because of the strong coalition of groups and individuals dedicated to wildlife and natural resource protection in this country but the timing of the funding leaves a lot to be desired.  In the Kerry Lieberman bill, allocations (funding) for Safeguarding Natural Resources/Community Protection, doesn’t start until 2019.   Allocations start at 0.75% in 2019, increasing to 3% by 2030.  It is unclear how this translates in to actual dollars, but most importantly there is no funding for nearly a decade. This is unacceptable.

The other worrying part of this draft bill is whether the funding to establish programs to address impacts to natural resources is dedicated or not. This is unclear in the bill’s current wording and is also unacceptable.

Severe beach erosion along the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey. © Ben Wurst

Climate change is impacting our wildlife populations now and, under the most conservative scenarios, will impact our populations in greater ways as the changes in climate become more pronounced. New Jersey species at risk include the shorebirds that are already teetering on the edge of extinction due to the decimation of their stopover food source; beach nesting birds like the piping plover that is already fighting for beach space as sea-level rise continues to threaten its habitat. Other species like the bog turtle and eastern salamander are threatened by loss of habitat from changing seasonal patterns and endangered raptors face losses every breeding season from storm events that used to happen every 100 years and are now much more frequent.

Senators Kerry and Lieberman should be thanked for introducing this important bill but they, and all other Senators, should be encouraged to remove the ten-year delay for wildlife and natural resources and insist that such funding should be dedicated to help our natural systems adapt to a world where a changing climate could spell extinction if steps are not taken to mitigate where possible and allow adaptations where necessary.

If you’ve a minute today, contact your New Jersey Senator and tell him we can’t put off for ten years what needs to be done today.

Credit: The National Wildlife Federation’s analysis of the bill informed this article.

What the Ears Don’t Hear…

Posted on by CWF
CWF visits the “Big Muddy” to learn acoustic bat detection technology

By MacKenzie Hall, Private Lands Biologist

I "listen" for bat calls, acoustic detector in hand. Photo by Brian Henderson

For the past week, fellow CWF’er Brian Henderson and I have been getting familiar with our new toys – two AnaBat acoustic detectors.  We bought the detectors with help from a NJ Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) grant to monitor and learn more about New Jersey’s bats.  The four-day training took place at Western Illinois University’s Kibbe Field Station in Warsaw, Illinois, just a couple thousand feet from the mighty Mississippi River.  We were lucky to have three long-time bat researchers as instructors:  Kim Livengood, Cori Lausen, and AnaBat pioneer Chris Corben.

Instructor Cori Lausen (pointing) teaches AnaBat students to interpret bat calls on a field laptop. Photo by MacKenzie Hall

Acoustic detectors are able to “hear” and record the the echolocation calls that bats give off as they travel and hunt for insects.  Different bat species produce unique call patterns at varying frequencies of sound that can be used to tell them apart (although many calls are very similar and sometimes impossible to distinguish).    Acoustic technology thus allows you to document the diversity and abundance of bats in an area of interest.

The detectors can be used while walking or driving, or they can be set up outside and left to record data for several days, weeks, or even months.  We’ll be doing all of these things, some of them as part of regional/national studies.

Instructor Chris Corben spotlights a bat overhead while Brian Henderson (right) records its echolocation calls. Photo by MacKenzie Hall

At AnaBat training, classroom tutorials were followed each day by nighttime acoustic surveys.  The first night that we went out with our straight-outta-the-box detectors, I can only describe our reaction as bubbly…our “Ooh!”/“Whoa!”/“No way!” squeals were utterly countless as the telltale tick-marks popped up on our PDA screen, indicating nearby bats that we could neither see nor hear on our own.

Back in the classroom, we downloaded the previous night’s bat calls onto our laptops  and practiced identifying the types of bats who had made them –red bats, big brown bats, evening bats, hoary bats, tricolored bats,…and even an endangered Indiana bat or two.  All without having to catch, hold, or even see a thing.

We’re excited to start using this technology in our bat research here in NJ.  Check back for updates about our work with AnaBat!

How the oil spill in the Gulf affects our work

Posted on by CWF

Satellite image of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo courtesy NASA.

Margaret O’Gorman, Executive Director

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico should cause concern to us all. But for those of us engaged in stopping species loss on a global or national scale, it should cause mild panic and dread as we think about the oil slick fast approaching the coasts of Louisiana and Florida.

As the oil floats with malign intent towards to the Breton National Wildlife Refuge and other areas of coastal habitat, a dark cloud hovers over the piping plovers, least terns and other beach and shore birds in New Jersey.  Their winter home is being attacked and the habitat they need to survive is being destroyed.

Piping plovers in New Jersey belong to what is known as the Atlantic Coast population. This population breeds along the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to North Carolina. It winters along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from North Carolina to Mexico, with significant numbers found on the Louisiana and Florida coasts in the Gulf of Mexico.

