Right Whales

Photo via National Geographic - http://nationalgeographic.com

The Right whale is one of the ocean's most endangered species with only a few hundred left in the North Atlantic, and a few thousand of its counterparts in the entire Southern Hemisphere.

The Right whale was historically a favorite of whalers (hence it was the "right" whale to hunt) because of its slow swimming speed. This species also floats after it is killed, making it easier to harvest.

Right whales are baleen whales that range from 35-55 feet long and weigh up to 117 tons.

The leading cause of death among the North Atlantic Right Whale, which migrates through some of the world's busiest shipping lanes whilst journeying off the east coast of the United States and Canada, is injury sustained from being struck by ships.

The United States government introduced measures to curb the decline of this species. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan was introduced in 1997. A key part of the plan was the introduction of mandatory reporting of large whale sightings by ships using U.S. ports. This requirement was implemented in July 1999.

Funding for White Nose Syndrome Research

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) has announced that funding to protect bat populations in New Jersey and throughout the region has been increased from $500,000 to $1.9 million for FY 2010. The senator successfully fought to increase the funding for research into a mysterious and deadly illness called White Nose Syndrome (WNS) that is destroying bat populations in New Jersey and the Northeast Region. The legislation will now head to the White House where it is expected to be signed into law.

WNS is named for white fungal growth around the noses and on the bodies of affected animals. It first appeared in caves near Albany, New York in February 2006 and was confirmed in New Jersey in 2009. Over the last two winters, more than one million hibernating bats have died.

Map illustrating the ranges of endangered species of hibernating bats in the U.S.
and the spreading distribution of White-nose syndrome. www.fort.usgs.gov

On July 8 Lautenberg, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, highlighted the threat of WNS on bat populations during a Senate hearing that he called for to examine threats to native wildlife species.

Bats play a critical role in North American ecosystems. They prey almost exclusively on insects such as mosquitoes, which spread disease, and moths and beetles, which damage crops. A single bat can easily eat more than 3,000 insects a night and an entire colony will consume hundreds of millions. Bats reduce the need for pesticides, which cost farmers billions of dollars every year and can be harmful to human health.

• News release on Senator Lautenberg's website at http://lautenberg.senate.gov

Lawsuit Claims Wind Energy Project Would Kill Endangered Bats

Indiana bat roosting under shedding bark
Photo: Bat Conservation International via www.srs.fs.usda.gov

Organizations opposed to a wind energy project in West Virginia are using the Endangered Species Act to try to block the wind farms.

The claim is that endangered Indiana bats, and other bat species, are threatened by the wind-turbine towers. Bats can be killed by wind turbines when they are struck by spinning blades or get caught in the turbines' downdraft, which causes their lungs to rupture.

Plaintiff's witness Michael Gannon, a bat biologist and professor at Pennsylvania State University, said he is "very much in favor" of wind energy, but remains concerned that this project could have a devastating effect on the Indiana bat.

He also testified that when swaths of forest were clear cut to make way for turbines this past summer, important bat habitat may have been removed. (Indiana bats roost under the bark of dead trees.)

The companies involved in building the wind farm countered by saying there is no proof of the bat's presence in the area based on two mist net surveys in the area which found none of the endangered Indiana bats.

Testifying for the plaintiffs, Gannon argued these mist net surveys were poorly done, and that his own acoustic detection surveys in the area (recording bat sounds and identifying them through a computer program) did identify three Indiana bats.

Similar stories are published about the effects that these wind towers and even their warning lights might be having on the migration of birds.

It is another example of the line between what benefits people living in an area and what benefits the wildlife there, and the difficulty in finding the proper balance.

Bat Conservation International, for example, supports the development of alternative energy sources but also recognizes concerns on what the cumulative impacts of wind energy development might be on wildlife. This is especially if expansion occurs without careful planning to minimize harm to birds and bats.

Here's what they say on their site:

We believe that minimizing harmful impacts to wildlife is an essential element of “green energy” and that developers of wind energy must substantially increase efforts to improve siting and develop and test methods to reduce harm to wildlife. Additionally, state and federal agencies must increase support for responsible development of wind energy in a manner compatible with protecting wildlife resources. Cooperation, including access to study sites, funding, and transparency of information obtained, are fundamental elements needed to successfully resolve wind and wildlife conflicts. Response from industry has been mixed and while we applaud those companies and organizations working proactively with resource agency specialists and scientists to solve problems, more has to be done immediately to expand and improve the breadth of our cooperation in developing a sound, scientific basis for decision-making. This is especially true in Texas, which leads the nation in installed wind energy capacity, but woefully trails most states in regard to proactively addressing wildlife impacts.

• Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative
• Western Bat Working Group
• more about the case above at Southern Maryland Online
• Infrared videos of bats and turbines
• Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
• NWCC Wildlife Working Group
• Existing State Siting Guidelines
• USFWS Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee

Essex County Environmental Center

The Essex County Environmental Center is a facility of the Essex County Park System. It is located in West Essex Park which stretches along six miles of the Passaic River starting at Bloomfield Avenue in Fairfield and ending just beyond South Orange Avenue in Livingston.

The immediate grounds of the Essex County Environmental Center include approximately one mile of trails in a wooded wetland habitat with access to the Upper Passaic River.

Also on site are the newly renovated Garibaldi Hall, fishing and boating areas, a greenhouse and gardens, a raised boardwalk, and picnic areas.

The former Park Commission first began acquiring land for West Essex Park in 1955. Money to purchase the first piece of property came in part from the sale of Oraton Parkway to the New Jersey Highway Authority.

Over subsequent years, other land was purchased from more than 70 individual landowners.

The Center for Environmental Studies was established in 1972 and functioned for over 23 years as a place to educate students about the environment. It was officially closed in 1995 due to lack of funding but organizations such as Rutgers Cooperative Extension, the 4-H, and Master Gardeners continued providing services and programs at the site on a limited basis to meet the needs of the community.

Essex County Environmental Center was dedicated and opened in May 2005. This state-of-the-art facility was constructed as an environmentally sensitive building using natural and recycled materials, innovative energy saving technologies, and topped by a "green roof" for the purpose of storm-water management. It also houses a large public meeting room, interactive exhibits, a wet lab, and a library.

New Jersey Audubon and the County of Essex have entered into an educational programming partnership at the Essex County Environmental Center. NJAS provides Outreach Programs for all ages and groups, Birding Field Trips in Essex County,Saturday Family Programs and Summer Nature Day Camp.

Center hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. / Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. / Closed Sundays
Trails: Open dawn to dusk seven days a week.
Check website for holiday closings.

• Essex County Environmental Center Fall 2009 Special Events
• Essex County Nature Photographers http://ecnaturephotographers.org/
• Essex County Master Gardeners http://www.mgessex.orgNew Jersey Audubon Society Winter Programs
• Interpretive TrailBirthday Party Brochure
• Field Trip Brochure

Environmental Center
621 B Eagle Rock Avenue
Roseland, NJ 07068
Phone: 973.228.8776

Teaneck Creek Conservancy

In 2001 an eclectic group of environmentalists, artists, and educators joined forces with the Puffin Foundation to rescue a small parcel of land in the southernmost portion of Teaneck, NJ.

The area had once been a staging ground for the construction of the intersection of Routes 80 and 95. For nearly a half century, it had been a dump site for trash such as old refrigerators and tires and mountains of broken concrete and asphalt.

Working with community leaders and the Bergen County Parks Department, the founding team crafted a restoration plan, and in 2006, after hundreds of hours of community meetings and thousands of hours of sweat equity, the Teaneck Creek Park emerged with over 1.3 miles of groomed trails, an Outdoor Classroom, and ecological art exhibits.

The Hackensack River Valley, which includes tributaries to the river such as the Teaneck Creek, is located at a critical position in the northern portion of the Atlantic Flyway.

The Flyway is the pathway that has been followed for millennia by many species of birds and insects as they travel between the northern and southern hemispheres.

The movement of many threatened and endangered species (both Federally and State listed) along this Flyway has been well documented by groups such as NJ Audubon.

These species rely on the habitats they find in NJ for food, water, shelter, and rest. Their migratory journeys often cover thousands of miles.

While coastal areas such as Cape May and Delaware Bay are protected because of their importance to shore birds, less protection is offered for migrants that require forested habitat.

• TCC Blog
• TCC map and directions
  
• Slideshow of birds at Teaneck Creek (via Picasaweb.google.com/jonnemccarron)
  

Greenwood Forest and Pasadena Wildlife Management Area

In our continuing series on Wildlife Management Areas and Wildlife Viewing Areas in NJ, today we look at The Greenwood Forest/Pasadena Wildlife Management Area.

