Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and American Littoral Society have started this season’s restoration work in Delaware Bay! Currently, we are working on projects on Fortescue Beach and Thompson’s Beach. Read more about our restoration work on RestoreNJBayshore.org.
Dr. Larry Niles of LJ Niles Associates LLC, a leader in efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years, has shared updates throughout the month of March on the blog of RestoreNJBayshore.org:
CWF Releases its First Annual Report Ever Using a Story Map Format: “2014 Annual Report“
By David Wheeler, Executive Director
Technology has proven to be vital to Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s work protecting rare wildlife species over the years. Our biologists depend greatly on modern technologies to band, track, and share online the journeys of wildlife. Our webcams broadcast the most intimate behaviors of nesting birds and bats across the web. And we seek out ever-evolving communications technologies to spread the word about the inspiring stories of wildlife, from social media and infographs to e-books and Story Maps. These technologies offer newfound abilities to share complex data on multiple levels, while still incorporating the awe-inspiring photography and videos that bring wildlife’s stories to life.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey is excited to offer our 2014 Annual Report in a unique format that utilizes one of those technologies – Story Maps. In the past year, we have explored the wonders of American oystercatchers with our first Story Map – and now the annual report allows all of our projects to be highlighted in this interactive format.
A screen capture of one of the pages of the CWF 2014 Annual Report Story Map.
Visit the multiple pages within this Story Map to learn about Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s many projects and partnerships in 2014, and the imperiled wildlife species in need of our help. Find examples of the innovative and dedicated leadership of our biologists and volunteers. And take an online journey across the state to learn how our projects made a difference in all corners of New Jersey in 2014 – a great year for wildlife in the Garden State!
The workshop will delve into the ecological connections between horseshoe crabs and shorebirds, human connections to horseshoe crabs, and the challenges encountered in managing this resource via presentations, field trips and hands-on activities.
Sedge Island Summer Experiences
Kayaking at Sedge Island (c) Stephanie Feigin
The Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center offers week long experiences in the heart of Barnegat Bay.
Three programs will be offered in 2015:
Sedge Island Fishing Experience: June 25 to 28, 2015 open to students entering grades 8 and 9 in the fall of 2015. Application deadline is March 31.
Sedge Island Field Experience: July 28 to 31, 2015 open to students entering grades 7, 8, and 9 in the fall of 2015. Application deadline is March 20.
Sedge Island Field and Research Experience: July 8 to 14, 2015 for students entering grades 10 and 11 in the fall of 2015. Application deadline is April 17.
An American kestrel. Photo courtesy of Jim Gilbert.
The Species on the Edge 2.0 Multimedia Contest combines high school students’ expertise with technology and their love for nature. Students show why New Jersey’s wildlife is important by creating a video, app, podcast, webpage, or other multimedia project.
But best of all, its FREE and offers all New Jersey high school students the opportunity to win scholarship money!
Special thanks to Species on the Edge 2.0 Multimedia Contest sponsor PSE&G.
All entries are due before April 30, 2015.
For more information and to learn how to enter the contest visit our website.
Questions?
Contact Stephanie Feigin at stephanie.feigin@conservewildlifenj.org.
Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Wildlife conservation organizations leading the efforts to restore New Jersey’s Delaware Bay beaches for at-risk shorebirds today applauded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to designate the Red Knot, a migratory shorebird, as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. A “threatened” designation means a species is at risk of becoming endangered throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
“This federal designation will make a big difference in strengthening the protections of this incredible shorebird,” said David Wheeler, Executive Director for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
“Here in New Jersey, we are restoring the vital beach habitat that had been decimated by Hurricane Sandy, and this designation ensures the safeguards we are providing can be complemented along the East Coast,” Wheeler added.
Since the 1980’s, the Knot’s population has fallen by about 75 percent in some key areas. Wildlife biologists believe the major threat to the Red Knot is the dramatic decline of horseshoe crab eggs, an essential food source at the most critical stop over during their 8,000 mile trip from southern wintering grounds to Arctic breeding territory. High-energy horseshoe crab eggs provide nourishment for Red Knots to refuel and continue their journey.
“This is an important and needed step in the conservation and recovery of the Red Knot. It is an essential step in preventing the extinction of this amazing long distance traveler,” stated Tim Dillingham, Executive Director forAmerican Littoral Society.
The largest concentration of Red Knots is found in May in the Delaware Bayshore of New Jersey and Delaware, where the shorebirds stop to gorge themselves on the eggs of spawning horseshoe crabs. In just a few days, the birds nearly double their weight to prepare for the final leg of their long journey.
