By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
The rusty-patched bumble bee, a species believed to be extirpated within New Jersey.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ (CWF) has just launched several new web pages devoted to those species which have been lost from New Jersey (and the world in some cases). Ten species are profiled – five which are extinct and five which are extirpated from the state. Although their stories are sad, they are also warnings for what may happen to other species which are currently struggling to survive within the state, especially those already on the state’s endangered species list. CWF’s wildlife conservation projects attempt to avoid more species becoming extinct or extirpated in New Jersey.
CWF would like to thank Joseph Wotasek, a junior at Centenary College majoring in Graphic Design, who volunteered his time and skills in creating images of the ten profiled species for the new web pages.
NATURE WATCHING ISN’T JUST FUN, IT CAN BE USEFUL TOO
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
Like many birdwatchers, although I still enjoy seeing the neighborhood cardinal in my yard, it’s the sightings of rarely encountered species, especially those classified as endangered, threatened, or special concern, which really keep my eyes scanning around during a hike.
Observations of Special Concern species, such as this Eastern Box Turtle, may be reported to the NJ Endangered Species Program. Photo by Mike Davenport.
Many birdwatchers, or nature enthusiasts of other species groups such as reptiles or butterflies, share their encounters with rare species on websites or bulletin boards. In addition, several organizations, such as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or NJ Audubon, recruit “citizen scientists” who collect species observation data and submit that data electronically via websites such as eBird. That data is important for those organizations’ scientific research and assists scientists in analyzing population trends over years. However, more often than not, it never finds its way to New Jersey’s state biologists nor the state regulators whose task it is to protect rare species habitat in the state.
The New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) collects data for, not just rare birds, but all of the state’s endangered, threatened, and special concern species. A Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Form is available on ENSP’s website for download as well as instructions for completing the form. A complete list of all of the species tracked by the state can be downloaded here.
A map of the location of your observation, such as this one, should be sent with your Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Form.
Rare species data within the state’s database plays a critical role in wildlife and habitat conservation. It is the foundation of the NJ DEP’s Landscape Project, a GIS product that maps critical areas for imperiled species based upon species locations and land-use classifications. The resulting maps allow state, county, municipal, and private agencies to identify important wildlife habitats and protect them in a variety of ways. This information is used to regulate land-use within the state and assists in preserving endangered and threatened species habitat remaining in New Jersey.
Reporting your rare wildlife observation is easy. Simply complete the form, attach a map of where the animal was observed, as well as any photographs taken, and then mail or e-mail the form and map to ENSP at the address provided on the form. For more details about the state’s rare species mapping, please visit our webpage.
By now most ospreys are back from their wintering grounds in Central and northern South America. Generally the older more experienced birds return first and the younger inexperienced adults follow. Over the past month I’ve been very busy with platform repairs and installations throughout coastal New Jersey. You may not be aware but I maintain a huge number of nesting platforms. In just the past couple weeks I’ve worked as far south as Avalon (where I lead a group of students and their parents from Collingswood to replace an existing platform) and as far north as Bayonne (where I installed 3 platforms with local middle and high school students). Both were memorable experiences for both myself and many of the students. Most of them had never been on a boat or ever had the chance to walk on the saltmarsh.
Maintenance of existing platforms is critical to the continued recovery of ospreys. Over time (and in some cases, not much time) the condition of these nesting platforms is degraded, mainly by the environmental conditions where they’re placed. For the most part the fasteners are what go first from contact with high levels of moisture in the air, after that, the wood decays (unless a pressure treated or cedar wood is used). One way to help prevent the decay of platforms is to use marine grade stainless steel screws, galvanized bolts, and treated lumber. If we were to lose a large portion of the available nesting platforms in a given year then the population would suffer, so it’s important to make sure existing platforms remain in good condition.
Last week I got out to the “Wildlife Drive” at Forsythe NWR in Oceanville to repair a platform. The platform top had lost a side and could no longer hold nesting material. I built a new top out of salvaged wood that I collect and installed it on Thursday afternoon. The next day a male osprey began to place nesting material in the freshly repaired platform. Talk about perfect timing!
If you’re interested in helping us to maintain osprey nesting platforms, contact me about our new program to “Adopt a Platform.”
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
New Jersey’s list of endangered and threatened species increases to 84 this week with the addition of the Atlantic sturgeon. It is the second fish, along with the shortnose sturgeon, on that list.
After a lengthy review process, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) listed the Atlantic sturgeon as Endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Species which occur in New Jersey and are listed as Endangered on the federal level, automatically become listed as Endangered at the state level as well.
Sturgeon are often referred to as “living fossils” because they are among the oldest groups of bony fishes and have retained primitive characteristics. Like the shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon are slow-growing, long-lived fish which mature late in life. Both species have been overfished both for the eggs and their flesh and their populations have yet to recover. Despite the current ban on their capture, they continue to face threats due to unintentional catch (bycatch), pollution, dredging of critical habitat, and boat strikes.
While both species of sturgeon inhabit the Delaware and Hudson rivers, the Atlantic sturgeon also occurs in marine waters with Delaware and Raritan bays and along New Jersey’s Atlantic coast. To learn more about this species, please visit our on-line field guide page.