This WMA is in Burlington and Ocean Counties in Lacey, Barnegat, Manchester, Berkeley & Woodland Townships. At 95,923 acres it is the largest tract of land preserved by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife's Bureau of Land Management.

Together with Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, this area constitutes most of the Western Pinelands, the smallest of four conservation zones identified in the Pinelands by NJ Wildlife Action Plan.

This habitat is made up of mixed pine and riparian forests with patches of fields and shrub-scrub. Most of the area is upland pine-oak and scrub-shrub forests with the remaining area being upland habitats including fields.

The lowlands contain pitch-pine forest and Atlantic white cedar bogs.

The headwaters of Cedar Creek are also found here and it connects Greenwood Forest / Pasadena WMA to Lebanon State Forest.

This forest habitat supports breeding species including an estimated 100 Eastern Towhees, 100 Pine Warblers and 60 Prairie Warblers. Barred Owls, favoring swamps and deep forests, particularly those bordering lakes, streams or marshes, are permanent residents in this IBA. Sporadic populations of Red-headed Woodpeckers also inhabit the site’s low-density forest stands.

Some species found here include: the state-threatened Barred Owl, Blue-winged Warbler, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Field Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Whip-poor-will, Baltimore Oriole, Black-and-white Warbler, Black-billed Cuckoo, Blue Jay, Common Grackle, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Gray Catbird, Tufted Titmouse, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. See http://www.njaudubon.org for more information.

Northern Pine Snake - NJDEP photo

Currently, the Endangered and Nongame Species Program is working with the Division's Bureau of Land Management to enhance pine snake habitat in a portion of Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area.

The primary threats to this site include over-abundant deer and loss of natural ecological forces such as fire and disturbance.

Approximately 1000 acres of the Greenwood Forest/Pasadena WMA are managed as quail habitat and offers hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities.

There are also several hiking and wildlife-watching opportunities throughout the site.

More information: (PDF documents)

• Information on Greenwood Forest/Pasadena North, Central, South
• WMA map
  

The Amazing Journey of Red Knots to New Jersey

Red knots and Ruddy Turnstones at NJ's
Edwin Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS photo)

Back in the early 1800s, the naturalist Alexander Wilson visited Cape May, N.J. There, he saw a bird he called the red-breasted sandpiper. He also saw horseshoe crabs. (He called them "king crabs.")

It took until the 1980s for scientists to really understand the global significance of the Delaware Bay as the springtime staging area for those birds, who we now call red knots. Those birds, and other migratory shorebirds, rely on being able to feed on horseshoe crab eggs.

Pete Dunne and others from the New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory, flew over the shores of Delaware Bay in May and early June and saw this staging area in action. They recorded red knots, sanderlings, semi-palmated sandpipers and ruddy turnstones.

Some of those red knots headed for the Arctic started their journey of migration 5,000 miles away in South America. Their journey is of international concerns. Computer models show that the Delaware Bay subspecies of red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) could within a year or two because the population is so depleted.

Amazingly, scientists are able to distinguish three populations of red knots that migrate through the Delaware Bay region. One group spends the winter on Georgia's Altamaha Delta and Florida's Gulf Coast. A second group spends the winter in Maranhao in northern Brazil, and the third, and largest group of about 18,000 red knots, spends the winter in Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America.

Crowded areas include a large horseshoe crab eggs area at Mispillion Harbor on the Delaware side of the bay and a nighttime resting area in Stone Harbor, N.J. Red knots had rested on the marshes west of Cedar Creek, but in 2004 and 2005, those marshes flooded and the birds could not roost there.

Most scientists believe that overharvesting of the crabs in the 1990s has led to the severe drop in eggs and therefore the decline in red knot populations.

How large is the decline? Those 1981-82 flyover estimates were at 150,000 red knots. Recent counts totaled about 15,000.

In their time on the Delaware bay, the birds have about two to three weeks to put on enough weight to complete their journey. The numbers are staggering. Scientists estimate that each red knot needs 13,000 horseshoe crab eggs a day to maintain their weight and 24,000 eggs to fatten to the optimum.

In 1999, the red knot was listed as a threatened species in New Jersey under the "New Jersey Endangered Species Conservation Act." As a result of the Red Knot Status Assessment in Fall 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the red knot as a candidate for federal listing. In April 2007, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada recommended listing the red knot as endangered.