“The major decline of horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay is one of the largest threats to the survival of the shorebird,” explained Dr. Larry Niles, a biologist who leads the beach restoration efforts for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and American Littoral Society, and has studied Red Knots for three decades. “Agency groups have been working hard for the last two years, and will continue for the next two years going forward to rebuild the habitat damaged by Hurricane Sandy that the horseshoe crabs rely on. This work is integral to the recovery of the Red Knot and the shorebird’s best hope for survival.”
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and the New Jersey Recovery Fund to remove 8,000 tons of debris and added 45,000 tons of sand to the beaches just before the annual spring arrival of the Red Knot in 2013.
Details Measures Taken to Help Protect Wildlifeand Improve Reliability
By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator
Photo Credit: Atlantic City Electric. Pictured left to right are Ben Wurst, wildlife biologist, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey; Ed Kaminski, senior supervising engineer, ACE; Cristina Frank, lead environmental scientist, ACE; and Mike Garrity, senior supervising scientist, ACE.
Atlantic City Electric (ACE), in collaboration with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, recently held an Avian Protection Educational Event to promote a better understanding of how Atlantic City Electric helps protect birds and other animals, while also helping improve electric service reliability for customers.
ACE environmental scientists Cristina Frank and Mike Garrity detailed the various types of migratory and breeding birds that may perch or nest on power lines, including ospreys, which frequently nest on utility poles. They discussed various types of devices placed on wires and other infrastructure designed to minimize the risk of birds and other wildlife from coming in contact with electric wires and equipment.
“Hundreds of thousands of birds migrate through Cape May County each year,” said Cristina Frank, lead environmental scientist, Atlantic City Electric and head of the company’s Avian Protection Program. “We conduct field studies to determine areas throughout Cape May County and our entire service territory to determine which areas are of the greatest risk to birds and other wildlife.”
ACE senior supervising engineer Ed Kaminski explained how avian protection is an integral part of the design phase before constructing any new infrastructure projects or upgrading existing infrastructure.
“We are in constant communication with our environmental team, and, when necessary, we’ll enhance our infrastructure to minimize the risk to birds while helping reduce the number of related power outages to create a more reliable electric system for customers,” Kaminski said.
Atlantic City Electric recently completed infrastructure enhancements in Cape May, Ocean City and Strathmere, N.J., that addressed risks to avian wildlife. As a result, the company has not seen any bird-related incidents since in these areas.
Also as part of the event, Ben Wurst, a wildlife biologist with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, discussed the foundation’s role in helping manage and protect ospreys through man-made nesting platforms that provide a safer nesting alternative than utility poles. ACE partners with Conserve Wildlife to identify and address risks to birds throughout its service territory.
Birds routinely use power line poles and towers as perches to establish territorial boundaries, nest, hunt, rest, find shade and feed. Utility poles often provide perching or nesting opportunities in areas where few natural perches or nest sites can be found. If the configuration and location of utility structures are in areas where birds are attracted by favorable habitat or are in a migratory path, the chance of electrocution and/or collisions increase.
Data nerds rejoice! Today, Wednesday, November 19 is GIS Day. Geographic information systems (GIS) technology helps our wildlife biologists protect rare species throughout New Jersey. GIS technology is used to create our species range maps and other important tools that show where wildlife occur and what habitat they need to exist.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation is a key player in updating the NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Program’s (ENSP) database of rare wildlife species. The database called “Biotics” is a GIS and Oracle-based system developed by NatureServe, the leading source of information on the precise locations and conditions of rare and threatened species and ecological communities in the Western Hemisphere.
Although CWF and ENSP biologists submit a majority of the data on Biotics, we rely on the help of citizen scientists to fully understand the wildlife picture in New Jersey. Do you want to help biologists monitor certain areas of the state and locate the presence of species of concern? Visit our website to learn how you can get involved.
In addition to the Biotics database, GIS was used to create range maps for all 190 species featured on our online field guide! Check it out.
Have you seen our American Oystercatcher Story Map? GIS was used to create that tool as well! A Story Map is a web-based interactive GIS map embedded with all kinds of content, like text, photographs, and video.
A live bottlenose dolphin on Tobay Beach in Nassau County, New York. (Photo Credit: APP/Riverhead Foundation for Research and Preservation)
Bottlenose Dolphins, their numbers impacted last year from a nasty virus that rivals the death rate of Ebola in West Africa, are still dying, researchers have found.
The outbreak of morbillivirus, a measles-like virus that causes pneumonia, skin lesions and brain infections, has killed roughly twice as many bottlenose dolphins as the last big outbreak in 1987-88. In New Jersey, 151 bottlenose dolphins died last year — nearly 10 times this year’s toll so far, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.
