Wildlife Protection Archives - Page 7 of 59 - Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ

Senate Passes Bateman License Plate Bill to Protect Pollinators

Posted on September 7, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

by Ethan Gilardi

*Double pollination! Image by Krzysztof Niewolny from Pixabay.*

New Jersey’s State Senate passed legislation this past August authorizing the creation of “Protect Pollinator” license plates with the aim of helping to protect New Jersey’s native pollinators.

Created by Kip Bateman (R) and co-sponsored by Linda Greenstein (D), the bill will require the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to create “Protect Pollinator” license plates, featuring a design and slogan that expresses support for New Jersey’s native pollinator animals.

“New Jersey would not be the Garden State without the help it gets from its native pollinators,” said Bateman. “From the gardens we grow to the produce we purchase at a local farmer’s market, many of our fruits, vegetables, and flowers rely on pollinators like bees and butterflies. The license plates will ensure our ‘Jersey Fresh’ plants and crops grow strong for generations.”

Rescue of a Juvenile Bald Eagle

Posted on July 29, 2020April 4, 2022 by larissasmith

Blog written by Eagle Project volunteer, Frank Budney

On June 15th, 2020 a juvenile Bald Eagle was rescued in a most unlikely location; on a major highway, located in an industrial area of Union County. At first glance stories like this usually have an unfortunate ending, considering the location, but the timely arrival of a local Police Officer on patrol saved the day.

This is only part of the story. The eagle in question was one of two nestlings that hatched from a nearby nest back on March 24. Its sibling fledged sometime in late May or early June while this individual remained on nest, branching next to it but never attempting to fly. By June 14, the juvenile in question was still perched next to the nest with no indication that it was about to fly until the following morning when it was rescued.

Juvenile eagle at nest site June 14th, the day before rescue@ Frank Budney

Swam with Dinosaurs and Famed for Caviar, Atlantic Sturgeon at risk in New Jersey

Posted on July 27, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

***Latest Podcast* *explores climate change threats to this ‘living fossil’***

by Milena Bimpong

Delaware State University professor Dr. Dewayne Fox and PhD student Matthew Breece weigh an adult Atlantic sturgeon. (Activities authorized under NMFS Permit No. 16507-01). © Delaware State University

A ‘living fossil’ today swims the Delaware River, having survived eons from the days of the dinosaurs through the caviar craze a century ago that nearly wiped it out for its roe, or valuable eggs.

However, as explored in the latest episode of State of Change – Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s regular podcast exploring climate change impacts on New Jersey wildlife –the Atlantic sturgeon faces an abundance of modern threats.

From a historic population of 360,000 adults, “Based on our best estimates, there’s less than 300 in the river. There’s less than 1 tenth of 1% that was there historically,” says Dewayne Fox, a professor of fisheries at Delaware State University. “The loss of one or two adults is a significant loss of spawning potential in the Delaware River.”

Among the largest river fishes in North America, the Atlantic sturgeon can grow up to 14 feet and weigh up to 800 pounds. One sturgeon from New Jersey is believed to have been over 1,000 pounds. The Atlantic sturgeon’s features indicate that their existence can be traced back to millions of years.

Yet that lengthy run was in jeopardy after facing ensuing perils of caviar harvesting and pollution.

New Terrapin Garden Grows in Little Egg Harbor

Posted on July 20, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

By Pat Johnson

*Two year old terrapin. we found on the road shoulder.*

CWF Habitat Manager Ben Wurst is known first and foremost for his work with New Jersey’s resident Osprey population. The job of a habitat manager doesn’t stop with ospreys, however. Ben’s work creating gardens for Diamondback Terrapins to safely nest in was recently the spotlight of an article by Pat Johnson of The Sand Paper.

Check out the excerpt below and read more on TheSandPaper.net!

Like tiny air raid shelters, protective cages sheltering the terrapin nests along Great Bay Boulevard in Little Egg Harbor keep them safe from predators, among them crows and gulls from the air and foxes and raccoons on the ground. The Great Bay Boulevard Terrapin Habitat Project site, commonly called the terrapin garden by its founder, Ben Wurst, habitat project manager for the Conservation Foundation of New Jersey, already has at least 50 nests on its sandy beach next to the salt marsh.

