Grey Wolf Endangered Status May Change Again

USFWS photo

The grey wolf, Canis lupus, is a study of how complicated the listing of endangered species has become. This is a species that has been on and off lists both federally and in certain states to the point of confusing most people about whether they are endangered or not.

Last week, a federal judge said the grey wolf should go back on the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho. That decision does not sit well with hunters, ranchers and states' rights advocates. The ruling overturned Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's decision to keep the grey wolf off the list in 2009.

The U.S. District Court Judge said that the the Endangered Species Act required endangered species like the Northern Rockies gray wolf to be treated as a whole population, rather than on a state-by-state basis. If it's listed as endangered in Wyoming, it should be listed that way in Montana and Idaho too.


Wolf supporters and many environmental groups say that the current Rocky Mountain population (1,700+ wolves) is not enough to ensure the long-term genetic health of the population.

Right now the reinstated protection means the states once again have to follow federal guidelines for managing wolves.

Wolves were eradicated from the region in the 1930's as part of an overall campaign to eliminate many of the native predators.

The Endangered Species Act in 1973 started efforts to restore the Northern Rockies wolf population.

Wolves that had moved into the Canadian/Montana border region starting in the 1970s began to return to their historic habitat in the region. By 1995, that population had grown to about 70 wolves.

Though this blog is clearly on the side of endangered species, I always tread carefully in the area of politics and law because it often has little to do with protecting wildlife and more to do with money and power.

Ranchers and landowners will say that wolves present the greatest threat to their livestock. Environmental groups will quote statistics from the National Agriculture Statistics Service, that show that only 1% of lost livestock, including unconfirmed losses, is due to wolves. They say the true threats are still disease, birthing issues, extreme weather, and other predators, including wild dogs.


By 2009, the Northern Rockies wolf population had grown to around 2,000 animals. That was the number that biologists had estimated was necessary for population recovery.

That same year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service de-listed the wolves and opened a hunting season in Idaho and Montana. The population went down to 1,650 wolves which made it again endangered.

This back and forth way of determining status seem doomed to cause only controversy and offer limited protection to a species. It seems to me that decisions under the Endangered Species Act should be based on science, not politics. But that is definitely more esily said than done.




Yes, we don't worry much about wolves in New Jersey. But you can see wolves in our state. Check out wolves at the Lakota Wolf Preserve located near the Delaware Water Gap and the Turtle Back Zoo in Essex County.

• http://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/
• http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/wolves/wolf_recovery_efforts/northern_rockies_wolves/
• Gray Wolves (Eye to Eye With Endangered Species) 
• The World of Wolves: New Perspectives on Ecology, Behaviour, and Management 
• Recovery of Gray Wolves in the Great Lakes Region of the United States: An Endangered Species Success Story

NJ Trophy Trout Lakes

New Jersey's Trophy Trout Lakes are Merrill Creek and Round Valley reservoirs. These waters have a 15" minimum all year (as well as catch-and-release only periods on both waters and slot restrictions for Round Valley).

Trout in these large, cold, and deep waters survive for many years and have the habitat, water quality, and food supply to grow to truly monstrous proportions, while their stream-dwelling counterparts rarely exceed 18 inches.

In the summer you'll need to fish deep, from a boat, as the warm surface waters force the big trout down to the cooler waters below.

Round Valley Reservoir in particular consistently produces big rainbows and browns - in fact, the current state record brown trout was caught there in 1995. The reservoir has also produced the state record lake trout, a a 32 pound, 8 ounce beauty that measured more than 41 inches.

But larger laker trout prowl the deep waters of Round Valley.

On November 18, 2009, Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries biologists netted the largest lake trout ever captured in the state (seen here). Weighing in at 32 pounds, 11 ounces, this female laker surpassed the current state record by 3 ounces and was taken during their annual gillnetting surveys, used to monitor the lake trout population.

The massive lake trout was returned to the reservoir alive and well and is still eluding anglers.



More about Round Valley Reservoir:
Spotlight on Round Valley Reservoir
www.njfishandwildlife.com/artrndvalley07.htm
Lunker Lakers Lurk Below
www.njfishandwildlife.com/artlakers05.htm
Round Valley Rainbows Get Anglers Off To An Early Start
www.njfishandwildlife.com/artrvanglers03.htm
Also visit the Round Valley Trout Association website:
www.fishrvta.com

Maps of the NJ Wildlife Management Areas

New Jersey's Wildlife Management Area System, administered by the Division of Fish and Wildlife's Bureau of Land Management, preserves a diversity of fish and wildlife habitats from Delaware Bay coastal marshes to Kittatinny Ridge mountain tops.