Piping plover numbers initially crashed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because of hunting. Since the Migratory Bird Treaty Act outlawed such practices in 1918, habitat loss and degradation has caused the continued downward population trend of these birds, leading the federal government to list the Atlantic Coast population as threatened in 1986.

Piping plover. © Steve Byland

Efforts to restore the population to a sustainable size have been ongoing since then with states along the Atlantic Coast developing and implementing management and recovery plans. In New Jersey, management and recovery plans for the piping plover are overseen by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and implemented by Conserve Wildlife Foundation and the state’s Endangered Species Program. The work which is described in detail on our website includes managing the population on a nest-by-nest basis, minimizing disturbance and predation and maximizing nest success.

In New Jersey, 120 pairs of piping plover are managed intensively as part of a national effort to protect this bird from extinction. The oil slick currently moving through the Gulf of Mexico just made this job a lot harder.

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, oil can become a long-term contaminant in an ecosystem. Different types of oil weather out of an ecosystem over different time periods but oil can “cause harm to wildlife through physical contact, ingestion, inhalation and absorption. Floating oil can contaminate plankton, which includes algae, fish eggs, and the larvae of various invertebrates.” Oil can remain in the habitat for up to 30 years causing contamination to food chains and leading to irreversible damage to ecosystems. It can cause an ecosystem to loose or substantially decrease its carrying capacity for wildlife.

While the piping plovers in New Jersey and along the Atlantic Coast strive to successfully breed against the threats of spring storms, human and animal disturbance and, predators, their wintering grounds are threatened with a danger that has serious and long-term consequences.

So, as the crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico breaches the booms set out to contain it, we shiver for the piping plovers, least terns and other species whose winter just got a whole lot tougher.

Sources: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pipingplover/pdf/I.pdf

http://alaska.fws.gov/media/unalaska/Oil%20Spill%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Valleyview Middle School Supports Bats!

Posted on by CWF

Students build bat houses and “Adopt a Species” to aid bats in these troubled times

by MacKenzie Hall, CWF Private Lands Biologist

Teacher Dan Gross and his sixth graders hold up their finished bat houses. © Mackenzie Hall

This April, for the second year in a row, I had the happy task of visiting the sixth graders at Valleyview Middle School in Denville, Morris County.  Valleyview  students have taken a great interest in bats lately…partly because their school sits a mere 3 miles from Hibernia Mine, New Jersey’s most important known winter den for resident species like the little brown, northern long-eared, and endangered Indiana bats.

Bats have always been a common neighbor in their town.  And since White-nose Syndrome appeared two winters ago, Denville residents have literally had a front row seat to the toll it has taken.  Many have seen bats flying on cold winter days, searching for food that would not be found, and many have seen the bodies of starved bats on the ground.

Valleyview Middle School has a fantastic science faculty, with teachers like Dan Gross and Chris Bias who aim to give the kids tangible experiences with topics that relate to their own community.   They chose to turn the White-nose Syndrome crisis into a learning opportunity:

Why are bats important?

What happens if we lose them?

What can we do to help?

Dan Gross and Principal Dan Finkle receive a certificate of appreciation for their symbolic Indiana bat "adoption." © Jaimie Kovax

The school invited us to come in and teach the students about their local bats and talk about the work we’re doing to help study and protect them.  I got to interact with the entire sixth grade, first finding out how much they already knew about bats and then teaching them a whole lot more!

I came back a second day to put the kids to work – we built six bat houses which will be installed in parks and other properties across the region.  Everybody (including me) had a lot of fun with the screw guns, hammers, and caulk…and my “no eyes poked out” success streak continues!

The school also made an “Adopt A Species” donation to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation to support our work.

Thank you, Valleyview Middle School!

Amphibians Are On the Move

Posted on by CWF

give us a brake!

By MacKenzie Hall, CWF Private Lands Biologist

Over the past two weeks in New Jersey, the hills have awakened! This is the time of year when a quiet resurgence of frogs, salamanders, and toads takes place as the ground finally thaws, releasing them from their subterranean slumbers. They’ve spent nearly half a year in hibernation, and the amphibians are anxious to begin the serious business of breeding!

wood frog
A wood frog. © Mike Anderson

The earliest amphibians to head above ground are the ones that breed in temporary springtime (vernal) pools. In north Jersey these include the spotted salamander, jefferson salamander, wood frog, and the endangered blue-spotted salamander. The females emerge full of eggs…as many as 2,000 per frog and around 200 per salamander…and a lot is riding on those eggs. They are the next generation. They are our algae- and insect-eaters. They are food for other animals like garter snakes, thrushes, and bears; members of the web of life.

Helping Frogs and Salamaders Cross the Road

In areas where roads divide the woods from the water, traffic can take a huge toll on these amphibians every year. We’re doing what we can to identify amphibian road-crossing “hot spots” and to help our small, slow, slimy friends make it safely to their destinations.