Now is the time to repair, maintain, replace existing platforms and install new nesting platforms for ospreys. Over the next four weeks we’ll be busy doing just this. We have plans to do work in many areas throughout the coastal zone of New Jersey from as far north as Bayonne then down on the Barnegat Bay, Mullica River and south to Avalon.
The cutoff date for nest repairs is April 1st, when the nesting season begins. Over the next few weeks more and more ospreys will be appearing with larger concentrations towards the end of the month. If you see a new nest this year, please let us know so we can include it in our annual surveys.
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
To coincide with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP’s) adoption this week of revised lists of endangered, threatened, and special concern species in the state, the DEP’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program released an updated version of the Landscape Project earlier this week.
The Landscape Project is a mapping tool, created using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which displays wildlife habitat throughout the state ranked according to the rarity of the species which occur in specific patches of habitat. The highest rank (5) is used to indicate habitat for those species which are federally endangered or threatened. Rank 4 is used for state endangered species, rank 3 for state threatened species, rank 2 for species of special concern, and rank 1 is for suitable habitat patches for which no rare species documentation currently exists.
The Landscape Project Version 3.1 report.
The updated version of the Landscape Project is known as Version 3.1 (V3.1) and it replaces both Version 3.0, which covered the Highlands region only, and Version 2.1, which was applied to the remainder of the state. Both previous versions were released in 2008.
Several changes have been in the methodology and source data used to create this latest version of the Landscape Project. First, V3.1 is based upon 2007 Landuse/Landcover data, as opposed to the 2002 data used in previous versions. Second, over 3,500 new rare species records were used in V3.1 and the newly adopted endangered, threatened, and special concern status changes are reflected. Also, species not included in previous versions, such as whales, sea turtles, and freshwater mussels, are included. More detailed information is also available in V3.1 such as the type of occurrence documented (nest, foraging habitat, etc.) and the last year that the occurrence was documented.
Since creation of the first version of the Landscape Project in the mid-1990’s, it has been a valuable tool for conservationists, land managers, state and local governments, as well as others. Municipalities often refer to it in creation of their Environmental Resource Inventories (ERIs) and land trusts often use it to target areas for open space acquisition.
Bald eagles are beautiful birds so it only makes sense that people want to get a closer look at them. But often people don’t realize that by innocently stopping to look at an eagle nest they are putting the eggs or young in jeopardy. As the New Jersey eagle population increases eagles are starting to nest in closer proximity to humans and human activity. Any activity that causes the eagles to change their normal behavior is “disturbance.” People walking too close to the nest to get a closer look or take photos will cause the birds to get off the eggs or leave the young unattended. This leaves the eggs or young exposed to the elements and predators. The safe distance for viewing is at least 1,000’ from the nest site. If the birds are looking at you then you are too close.
The best way to see what goes on at an eagle’s nest without the chance of disturbing the birds is to watch them online. The Duke Farms eagle nest site has had a camera streaming the picture since 2008. This provides an up close and personal view that you cannot see from the ground. The Duke Farms eagle cam should be streaming live in the next few weeks. To view the eagle cam go to www.conservewildlifenj.org
If you have any questions about eagles or their nests or would like to report a nesting pair, please contact Larissa Smith.
Interested in the environment? Want to learn from local and regional environmental experts? Then become a Rutgers Environmental Steward! There is still room (& time!) to register to become part of the Class of 2012 for the Rutgers Environmental Stewards Program!
The Rutgers Environmental Steward program provides training and experience which equips participants to contribute effectively to the process of finding solutions for environmental problems in the communities of New Jersey.
Graduates become knowledgeable about the basic processes of earth, air, water and biological systems. They increase awareness of the techniques and tools used to monitor and assess the health of the environment. They gain an understanding of the research and regulatory infrastructure of state and federal agencies operating in New Jersey that relate to environmental issues. They are given an introduction to group dynamics and community leadership.
They learn to recognize the elements of sound science and public policy based on that science. They acquire some sense of the limits of current understanding of the environment.
Training takes place regionally – in the northat the Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) of Warren County in South Belvidere; in the center at Duke Farms, Hillsborough; and in the south at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) in Egg Harbor Township.
Figure 1: A diagram of how the hydraulic fracturing process works to extract natural gas
Many residents of New Jersey may have heard about hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale and the potential ecological impacts to the Delaware River Basin. The following provides an overview of the process of hydraulic fracturing and impacts to our natural resources in New Jersey.
The Marcellus Shale is sedimentary rock buried thousands of feet under the ground. It extends from upstate New York south through Pennsylvania and to West Virginia and west to parts of Ohio. The natural gas in the shale is trapped in tiny spaces and fissures within the rock.
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking uses high-pressure pumps to inject a mix of water, sand, and chemicals into drilled wells that will fracture the shale rock to open cracks and release natural gas (Figure 1). A well can be repeatedly fracked and each gas field incorporates many wells. The process takes an enormous amount of water using an average of 4.5 million gallons of water to frack a well and a well can potentially be fracked up to 18 times. Many chemicals are used in this process, some of which are known to be toxic and known carcinogens (e.g. benzene, glycol ethers). Some chemicals are unknown because they are still considered proprietary by the industry. Many of the chemicals cannot biodegrade so if released into the air or water they are there to stay. Continue reading “Fracking in the Delaware River Basin”