Ranging in size from the 0.68 acre Delaware River Fishing Access Site at the Pennsauken WMA to the 30,000-acre Greenwood Forest Tract in Burlington and Ocean counties, Wildlife Management Areas provide countless outdoor recreational opportunities for New Jersey residents and visitors from out of state.

The system had its beginning with the purchase of the 387-acre Walpack Tract in Sussex County in 1932. This land was purchased as a "Public Shooting and Fishing Ground" by the Board of Fish and Game Commissioners, the forerunner of today's Fish and Game Council. Presently there more than 327,000 acres in 120 areas, and new properties and additions to existing properties are continually being added. This acreage represents more than 44% of New Jersey's state-owned public open space.

You can download maps and information on all the WMAs at
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wmaland.htm

Horseshoe Crabs and Red Knots Show Improvement This Year

red knot banding and weighing

Since the mid-1990s, researchers from around the world, led by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, have converged on the Delaware Bay region to monitor and protect migrating shorebirds: red knots, ruddy turnstones, sanderlings, semipalmated sandpipers, dunlins and short-billed dowitchers.

The red knot gets special attention because it is a species whose numbers in particular have plummeted in correlation with declines in horseshoe crabs and their eggs.

“Delaware Bay is one of the most important bird stopovers in the world, and a critical stopover for these six species,” said Amanda Dey, principal zoologist with the DEP’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program. “The red knot is the poster child for all of these shorebirds ... but this is really a bay-wide problem.”

Some good news this year - 35 percent of red knots left the bay at the weight deemed sufficient to reach the Arctic and successfully breed – 180 grams, or a little more than six ounces. This is a vast improvement over the 15 percent that reached this weight in 2008, but is still far short of the 60 percent researchers believe is the minimum necessary to begin rebuilding the species. Researchers are also seeing more horseshoe crab eggs on the beaches.



http://www.state.nj.us/dep/

Atlantic bottlenose dolphin

Atlantic bottlenose dolphin photo originally uploaded by Brett NJ

This particular Atlantic bottlenose dolphin was at Second Avenue Jetty/Cove Beach area in Cape May, New Jersey

Bottlenose dolphins live in temperate and tropical waters worldwide. Distribution is generally limited to surface water temperatures of 10° to 32°C (50°-90° F).

In the Atlantic Ocean, bottlenose dolphins are found from Nova Scotia to Patagonia and from Norway to the tip of South Africa. They are the most abundant dolphin species along the United States coast from Cape Cod through the Gulf of Mexico.

Variations in water temperature, movements of food fish, and feeding habits may account for the seasonal movements of some dolphins to and from certain areas.

Some coastal dolphins in higher latitudes show a clear tendency toward seasonal migrations, traveling farther south in the winter. For example, coastal bottlenose dolphins on the Atlantic side of the U.S. migrate seasonally between New Jersey and North Carolina.

Bottlenose dolphins are not endangered - thank goodness - but we love them here on Endangered NJ anyway!

Responding to New Jersey's Snakes

Timber rattlesnake Photo by Kris Schantz

The NJ DEP's Snake Response Team, coordinated by the Division of Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Nongame Species Program, helps people when venomous snakes get a little too close for comfort. It also works to dispel fears about the reptiles, using facts, tact and understanding.

Of 22 species found in New Jersey, only the timber rattlesnake and the northern copperhead are venomous – and each of these species is generally shy.

Under the state's Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act, it is illegal to kill, harm, harass or collect them or any native, non-game wildlife.

On the NJ Endangered and Threatened list are 4 snakes: the timber rattlesnake, Crotalus h. horridus, the northern pine snake Pituophis m. melanoleucus and the corn snake Elaphe g. guttata and the queen snake Regina septemvittata.

In relocating a venomous snake, the Response Team will look for suitable habitat in the same general area that won't harm the snake or create a conflict with another property owner.

Snakes see us as the predator,and their first choice is to try to lay still and blend in with their surroundings or, if feeling threatened, to try to get away.

Snakes fill an important ecological role, controlling rodents and insects and serving as a food source for raccoons, bobcats, hawks, owls and other animals. In short, snakes are indicators of a healthy, vibrant ecosystem.

Yet each year many are intentionally killed by people who don’t understand them.

Northern copperhead Photo by Mike Muller

The copperhead, one of New Jersey’s least common snakes, is frequently confused with the northern water snake and the eastern milk snake, among the most common species.

Copperheads have a dark-colored pattern that forms hourglass-shaped bands from side to side, but coloration is highly variable among individuals and changes according to seasonal shedding periods.