While the red knot is most imperiled and most studied shorebird on the Delaware Bay, there are five other species that rely on crab eggs and whose populations have declined on Delaware Bay by about 65 percent: Ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres), sanderling (Calidris alba), semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla), dunlin (Calidris alpina) and the short-billed dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus).

Tagging red knots - via fw.delaware.gov

• http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/redknot.htm
• http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/delbayshrbirds.pdf
  

Colony Collapse: Are Potent Pesticides Killing Honeybees?

Follow up to earlier post on CCD

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) has wreaked havoc on U.S. beekeeping businesses (and the agriculture industry) since its devastating arrival in 2006. The veiled killer entered hives across Japan for the first time earlier this year, affecting 25 percent of the national beekeeping association members. Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is being sued by the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for withholding details about the impact of neonicotinoids — a class of widely used pesticides — on honeybees and other pollinators.

read full article at MotherEarthNews.com

Sustainable Seafood

I was researching the book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss for a post on another blog recently and came across the Smithsonian Institution's Sustainable Seafood website.

The site complements their own book, One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook. It's an interesting site about the seafood you might be enjoying at dinner tonight or catching this weekend in our Jersey waters.

We generally think of seafood as a healthy choice, but not all finfish and shellfish that are available in today's U.S. markets and restaurants are good choices from an environmental perspective.

Population sizes of seafood species vary over time - both naturally and depending on how heavily they are fished. Some are clearly in good shape due in part to good fisheries management, and those are excellent seafood choices. Others have experienced dramatic declines due to over harvesting or environmental fluctuations, and choosing those seafood species further contributes to the problems. Many seafood species fall somewhere in between - not bad choices, but there are concerns that you may want to be aware of.

The site separates seafood species into "suggested" and "problematic" choices based on current scientific data. Are our New Jersey flounder suggested or problematic? And what's going on with our Mid-Atlantic fisheries?

You can find landings charts on the Smithsonian site that show the number of pounds of a seafood species that have been caught over time. You will also find links to scientific reports that document how some fishing practices and even seafood farming can be detrimental.

They also summarize the current issues surrounding seafood choices under the "Issues" link.

Users of all ages may want to visit the virtual Seafood Market and try your hand at making sustainable seafood choices.



Other Related Reading
Ocean Friendly Cuisine: Sustainable Seafood Recipes From The World's Finest Chefs

Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood

The Fyke Nature Association

The Fyke Nature Association was founded in 1952 by a group of people strongly dedicated to saving undeveloped tracts of land in Bergen County, New Jersey as nature preserves.

Fyke has not only wishes to be a force for preservation, but a place where people can educate themselves and share their love of the natural world.

Currently the Association, along with the Borough of Allendale, co-manages the Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale, NJ. The Celery Farm is a 107-acre freshwater wetland maintained in its natural state. As a result, fifty-three bird species breed here, and over 240 species have been recorded.

Volunteers from Fyke are responsible for creating and maintaining the footpaths around the preserve, the three observation platforms and the nesting boxes. The wetlands and deciduous woods provide habitat for many mammals, fish, reptiles and insects.

Chickadee - Celery Farm photos

Climate Change for Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day. It's an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.

This year the topic of discussion is Climate Change, an issue that threatens us all. Small online journals, big online magazines and all the Endangered New Jersey-sized blogs out there in the middle are joining in.

Tamara Giltsoff wrote at PSFK in “Mitigating Climate Change is Hot on the Business Agenda. What About Adapting to it?” and asked "Why is there less focus on adapting to climate change versus mitigating it?" Wise businesses will plan for new futures and generate value from change. Where there is risk, there is also opportunity.

Schools should look at these issues because it affects their students’ lives. How should that new campus building be built? How are you using technology and energy?



Taking action beyond blogging is more important than posting on a blog today. There are 130 countries represented by Blog Action Day bloggers, but more than any other country, action taken by the United States to limit greenhouse gases and build a clean energy economy is needed to achieve a sustainable solution to our global climate crisis. Add your voice and call for bold action now.

In December, world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a global response to climate change. As a world leader in greenhouse gas pollution as well as clean energy technology, the United States needs to take bold and urgent action by implementing comprehensive clean energy policies to curb emissions. Sign the petition at hopenhagen.org.

President Barack Obama has said that climate change is an urgent threat, and now is the time for him to lead the United States in confronting climate crisis. This is a chance for people around the world and in the United States to join together in telling President Obama that we want him to lead the United States in taking bold and significant action to reduce greenhouse gasses.

Click here to add your name and call on the U.S. to take action now.