Spotted salamander on a road. © Mike Anderson

Across most of NJ, the 2010 amphibian migration began on Friday, March 12th, with the first post-snowmelt rain storm of the season. The nor’easter came in early on Friday and

pummelled us with chilly rain until Monday the 15th…while we humans were holed up in our houses, those frogs & salamanders were celebrating the weather they’d been waiting for.

At one high-density crossing site in northern Warren County, we worked in teams of 5-10 people throughout Friday night to usher amphibians across the road and record what we saw (this project has been active since 2002, when the Conserve Wildlife Foundation, NJ’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program, and NJ Audubon Society partnered to create the volunteer-based effort). Over the course of 9 hours, we tallied more than 1,800 amphibians! The procession included 405 spotted salamanders, 644 wood frogs, and 742 spring peepers, with a few other species in the mix. A total of 59 vehicles passed through during that time; by reasonable estimate as many as a quarter or more of those road-crossing amphibians might not have made it without our help.

Rick Weiman, a CWF board member helps a spotted salamander cross the road. © MacKenzie Hall

Ten of us braved the whipping storm on Saturday, March 13th, to again chaperone amphibians across the road. We stayed for a few hours (about 7:00-10:00 pm, to cover peak traffic time) and counted nearly 400 more amphibians. The vast majority of them were spring peepers, cute little tree frogs only an inch or so long. Despite the storm – with flood warnings and 40 mph wind gusts – people were still on the roads, and 27 vehicles traveled through our corridor during the 3-hour rescue survey.

After the storm finally passed, we sun-loving people got a sweeeeeeet reprieve with 6 days of bright skies and basking-quality temperatures in the 60s & 70s F. I just didn’t even know what to do with myself, I was so excited (…shorts? flip flops? laying in the grass? happiness overload!!!). The point is, whatever snow had been left in far northern NJ, and whatever ground was still frozen in the hills, wasn’t anymore.

Volunteers Count Our slimy friends

So as the next rain storm rolled in on Monday, March 22nd, another round of amphibians were ready to move. Our “drive-around” survey volunteers in Sussex, Passaic, and northern Warren & Morris Counties all reported big amphibian migrations in their areas and collected data that will help us identify the spots that warrant protection – whether in the form of rescue surveys, road closures, or an attempt at installing amphibian culverts. At our Warren County rescue site, one hardy & heroic volunteer offered to check things out around dark, and ended up staying until 1:30 in the morning when he found that amphibians were again moving in mass (you’re awesome, George!!). He tallied around 600 more amphibians, including 154 spotted salamanders, 56 American toads, countless peepers, a handful of four-toed salamanders, and even a brown snake! All of the 67 wood frogs he saw were moving away from the wetlands – their breeding and egg-laying were complete.

A spotted salamander. © MacKenzie Hall

Amphibians will continue to be present on the wet roads all spring and summer. You can help keep them safe by limiting your driving on rainy nights and by keeping a watchful eye when you are on the road in those “froggy” conditions.

If you know of a spot where amphibians cross the road in large numbers, or if you’d like to volunteer for our project next year, please email MacKenzie Hall.

Stewards Needed for the Shorebird Project

Posted on by CWF

By Larissa Smith, CWF Assistant Biologist

If you enjoy spending time on the beach, bird watching, and interacting with people while helping to make a difference, then the shorebird steward project might be the right volunteer opportunity for you! The Delaware Bay in the spring time is a great place to be!

In 2003, New Jersey began restricting beach access on critical shorebird feeding beaches. With fewer horseshoe crab eggs available it is more important than ever to protect shorebirds as they search for food on Delaware Bay beaches. Shorebirds are very

sensitive to disturbance. If birds are disturbed while they are resting on the beach or feeding, they may not build-up the necessary fat reserves to make it to their Arctic breeding grounds.

Photo of shore birds along Delaware Bay beach.
Shorebirds at Fortescue Beach on the Delaware Bay, Cumberland County. (Monica Pepe)

The shorebird steward project was put in place to have a presence at these closed beaches during the three-week closure period in May through early June. In 2009 thirty-three stewards patrolled nine beaches along the Delaware Bay in Cape May and Cumberland Counties. Their main goal was to ensure that resting and foraging shorebirds were not disturbed. As beach goers are encountered, stewards engage them in conversation, and distribute brochures and other educational materials. Stewards direct people to designated viewing areas. People visiting the Delaware Bay leave with a better understanding of biodiversity, species interaction, and an understanding of what they can do to help.

In 2010, stewards will be needed the following dates: May 8th, 9th & May 15th through 31st.

Interested applicants must be available to work at least two full days, 7-8 hours a day. A shorebird steward training will be held on May 1st.

If you are interested in learning more about the program please contact Larissa Smith at (609) 628-0402 or Email.