More Information at  http://www.state.nj.us/dep/daw/snakes/



Timber Rattlesnakes in Vermont & New York: Biology, History, and the Fate of an Endangered Species

Volunteers Needed For Oyster Restoration on August 16

NJ Audubon's Nature Center of Cape May The Cousteau Center at Bridgeton is seeking volunteers on August 16, 2010 to assist with the Project PORTS (Promoting Oyster Restoration through Schools) project.

Project PORTS is a community-based restoration project that engages school children in activities associated with the enhancement of oyster habitat at the Gandy's Beach Oyster Restoration Enhancement Area.

shells with spat

Students construct shell bags, which are deployed in the bay to become a settlement surface, and home to millions of young oysters. Participating schools, PORTS Partner Schools, receive a truckload of clam shells, which are placed in stretchy mesh bags by students on site at the school. The bags are then transported to a lower Bay Cape Shore site where they are deployed for two months in the summer to capture the settling oysters known as spat.

The oyster spat and shell are transplanted to the upper Bay Gandy's Beach location will they will remain to grow, thrive, and provide important ecological benefits to the Bay ecosystem.

This work complements the State and Federal fishery-centered restoration efforts and demonstrates a way that local citizens can invest in the Delaware Bay and feel a personal commitment for its stewardship.

This year students at partner schools constructed 2700 shell bags. The shell bags were placed in the lower Bay in late June and have since been collecting thousands, if not millions of oyster spat.

These young oysters will be transplanted to upper bay conservation and fishery areas on August 16.

PORTS needs at least 30 volunteers on August 15 and 16 to help prepare and load the bags onto skiffs for transport.

Mature oyster

The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica is one of, if not the most important species of the Delaware Estuary.

Dating back thousands of years, the oyster has served as a keystone organism in the estuary, positively influencing water quality and providing food, habitat, and refuge to countless organisms. Challenged by disease, habitat deterioration, and overfishing, the resource is presently a fraction of what it once was.

Court Order Provides Public Access to Sea Bright Beach

A Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of the state, ordering a beach club in Sea Bright to provide public access to the beach in front of the club, Commissioner Bob Martin announced today.

Judge Thomas W. Cavanagh, presiding in the Chancery Division in Monmouth County, this week issued an order ruling that the public owns all the tidelands in front of the Sea Bright Beach Club and ordered the club to work with the DEP on developing a plan to accommodate public access, including plans for maintenance, lifeguard protection and signage.

“Access to our beaches is an important right for everyone,” Commissioner Martin said. “This ruling restores the right of all members of the public to enjoy significant areas of the beaches in Sea Bright, even if the beaches happen to be in front of a private beach club. The next step is to work out a public access plan with the Sea Bright Beach Club.”

The ruling resolves access to the last of nine beach clubs that were named in a lawsuit the state filed in 2006 over public access to Sea Bright’s beaches. The lawsuit argued that 1993 agreements limiting public access to a 15-foot-wide limited use corridor were contrary to law and public policy.

Earlier this year, the state reached a settlement agreement with six other private beach clubs. They were the Chapel Beach Club, the Surf Rider Beach Club, Driftwood Beach Club, Sands Beach Club, Water’s Edge Beach Club and Ship Ahoy Beach Club. Under that settlement, the borough of Sea Bright also agreed to provide additional public-access amenities.

Another club, the Trade Winds Beach Club, was sold for residential development and public access has been allowed to the beach there. Another club, Donovan’s Reef Beach Club, settled previously and now allows full public access.

The DEP continues to work on new, comprehensive rules that will implement a common-sense approach for providing public access to beaches and waterways. A key objective is allowing municipalities to develop plans that recognize local conditions and costs without compromising public access.


NJDEP Press release http://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2010/10_0066.htm

NJ DEP Team Makes Largest Find of Rare Plant

It's hard to believe that anything new and rare could still be discovered in our densely populated New Jersey, but a team of NJDEP researchers and scientists has documented that the world’s largest population of the rare and state endangered “Spreading Globeflower” is located on a state nature preserve in Sussex County, the Department announced today.

The find of thousands of the rare plants, formally labeled Trollius laxus, was made this spring by employees of the DEP’s Natural Lands Trust and the Natural Heritage Program.

The Spreading Globeflower is a member of the Buttercup Family. It features several large, pale-yellow flowers which usually begin to bloom in mid April and continue to flower through May. It is a wetland species that grows primarily in calcareous fens and open wooded swamps.

“This discovery serves as a reminder that important botanical discoveries are still being made in New Jersey and highlights the rich, botanical diversity that New Jersey has been long known for,” said Amy Cradic, DEP Assistant Commissioner of Natural and Historic Resources. “Hopefully, it serves as encouragement to our residents to go out and explore the state’s many state parks and forests, natural areas, preserves and wildlife management areas.”