Morbillivirus is highly contagious. It’s spread through respiration (via blowholes) and direct contact. Experts think the virus may also be spread through skin contact.
Asbury Park Press Reporter Todd B. Bates explores the unusual mortality event:
Conserve Wildlife Foundation biologists, Todd Pover and Stephanie Egger educated guests about the Piping Plover “Bahamas Project” and showed the connection between The Bahamas and the U.S. for the endangered beach nesting bird species. One-night-only Plover Pale Ale was served and guests had the opportunity to attend brewery tours and play Plover Quizzo. The winners of Plover Quizzo received prize baskets full of Conserve Wildlife Foundation and Flying Fish Brewing Company merchandise.
“Events like ‘Beer, Birds and The Bahamas’ fulfill the purpose of creating a community space inside the Brewing Company,” said President of Flying Fish Brewing Company Gene Muller. “Our audience and Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s audience go hand in hand. People who appreciate wildlife and the environment also appreciate sustainably produced beer.”
“This innovative project is based on partnerships in both New Jersey and the Bahamas – bringing together distant communities who still share a strong commitment to education and a personal connection to their beaches,” said Conserve Wildlife Foundation Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager Todd Pover. “In the same vein, the event at Flying Fish Brewing was an exciting partner-driven way to promote the project.”
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey’s Piping Plover Bahamas Project supports the recovery and long-term survival of Piping Plovers by identifying critical Bahamas wintering habitat for Piping Plovers and other shorebirds of concern on the islands of Abaco and Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Conserve Wildlife Foundation collaborates with a local Bahamas environmental group, Friends of the Environment, to engage the public and increase local awareness of the critical role played by the Bahamas in the full life cycle of the Piping Plover.
The Atlantic Coast population of Piping Plover has been federally listed as threatened in the U.S. since 1986 and endangered in Canada since 1985. Although migration and wintering protection is one of the five main recovery tasks in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Piping Plover Recovery Plan (USFWS 1996), until recently protection has primarily been focused on the breeding grounds. Furthermore, population monitoring is well understood on the breeding grounds, but winter use is not as well documented.
Over the past five years the importance of the Bahamas as a major wintering site for Piping Plovers has become increasingly evident.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and other partners aim to identify critical wintering habitat, provide education and outreach to school children and the public, and build local capacity for future surveys and protection of Piping Plovers in the Bahamas. For more information, please visit our website.
Flying Fish Brewing will donate proceeds from the sale of Plover Pale Ale to the Bahamas Project by Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Megan Wren: Founding Director of Bayshore Center at Bivalve Recognized for her Conservation Efforts
By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator
As an iconic protector of the Delaware Bay for over 26 years, 2014 Women & Wildlife Leadership Award Winner Meghan Wren has devoted her life to restoring the region through hard work, dedication and leading by example.
Megan Wren Leadership Award Winner
At 23 years old, Meghan led a restoration effort for the 1928 oyster schooner A.J. Meerwald. Through a variety of volunteer and community-based fundraising activities, along with major grant support, A.J. Meerwald was brilliantly restored and is now New Jersey’s official Tall Ship, serving as a sailing classroom. Meghan founded Bayshore Center at Bivalve in 1988 to motivate people to take care of the history, culture and environment of the Bayshore region. More than 20 years later, Meghan has continued to transform Bivalve through a number of restoration and conservation projects, as well as, the opening of the Delaware Bay Museum & Folklife Center.
CWF asked Meghan a few questions about what working in wildlife conservation means to her:
What motivates you to get out of bed each morning and go to work?
“I go to work each morning to do what I can to raise the level of concern for and participation in the stewardship of New Jersey’s Bayshore.”
What is your favorite thing about your job?
“My favorite thing about my job is the diversity of opportunities. While focusing on Delaware Bay, I have had the opportunity to learn about a broad range of scientific issues, conduct historic research and collect first hand stories, meet and work with amazing people and experience the magical, seasonal phenomenon of the Bayshore’s flora and fauna.”
Name one thing you can’t live without.
“I can’t live happily without my daily fix of Bayshore vistas across wide expanses of marsh and water.”
Do you have a New Jersey wildlife species that you like best? Why?
“I’ve had a long personal history with Diamondback Terrapins, helping hatchlings find the water for as long as I can remember. I love the first warm days of spring, when I can find them emerging from my garden in search of the water. They are so different from one another in color, tone and markings. I love to see the heads of females pop out of the water unexpectedly as they scan the shoreline for a place to come up to lay their eggs.”