National Geographic covers CWF horseshoe crab work in Delaware Bay

Posted on July 7, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

by Carrie Arnold – National Geographic

*An Atlantic horseshoe crab lies on the beach in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, not far from Delaware Bay. Photograph by Joel Sartore.*

National Geographic’s Carrie Arnold recently wrote about the role horseshoe crabs and their “special” blood are set to play in the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine. She spoke with CWF partner Larry Niles about the horseshoe crab’s importance to the health of the Delaware Bay and what this means for the bay’s future.

Check out the excerpt below and read the full article on National Geographic!

Each spring, guided by the full moon, hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs clamber onto beaches across the U.S. mid-Atlantic to lay their eggs. For hungry birds, it’s a cornucopia. For drug companies, it’s a crucial resource for making human medicines safe.

Second Chances: Osprey Nestlings Fostered

Posted on July 6, 2020April 4, 2022 by Ben Wurst

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Summer is here. As we reach the peak of the osprey nesting season in New Jersey, we conduct surveys to monitor their overall nest success and health of the state wide population. These surveys are conducted by specially trained volunteers who devote much time to ensure ospreys have a future in New Jersey. These surveys have been conducted every year since the early 1970s and are crucial to track any possible downturn in a colony, watershed or region of the state. Ospreys are a very important indicator of the health of the environment in which they live. This is especially important in coastal areas where they support a booming shore economy that is built around clean water and abundant marine/estuarine ecosystems.

Red knot decline confirmed by CWF research highlighted in NY Times

Posted on June 12, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s research with scientist Dr. Larry Niles was highlighted in today’s New York Times feature detailing the 80 percent decline in red knots in New Jersey’s Delaware Bay this spring.

by Jon Hurdle, The New York Times

A sudden drop in the number of red knots visiting the beaches of Delaware Bay during migration this spring has renewed concern among scientists about the survival of the threatened shore bird’s Atlantic Coast population.

According to biologists, the number of knots that stayed to feed at the bay in May declined by about 80 percent from the same time last year. The Delaware Bay is one of the world’s most important sites for shorebird migration.

Continue reading at nytimes.com.

Four Peregrine Falcon Chicks Banded in Union County

Posted on June 5, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

*Left: Adult falcon in flight. Right: Peregrine chick ready to be banded. Photos by Eric Sambol.*

Peregrine falcons have nested atop the Union County Court House in downtown Elizabeth for many years. Each year, before the young birds fledge, scientists gather up the chicks and band their legs.

The banding was a smaller than usual human affair this year to comply with social distancing and other health restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was a very active avian event with the adult falcons energetically dive bombing the biologists as they brought the eyases (young falcons) indoors for the banding.

Covid-19 and Wildlife, State of Change Podcast, episode 6

Posted on June 3, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

*CWF biologist Ben Wurst (above), and all our staff and volunteers are practicing social distancing and following all state and CDC guidelines while in the field to prevent the spread of COVID-19.*

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing global shutdowns, how has wildlife reacted to the absence of humans in New Jersey – and across the world? What impacts are we seeing so far, and what should we expect in the long-term?

NEW JERSEY’S WILDLIFE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 – PART 3

Posted on June 2, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

by David Wheeler, Executive Director

COVID-19 has changed our lives in virtually every possible way over the last few months. Our relationship to wildlife is no different. This three-part series explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown on wildlife in New Jersey and across the world. Read Part 1 and Part 2 and check out our podcast on COVID-19 and wildlife.

Part 3 The Threat of COVID-19

No discussion of COVID-19’s impact on wildlife would be complete with its fated beginning and its long-term threats posed by the global economic shutdown. As a zoonotic disease, COVID-19 likely was triggered by a virus in bats that got into a pangolin in a wet market that was then consumed by people, chance encounters made much more likely by a number of destructive human activities.

Clearing primal forests bring people into contact with remote wildlife for the first time, while also changing wildlife behaviors to increase the likelihood of their interaction with humans. Live animal markets offer ideal opportunities for viruses like COVID-19 to emerge. Illegal trafficking incentivizes further habitat clearing and poaching. Trading in exotic wildlife creates a host of problems both to the species themselves and to their ecosystems. (Though underexplored in the popular Tiger King series, the impacts of the exotic wildlife trade could make a fascinating series in its own right).

Latest Podcast explores climate change threats to this ‘living fossil’

Part 3 The Threat of COVID-19

***Latest Podcast* *explores climate change threats to this ‘living fossil’***