Left photo: Trollius laxus, commonly known as the Spreading Globeflower,
is a state endangered plant. It is a member of the Buttercup family.
Right photo: A large population of Speading Globeflower was discovered
in this natural lands area in central Sussex County.

Trollius laxus is found in just five northeastern states: New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. As of 2010, less than 60 populations have been confirmed, with New York and New Jersey having the bulk of the world’s populations.

In New Jersey, the plant is largely confined to the limestone belt in Sussex and Warren counties. Populations throughout its range tend to be small to moderate in size and typically occur as isolated small colonies or patches of a few hundred or fewer plants.

However, the New Jersey population recently discovered on a Natural Lands Trust preserve in Sussex County is massive. This population of Spreading Globeflower is estimated at 15,000 extremely robust clumps occurring on about two acres, and forming a near solid ground cover on a quarter acre of the preserve.

In both acreage occupied and size of population, this discovery is unprecedented, according to DEP scientists, who are still working to determine the full extent of this find in Sussex County. The largest population currently documented consists of about 2,000 plants and is located in upstate New York.

Trollius laxus used to be more commonly found in North Jersey, observed in parts of Passaic County until the late 1800s, last seen in Bergen County in 1919, and found as recently as 1980 in parts of Morris County.

The species' decline over the past century is a direct result of loss of wetland habitats through filling, flooding caused by beavers and loss of open habitat through woody plant encroachment and the spread of non native invasive plant species.

DEP staff involved in the discovery include, David Snyder, botanist, Natural Heritage Program; Kathleen S. Walz, ecologist, Natural Heritage Program; and Martin Rapp, preserve manager, N.J. Natural Lands Trust.

“New Jersey actually has greater botanical diversity compared to much larger neighboring states of New York and Pennsylvania, and we have endemic plants found nowhere else in the world,” said Bob Cartica, administrator of the DEP’s Office of Natural Lands Management.

In 2008, for example, also in Sussex County, DEP staff discovered a plant species never before observed in New Jersey, the fern-leaf scorpion-flower, or Phacelia bipinnatifida, in the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area.

"DEP TEAM MAKES LARGEST FIND OF RARE PLANT"  Press Release 6/30/10

Learn About the NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's Geographic Information System

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

An upcoming Landscape Project training and information session will be hosted by Mercer County Community College at the James Kerney Campus in Trenton, NJ on Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 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.

To register, please e-mail patrick.woerner@dep.state.nj.us

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.

Bear Hunt New Jersey

New Jersey is closer to having the first black bear hunting season in the state since 2005.

The Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin approved a comprehensive black bear management policy, which includes a six-day hunting season in December.

In a press release, Martin said:

"This science- and fact-based policy recognizes that hunting is an important bear management tool in combination with non-lethal controls of problem bears, public education on coexisting with bears and enforcement of laws to reduce conflicts between bears and people."

"Although I respect that some New Jersey residents are opposed to hunting bears, hunting is the only proven and most cost-effective method of wildlife population control and it is utilized successfully by other states with viable bear populations."

The bear population in northwestern New Jersey has grown from 500 animals in 1992 to more than 3,400 currently. There has also been an increase in black bear encounters, with 76 of the 1,261 incidents so far this year considered aggressive.

While more than 9,000 comments were received by the Fish and Game Council regarding the new policy, including many that opposed hunting, no scientifically proven alternative was presented.

The NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife is currently offering free Bear Hunting Seminars, which uncertified hunters must attend in order to obtain a permit for the bear season included in the recently adopted Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy (CBBMP). The CBBMP will become effective upon publication in the NJ Register in early fall.

Certifications remain valid for hunters who attended a NJ Bear Hunting Seminar from 2003 to 2006. Those who are interested in bear hunting but do not have certification are encouraged to register for a seminar as soon as possible.

The first round of seminars is now posted at www.wildlifelicense.com/nj/ALS/course/course_report.php where hunters must register to attend. Seminars will be offered monthly until the season opens, including the weekend before the season to accommodate hunters coming from out-of-state.

The bear hunt will be held in portions of a 1,000 square-mile area north of Route 78 and west of Rt. 287 in Morris, Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset and Passaic counties. The black bear permit application period opens on October 1; hunters will be able to apply at any license agent or on the division's license website.

More information on the season, bear hunting zones and permits will be in the 2010 Hunting Issue of the Fish and Wildlife Digest, available at license agents and the division Web site the week of August 9.

• Black Bears in NJ
• WNJ Opinion: A Bear Hunt is a Good Thing

Black Bears Have Been Sighted
In All 21 NJ Counties