What interests you the most about New Jersey’s wildlife?
“I am particularly interested in learning more about the life cycle and stories of the Bayshore region species.”
Name one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to change the world.
“Perseverance.”
What wildlife “lives” in your office? At your home?
“My office, in Bivalve, on the Maurice River just two bends before Delaware Bay, has daily eagle visits. The historic roof over the wharves entices shorebirds, skimmers and seagulls depending on the season; mute swans, fiddler crabs and occasional otters cavort in the mud and water between the docks. There is a mini-oyster reef just off the dock with oysters, gobys and a plethora of unseen marine life. The 4,000 acres of wetlands contiguous to the property host countless species of birds, mammals and fish.
“My home in Money Island on the Nantuxent Creek also hosts abundant eagles, ospreys and marsh hawks overhead and speedy peregrines over the water. Purple martins, barn and tree swallows, great horned owls often call at night from the surrounding trees and orioles. Wrens and mourning doves nest in the yard. Along the road, I find muskrats, raccoons, opossums, skunk, mink, otters, weasels, rats, meadow voles, coyotes, and an occasional deer. All the usual suspects including raptors, warblers, shorebirds and songbirds in the skies, trees and marshes; and the ever present clapper rails, willets and great blue herons can be heard clacking and squawking from the wetlands.”
What do you find most challenging about your profession?
“I find it very difficult to juggle competing priorities, especially when all of them seem incredibly urgent.”
What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t working?
“I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family, walking along the Bay beaches, kayaking its tributaries and hiking through its woodlands.”
We are excited to recognize the leadership and inspiration they provide for those working to protect wildlife in New Jersey. Women & Wildlife will also celebrate the timeless and inspiring journeys of wildlife migration in New Jersey and beyond.
Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Rutgers Professor Dr. Brooke Maslo Honored for her Contribution to Wildlife Conservation
By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator
As a Rutgers University professor, 2014 Women & Wildlife Inspiration Award Winner Dr. Brooke Malso has impacted the lives of many students by demonstrating the value of wildlife conservation. Through her scientific research, she has also uncovered valuable findings that have positively impacted conservation efforts in New Jersey.
Brooke Maslo Education Award Winner
In her course “Wildlife Ecology and Conservation,” Brooke creates a first-hand experience in conservation for each of her students by assigning them to work with a wildlife professional to create and execute a management plan for a species of their choice. An avid scientist, Brooke’s current research on beach-nesting bird habitat focuses on the challenges of both protecting breeding habitats to conserve threatened wildlife and protecting coastal infrastructure for severe storm resiliency. Brooke also investigates the role of bats in the control of invasive agricultural insects, encourage New Jersey agriculturalists to provide suitable habitats for the species, and educate New Jersey residents about bats.
CWF asked Brooke a few questions about what working in wildlife rehabilitation means to her:
What is your favorite thing about your job?
“My favorite thing about being an academic researcher is that I am constantly learning. Conservation issues are complex and require solid understanding of the mechanisms that drive both the conservation threat, as well as the species’ response. In order to develop strategies to deal with new conservation issues, we must use what is known to explore how we can manage what is poorly understood. That requires a multidisciplinary approach, and it is often daunting to move out of one’s comfort zone to learn another branch of the field. However, arming yourself with the knowledge that can truly combat a conservation threat is incredibly rewarding.”
What do you find most challenging about your profession?
“Time management. Between teaching, advising students, conducting research, and engaging in public outreach, I often find myself staring at my to-do list, unsure of where to begin. When I am home, my mind is usually still on work, and I have to make a conscious effort to focus on relaxing and enjoying recreational time with my family. I succeed in that for the most part, but it is certainly a challenge.”
Do you have a New Jersey wildlife species that you like best? Why?
“That’s a tough question. I conducted my PhD work on piping plovers, which are probably about the cutest birds in the world. They will always hold a special place in my heart! But I am also quite happy working with little brown bats (and find them pretty cute, too!). I think my passion for little browns is driven by just how intelligent, adaptive, and social these animals are! The more I learn about them, the more intrigued I become.”
What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t working?
“When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my family outdoors… boating, swimming, going to sports games, etc. Doing any activity is great if you make it that way!”
Name one thing you can’t live without.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot live without my NY Giants football Sundays. Obsessed might be an understatement.”
We are excited to recognize the leadership and inspiration they provide for those working to protect wildlife in New Jersey. Women & Wildlife will also celebrate the timeless and inspiring journeys of wildlife migration in New Jersey and beyond.
Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