Take a look at The Top 100 Effects of Climate Change. You can “Say Goodbye to Pinot Noir” and expect “More Bear Attacks” and “Malaria Spreading in South America” and probably “More Stray Kitties.” It's a site that might help you and your children think out of the climate box. Big consequences and smaller consequences.

How about Kids vs. Global Warming? It's an organization started by a 12 year student two years ago. Check out their projects.



Blog Action Day has partnered with Al Gore's group the Alliance for Climate Protection to start a global online action addressed to the one country whose actions will most influence the future of our climate: the United States. Learn about climate change in this Google Earth introductory tour narrated by Al Gore, the first in a series of Google Earth tours leading up to the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December. For more climate change tours, visit http://www.google.com/cop15

What Are The Walruses Telling Us?

Image: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Have you ever heard the expression "a canary in a coal mine"? Early coal mines did not have ventilation systems, so miners would bring a caged canary into new coal seams. Canaries are especially sensitive to methane and carbon monoxide, which made them ideal for detecting any dangerous gas build-ups. As long as the canary in a coal mine kept singing, the miners knew their air supply was safe.

Many species that are threatened or endangered act in the same way for us - signaling dangers in our environment before we can actually sense them ourselves.

This year, researchers flying along the Alaska coast discovered 100 to 200 walrus carcasses along the shoreline of Icy Cape, southwest of Barrow, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Thousands of walrus forming unusual congregations on Alaska’s North Slope seems to indicate that the relatively low autumn ice coverage within arctic water is another indicator of climate change.

While debate on climate change continues, during September, Arctic sea ice had receded to the third lowest extent on record.

Those walruses who have gathered along the northwest coast of Alaska saw the sea ice retreat beyond the continental shelf. When that occurs, it is over water too deep for the walruses to feed in and they are forced to feed from land rather than from the sea ice.

In September, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced a review of the walrus’ status, to determine whether it should be added to the list of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. According to the FWS, the decision was based “in part, upon projected changes in sea ice habitats associated with climate change.”


MORE INFORMATION

Riddle of 200 dead walruses discovered on the Alaskan shore

What happens when sea ice melts

NJ Landscape Project Training and Information Session

Come learn about the NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's geographic information system (GIS) approach to mapping endangered and threatened wildlife habitat throughout New Jersey.

The Landscape Project is used in many state planning efforts and is referenced in a number of state regulations. It is also widely used in local environmental resource inventories throughout the state.

Upcoming Landscape Project training and information sessions will be hosted by:

Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ - Thursday, October 22, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Sussex County Community College - Newton, NJ - Friday, November 20, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Participants will learn how the Landscape Project was developed and have an opportunity to use GIS "hands-on" to access habitat maps for threatened and endangered wildlife species. Seating is limited so please register as soon as possible.

For information regarding the training, scheduling and registration please consult
http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/ensp/landscape_train.htm or e-mail patrick.woerner@dep.state.nj.us .

Video from NJ Public Television on YouTube about how digital tools
are giving the public access to detailed geographic information about New Jersey's land use.

Newly released, Version 2.1 and Version 3.0 of New Jersey's Landscape Project that identifies habitats throughout the state can be obtained:
Newly released, Version 2.1 and Version 3.0 of New Jersey's Landscape Project that identifies habitats throughout the state can be obtained:

- Online via download: http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis/
- Online via DEP's Interactive mapping application: http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis/
- On Compact Disc by request to the Division of Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Nongame Species Program by calling 609-292-9400; faxing 609-984-1414; or writing to P.O. Box 400, Trenton, NJ 08625-0400.

Palisades Interstate Park

Palisades Interstate Park and its creator, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M. Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the destruction of the Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century.

The Palisades are the cliffs on the west bank of the Hudson River across from and continuing north of Manhattan island.

The Palisades Interstate Park, New Jersey Section Headquarters is in Alpine, New Jersey.

The park system has been expanded over the years and now includes 24 parks and eight historic sites, covering over 100,000 acres along more than 20 miles of Hudson River shoreline and beyond. The Commission also oversees Minnewaska State Park Preserve and operates the Palisades Interstate Parkway.

The Palisades Interstate Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The area included in the landmarking is the Palisades Park in New Jersey, and the Palisades Park and Tallman Mountain State Park in New York State.

The NJ Section offers special programs for the public and an online calendar.

The park is a popular hiking area and offers easy hikes that can be completed in two hours or less by hikers with relatively little hiking experience, including school-age children accompanied by adults. who are among the group. (An "easy +" rating means that the hike is over 3 miles long or includes some moderate slopes.) There are also "moderate" and more difficults hikes better suited to those who have some real hiking experience. For example, "The Giant Stairs" is rated as "most difficult" because it includes a challenging rock scramble coupled with steep slopes. These hikes may take over three hours to complete, and younger children may not be able to complete them. Older children and adults should be in good shape and confident of their hiking abilities.

All hikers should read and understand their hiking tips before setting out on hikes.

Some "easy" hikes:

• Shore Trail at Bloomer's
• Ross Dock to Englewood Boat Basin
• Cape Fly Away Loop (easy +)
• The Women's Federation Monument (easy +)/li>

Directions to the park and attractions includes information for those using public transportation.

Fort Lee Historic Park

• Palisades Interstate Park Commission
• New Jersey Palisades
• Waterwire.net summary of the Palisades Interstate Park
• NY-NJTC: Palisades Interstate Park Trail Details and Info

Gray Wolf May Return to Endangered Species List

Wikimedia Commons image

Some species who are endangered may seem far away for those of us living in NJ. I reported earlier on grizzly bears in Yellowstone being returned to the endangered list, and now we can also consider that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that Endangered Species Act protections are being reinstated for the gray wolf in the western Great Lakes region.

There are reportedly around 4,000 wolves in the western Great Lakes region.

Due to a settlement agreement reached in a lawsuit challenging the Service’s removal of ESA protections for the western Great Lakes gray wolf, the species will remain on the endangered species list during the public comment period. The reinstatement may not be permanent and the court could decide to de-list the wolves once again.

According to a USFWS spokesperson, the court determined that an appropriate public comment period had not been provided prior to removing the wolves’ protections.

The reinstatement takes wolf management authority away from state wildlife regulators in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin for now, and allows Federal authorities to determine whether or not to de-list the wolves again after considering additional information.

The New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program

The New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program is a community-oriented AmeriCorps environmental program coordinated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and is designed to raise awareness about watersheds in New Jersey.

Through this program, AmeriCorps members are placed in watershed management areas across the state to serve the educational water-related interests of their local communities. The program invited all ages of citizens to improve the quality of New Jersey's waterways and water quality.

Watershed Ambassadors monitor the rivers of New Jersey through volunteer monitoring programs and train community volunteers to use monitoring techniques in order to assess the health of waterways within their communities.

Ambassadors also make presentations to schools and community organizations for free. These interactive presentations explore water quality and watershed related topics in New Jersey, provide information about water and watershed issues, and hopefully empower residents to get involved in their own watershed.

The Nature Program Cooperative

A number of places and organizations in northeastern New Jersey that provide quality nature programs have banded together to create the Nature Program Cooperative (NPC).

By pooling knowledge and resources, they hope to offer the people of NJ greater opportunities to explore and enjoy our natural world.

The partners of the Co-op host outdoor activities or indoor educational programs at a nature center or other appropriate location to which all group members are invited.

When activities have a cost, member discounts apply to all Co-op partner members and supporters. Non-members are also welcome to attend these events, but must pay the non-member rate. All NPC events are advertised in each partner group’s newsletter.

For a list of upcoming NPC programs, see their site at www.natureprogram.org

Bergen SWAN

Bergen SWAN's (Save the Watershed Action Network) primary focus has been, since its founding in 1988, on the preservation of the natural lands surrounding the drinking water supply reservoirs in Bergen (NJ) and Rockland (NY) counties.

They have been a major force in saving over 8oo acres from residential and commercial development, and work with numerous national and regional land trusts to negotiate land preservation deals.

In 1997, they established the Hackensack River Watershed Fund to facilitate the financing of local watershed lands threatened with development.

Bergen SWAN has been working for the preservation of the watershed buffer forests around drinking water reservoirs. These narrow, protective, forest buffers around reservoirs represent some of the only unbroken stretches of woods in an intensely populated, increasingly urban northern New Jersey area.

The watershed buffers are a critical link to sound watershed management for the Upper Hackensack, helping to maintain safe drinking water quality for nearly one million Bergen and Hudson County residents in New Jersey and in Rockland County, NY.

Watershed buffers not only filter and slow runoff while absorbing pollutants, but help control erosion, mitigate flooding and provide habitat for wildlife.

Additionally, these areas can provide areas for hiking and passive recreation

Part of the preservation process is educating residents of the area about good "streamkeeping" by those residents living alongside waterways. The installation of stormwater controls (such as rain gardens), eliminating the use of high phosphorus fertilizers, and promoting non-toxic, environmentally sound practices in public places and golf courses.

See also: HackensackRiverkeeper.org

18th Annual Watchable Wildlife Conference To Be Held in NJ

Via NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife

You are cordially invited to attend the 18th Annual Watchable Wildlife Conference at the Golden Inn in Avalon, New Jersey, October 6-8, 2009. The conference is sponsored by Watchable Wildlife, Inc., New Jersey DEP's Division of Fish & Wildlife, New Jersey Division of Travel & Tourism, New Jersey Audubon Society, Conserve Wildlife Foundation, and the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions.

The Watchable Wildlife Conference is the premier meeting of wildlife and tourism professionals in North America. Holding the conference in New Jersey this year provides a great opportunity to participate in detailed sessions , which demonstrate how local communities and businesses can capitalize on the wildlife tourism trend. This conference is a rare chance to meet and talk with national and New Jersey's leading wildlife managers, business owners, authors and tourism marketing professionals in the field of wildlife/nature tourism.

This year's focus will be Nature Tourism as an Economic Stimulus: Keeping it Local.

Speakers at this year's conference include Peter Dunne, Author and Director of the Cape May Bird Observatory, Michael G. Ensch, Chief of Operations & Regulatory for the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Steve Atzert, US Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Manager, Edwin B. Forsythe NWR.

Recent reports show people are traveling to their National Parks, State Parks and local natural areas more than ever. Now is the time to learn how to benefit from your community's natural capital.

The Golden Inn Hotel & Conference Center will be the host site. Reduced conference rates including government per diems have been arranged. For more information visit the Golden Inn site at http://www.goldeninn.com. Conference registration is $350 and includes most meals. A special one-day rate of $125 for professionals and $90 for students is available.

Visit the conference website at http://www.watchablewildlife.org/conference/ for more information and to register.

Grizzly Bear Returns to Endangered List in Yellowstone

Grizzly sow and cubs Photo: GreaterYellowstone.org

Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled in Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s favor and restored Endangered Species Act protections for the grizzly bear, an iconic symbol of the wild.

The judge ruled that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service did not address the many habitat challenges facing Greater Yellowstone grizzly bears when it delisted them in 2007. The agency also failed to take into consideration the continued decline of the whitebark pine, a critical grizzly food source threatened by pine beetles, blister rust and climate change.

Now, the Fish & Wildlife Service must revise its plan to address habitat protection and other long-term threats to the grizzly’s vitality in Greater Yellowstone.


The Greater Yellowstone Coalition was founded in 1983 on a simple premise: An ecosystem will remain healthy and wild only if it is kept whole. They are a nationally known advocate for the idea that ecosystem level sustainability and science should guide the management of the region’s public and private lands.

Lorrimer Sanctuary

Lorrimer Sanctuary was bequeathed to the New Jersey Audubon Society by Ms. Lucine L. Lorrimer in 1956. It is one of 10 staffed centers in NJ.

The main house, parts of which date back to the late 1700's, is the present visitors' center and Sanctuary office. It has an exhibit and lecture room, winter bird feeding station, interpretive displays, hands-on exhibits, and a gift shop, the proceeds of which benefit the Sanctuary.

There is a self-guiding trail system that winds through the 14 acres of land.

Much of the acreage is second-growth woods (mostly oak, maple, ash, and beech); and small stands of planted evergreens. The trails are open during Sanctuary hours.


Grey tree frog
Originally uploaded by Jersey Bug
From the NJ Audubon Flickr group

For children(Pre-K through Grade 6), the Sanctuary offers programs including one on endangered species. Offerings include: Summer Natural History Day Camps, Class Field Trips, "On-Site" School Programs, Boy Scout and Girl Scout Classes and Saturday Nature Classes.

For adults, there are Nature Study Workshops, Slide Presentations for Groups, Nature Weekends, Teacher Education Workshops and Birdwatching Field Trips.

PROGRAM REGISTRATION – PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL PROGRAMS, since group size is limited and a minimum number of participants is necessary. Paid registration, including a daytime phone number, at least one week prior to the program ensures a place.

790 Ewing Avenue
PO Box 125
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
(201) 891-2185

HOURS: Wednesday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. / Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 p.m